sharbaug-1

There really aren't words made to describe how strongly adamant I am that this show should be canceled. As if copying "The OC" in a reality form wasn't bad enough, poorly scripted and semi-acted/semi-reality format makes it seem like you're watching a very badly executed B-movie. I am so distraught that this got renewed for a second season because this is one of MTV's lowest of the low. The beach of Laguna is very pretty, but the snooty, self-indulgent, oh-woe-is-me characters have no redeeming qualities and their stories are completely adolescent, juvenile and convoluted by the teen TV drama series mold. Boy falls in and out of love with girl, falls into love with other girls, etc etc blah blah blah. There is nothing about this show that is redeeming. Urge MTV to cancel this crap!

Although reality TV starts to get to me after awhile, BRAVO has done an excellent job with "Project Runway." By cleverly combining creativity with the standard rapid elimination proceedings so familiar to reality TV, a slew of 12 amateur fashion designers compete for their chance to win big with a fashion contract and a place at New York's infamous Olympus Fashion Week. What makes this show so interesting is how creative some of the designers can be and how their personalities are conveyed through their designs. You'll pick a favorite and root for them each week. Although this show has been criticized in the media for being a rip-off of UPN's successful "America's Next Top Model," it combines artistic bravado with competition, as opposed to looks and luck. It's an interesting concept and it works well here. Unfortunately, the future doesn't bode well for "Project Runway." According to several industry publications recounting ratings numbers, the show has been doing very bad in the ratings and there isn't plans for a second season unless things take a turn for the better.

"Date My Mom" is another reality TV dating show spin-off comparable to MTV's other efforts like "Room Raiders". The premise is that guys or girls date the mom and learn about their prospective date through the mother before they are able to actually meet the younger counterpart. Then the mothers that are voted off sashay their daughter or son in front of the one that turned them down. This show is sometimes funny, but all too often, it seems too plastic and scripted. I would like the show to flow with the awkwardness of really meeting a prospective date's mother for the first time. All too often, it seems like the people on the show are reading lines or coming up with quirky one-liners that real people don't think of in spur of the moment situations. But such is the nature of the reality TV beast.