I Need Help Proscrastinating!

I know I already alluded to reality TV in a previous post but, since there is NOTHING on TV during the summer months, I'm looking for some help.

I just finished watching the season finale of the reality show that I have remained so loyal to over the years: The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. I can't really explain why I like this show so much except for the fact that, several seasons in a row now, I have guessed the winner the second he/she stepped out of the limo on the first episode. I'm not saying I'm awesome just that it might actually be one of my greatest talents (which makes me the opposite of awesome).

For those of you who do not watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas was this season's bachelorette who was "scorned" on the last season of The Bachelor when Brad Womack "led her on" and didn't choose either of the final women on the season finale. DeAnna was determined to find her "happy ending" so she returned as "The Bachelorette" to choose a husband from 25 men hand-picked from around the country. (Once again I have to thank Comcast for creating DVR so that I didn't have to listen to this same nonsense at the beginning of the show each week.)

Now, clearly I've never met DeAnna but what happens with these reality shows is that the audience (me included) tends to get so caught up in the show that they end up believing that they DO know the people involved. To me, DeAnna appeared to be a nice, genuine person looking for love and looking for someone to settle down with. Along the way, she did a great job of weeding out the tools (or, as my brother would say, "chuckas") no matter how physically attracted she was to them. And I commended her for that.

When it came down to the season finale and the final two bachelors, I thought it was in the bag for Jason (my original pick from episode 1), the nice, grounded, normal guy (who happened to have a kid but that shouldn't matter, in theory). However, as I watched the finale, I knew that my prediction would not be correct this time.

I am onto ABC and their silly little tactics. Their strategy was to overwhelm us with footage of DeAnna and Jason and lead us to believe that she would pick Jason. But she did not. Week after week DeAnna reiterated her painful story of being led on by the previous bachelor. Well, this time not only was Jason led on, so was the audience.

Instead of Jason, DeAnna chose Jesse, the "professional snowboarder" who never stopped using the word "like" during conversations with DeAnna's family and who also showed her family members how to say goodbye with a fist-to-fist bump and "explosion." He made me embarrassed FOR him. And then I was embarrassed for her. And then anger set in. But why? What do I care? They are, after all, two 26-year-old people whom I have never met. And who am I to say that they were or were not right for each other?

I realize now that it was Jason that I liked much more than DeAnna. I didn't want to see him get his heart broken again. And I didn't want him to have wasted all that time away from his son to try to "win" this woman who may not even be right for him.

Pathetic, I know. The few reality shows that I DO get wrapped up in always seem to disappoint so why do I even bother? Why set myself up for disappointment each time? Or why let myself even care about these people?

So, after spending WAY too much time watching and analyzing this foolish television show, I am forced to move on to the next foolish show. The season premiere of Lost is a painful 6 months away and the summer is filled to the brim with reruns and the worst of the worst in terms of reality TV. (Although I will confess that I've had a few chuckles watching people fall head first on the Wipeout obstacle course.)

I need some help finding some decent TV as I eagerly await the start of the Olympics (I'm a sucker for gymnastics and all the obscure events airing at 3 or 4 in the morning). It certainly doesn't help that I put my Netflix account on hold for the summer (don't even ask why). On top of that, I have always been excited about the summer movie season but Indiana Jones seems to have left a bad taste in my mouth. It's the only movie I've seen thus far and the only other movie I'm looking forward to is The Dark Knight (just like the rest of the world, I guess).

Just to clarify - I am NOT sitting around watching TV all day. I swear I am getting out during the day and I have read 3 novels since school ended. What I should be doing, though, is working on the assignments for the summer course that I'm taking. Somehow that textbook has remained unopened. Red Sox, the internet, grilling, reading (books I like), TV, the beach, enjoying a few cocktails, relaxing and exercising are all much more appealing. My summer, thus far, is proof that the more free time you have, the less productive you are.

So, when I do find myself around a TV this time of year, this is what I'm usually watching:

- Red Sox games
- America's Next Food Network Star
- Jeopardy (flipping back and forth between that and the Sox game)
- Channel 5 news
- Regis & Kelly (even though I can't stand how much she is in love with herself and that she never stops flexing her arms for the camera)
- TMZ
- Seinfeld
- The Secret Life of the American Teenager (desperation set in and now I'm locked in)
- Food Network (in general)

It's a pathetic list so if you have any recommendations, please let me know!

Otherwise I'll be forced to crack that textbook.