Gene Simmons: Family Jewels

I watched the Osbornes for awhile. Flashy dysfunctional is tiring.

I think Gene Simmon's Family Jewels is a hoot! The family is decent and loving, with nice friends and relatives. They run their own household, and the kids go to public school. It's easy to see the wheels turning in Gene's head: Marketing, public relations, investments, his rock star image played carefully- He colors his hair, remember?. And, Kiss Demon or not, the guy's 57, and his love and family are very important to him. Some think his family is so conventional it's boring. We'll see. Others said some unkind things about Shannon and were unforgiving about her past. Fooey on them, I think she's fun. It was inevitable that many would compare 'Family Jewels' to the "Osbournes" There's nothing wrong with a family that doesn't have substance abuse problems, or doesn't drink a whole lot. This way we get to know the family a little bit better. There's no sustaining entertainment in drug use or alcoholism, and any child who has to grow up in those conditions deserves better.

There's little shocking about this latest "reality" family series. Unlike The Osbournes, the parents don't act like degenerate morons.

Gene Simmons is a very calculated entertainer who slips into the "overmatched father" role slickly, his wife is somewhat on the outside looking in, and the kids obviously know how to get the upper hand on dad. Much better than the Hulk Hogan dreck, where he's just pushing his amazon daughter's pedestrian singing career down our throats.

Simmons appears to be fully in control and can provide a lighthearted half-hour, complete with "I am the top dog" mishaps with his son, and "that skirt's too short" with his daughter.

I enjoy it for what it is.

This is one of the better shows on television and it is not a reality show. Once you realize that you are watching an outlined sitcom, you find yourself cracking up. Much in the same vain as Curb Your Enthusiasm, this show is a "what if" look at a rock legend as he goes from situation to situation, making us laugh all the way.

The acting isn't the greatest. Or is it? Even though it is a sitcom, you find yourself wondering if this is real or not. It's a great concept that is executed perfectly. Much better than The Osbornes and quickly finding its way into the same ballpark as Curb. Brilliant work from the God Of Thunder.

I hope A&E keeps it around for a while.

I'm now starting to watch the second season of family Jewel's and this is a unique show of a nice family Gene & Shannon and their two children Sophie and Nick. These kids are not the spoil brats you may see in them. these people are just ordinary kids just being themselves not always the rock family attitude. I just got through watching the episode when Gene & Shannon had surgery on their faces. When Gene came back Nick was glad to see him but Sophie looked sad and you can just tell from her face she was about to bawl her eyes which just goes to show you she's human too. At first you see this young child very strong like her mom but she does have feelings too and seeing her dad in bandages really showed it all

Following the success of "The Osbournes", Gene Simmons (co-founder member of rock band Kiss) opens the doors to his mansion in a successful attempt to introduce the rest of the family to the show business. As well as Jack and Kelly Osbourne, Nick and Sophie intend to keep up the family tradition: with Nick follow his father's steps, as front-man of a rock band; and Sophie divided between posing for the camera, as her mother, and picking up a microphone, like her father. Nevertheless, with the division of opinions about the young Simmons, their success isn't clear.

Going back to the program; even though the series is presented as a reality show, the lack of spontaneity and the awful acting from the stars and extras are two clear giveaways to the fact that each of the episodes are scripted and staged. The clever part is that as a result, the spectator is captivated by a family that is perfect in all senses: smart, pretty, loving, caring, funny, interesting, and the list goes on… In a nutshell, the utopian family that all of us dream of. I wonder how different my life would be with someone scripting it!!!

And to wrap it, the fact that nothing we see happens for real, takes away all the freshness and fun from the program, which so often seems exaggerated and surreal; leaving it a good step behind "The Osbournes".