My Bad (TV Habits), Part Uno

Yeah, Memorial Day can be tough on television's consistent viewers. "Encore presentations" and burn-offs of unsuccessful series show up all over TV listing pages. Still, some promising programs do get their slots. Do I watch them? Not this year. Instead I chose the second installment of this season's "The Bachelorette", and the debut of "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition, from the team that runs "The Biggest Loser"

Not exactly adventurous viewing. Tonight, Monday, I wanted safe, familiar -- and mostly, fun. I didn't get it.

"The Bachelorette"  franchise has not freshened up its formula. Plucky, smart, hot-looking single girl bravely wades her way through 25 bachelors (down to 13 tonight) via staged-for-televion dates and "private" conversations with the suitors, randy and rowdy on the surface, more sensitive in their hidden hearts. Ashley appears sincere; some of the guys strike me as worth dating. Yet even I, with my robust appetite for not-so-good TV, can't do this franchise again. I'll peak in for rose ceremonies and pieces of the finale.  Beyond that, even my tastes are maturing a little. It would be  delightful surprise if future "Bachelorette/Bachelor" seasons could do a modicum of maturing, too.

As for "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition",  there's hope for a better show coming out of the one that aired tonight. Chris Powell offers tough training  and nutrition facts adaptable to people's real lives. Rachel lost 161 pounds over the course of the hour, but it was a believable fight; in the middle, discouraged, she managed only a three-pound loss in three months. Powell wasn't there to hold her hand through the year of life-saving loss. Unlike the featured  "Biggest Loser" participants, she had to do much of the grittiest work alone. Her final-moments victory didn't get her to her desired weight, but it got her much of the way there. That's some serious inspiration.

Because it's just an hour, however, "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" has almost no time to emphasize its takeaway points on exercise and smart eating. It shows the struggling dieter crying about self-sabotage, yet gives us no useful advice on recovering from foiling one's own cherished plans.

It would have held our attention, to learn specifics from the often tearful Rachel and her bright light of a coach. More information and authentic stumbles, less emoting -- if the producers steer in that direction, they'll be steering the show into fresh territory, with its capacity for celebratory moments intact.

See You Sooner, Oprah....

I have been an off-and-on viewer of The Oprah Winfrey Show over the twenty-five years of its life. When I tuned out, it was often because I felt uneasy with the power Oprah credited to individual persons and the human race in general. I'm a centrist Christian; I'm fine with listening to other people talking about their faith, whatever it may be.  When so much faith was being put in the human psyche and soul, however, I needed to take a break.  During this last season, I've watched more often, been more comfortable. Humans didn't seem like Oprah's elevated powers anymore. During the final episode, Oprah briefly explained to her audience "which God" she was referring to, seeing how some people got "riled" when she made those references. Later in the telecast, she thanked her team "and Jesus", because it was only the grace of God that made it all come into being. As for her final Oprah Show words, Winfrey held her hands in a praying position and said "To God be the glory". Then she looked at the crowd for a few vulnerable moments before leaving.

I smiled. I probably said "no kidding". I meant to say "Amen". See you sooner, Oprah.

How I got eliminated from American Idol!

As one of the posts below attests, I had some hopes for the new judges, the new tweaks, the new contestants on American Idol. Turns out I hoped too soon. Tonight the two season finalists were coronated; last night, three of them battled each other and the judges had their last say-sos of the year. I could hardly watch either episode. Hence, I lost my spot in Idolville. a) It turned out that the judges praised far too often, and with too little helpful specificity for the struggling contestants. b) It turned out that the audience for AI has gone very young and very conservative. Rocker Haley got the axe in the round of three. AI ended up with two country music contenders, one 17 years old and the other 16.

                            c) If the interesting but vocally limited Scotty wins (my money's on him), it's going to read too much like show's most recent years. Last season's winner, Lee DeWyze, has all but vanished from the music scene. He seemed like a sweet-hearted bar band singer, not an American Idol, and his debut album bit the big one. The season before, Kris Allen's victory was yet another victory for yet another sweet-hearted bar band singer whose debut CD slid down the charts and vanished.

Both these guys were cute, endearing, engaging young men. Neither one had the chops for a big-guns career. If I'm wrong about either one, I'll be happy to chow down on my words.

                                    d) Scotty may actually have a good shot at a big country music run. I hope he hits it. Still, his vocal mannerisms are both unoriginal and annoying; when I lived in Nashville, I heard countless guys with more creative approaches to country singing. e) Even if I'm wrong about Scotty, I can't willingly listen next season to the judging panel sound like they don't know anything about original, thoughtful singing, when I know they do.

I had a great time with American Idol for a lot of years. Nonetheless, it's time for me to watch the excellent "The Voice" instead. I'm also cranked up for "The X Factor" debut. Just the thought of hearing Simon Cowell once again intone, "Look, there's no other way to say it, that was terrible" -- ah, it's going to sound like music to my ears. Original, thoughtful music.

The Killing, Part Two

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I talk alot. "The Killing" (AMC TV) makes me go quiet. Tonight the ninth out of thirteen episodes aired. More than ever, I'm glad I watch this Sunday night television treasure alone.  The investment in the characters goes down inside the viewer much further with every installment. The characters themselves continue to show us more of their countless inner paradoxes and contradictions -- and even why some of those contradictions are there. Tonight they seemed loaded with anger and sadness and old wounds still needing to heal. So I'm even more quiet -- inside and out -- than usual. This is one of those scripted series that feels infinitely more real than anything offered by reality television.

For those of you who aren't watching "The Killing", I hope you decide to watch the remaining chapters anyway. The AMC TV website tells you most of what you need to know to catch up, if you so desire. I'd be willing to bet, however, that you won't care about not knowing how the storylines got to where they are now. That's how strong all the fundamental components are here.

If I could give you one clue about this grade A murder mystery/character drama, it would be a quote from a minor character at her parole hearing. Facing the board, and the widower of the woman she killed while driving drunk, she says something like "I don't think it's in our nature to forgive each other."

One thing this series talks about -- without saying anything too directly -- is the damage done when we don't forgive each other.

I can't measure its expanse, either.

I Can't Get Real With the Housewives Anymore -- and don't you interrupt!

Argue, argue, argue. Gesture, gesture, gesture.  Interrupt, interject, and the beat gets more rude with every episode I jump into.

The unfortunate reaction (unfortunate for me) to all of this verbal slapping and snarling: I can barely watch five minutes of my favorite city in the Real Housewives franchise, New York.

I've never found "the culture of argument" entertaining anyway -- my stomach gets tight and the breathing goes shallow. I have this reaction anytime I have to listen to people fight.

So what if these women are getting paid for being cruel to each other? I look for the moments when friendships actually have a growth spurt and/or the families have real fun, but they seem to be fewer. In the meantime, the housewives criticize sensitive and serious things like each other's parenting decisions, with almost no real knowledge of the situations and why certain decisions were made.
      
 I'll keep popping in to see what's going on, but
that's it. Unless being kind and funny and less dramatic starts to gain traction, I'll stick with the two "relationship reality" shows that give Bravo reasons to be proud: "Bethenny Ever After" and the sweet, quirky-smart Rosie Pope's "Pregnant in Heels".