Monday, January 11, 2010

Celebrity Rehab



Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew has a special place in my heart. When my appendix ruptured, I was in the middle of season two and in ICU, the channel was one of the few things I could remember. Clearly not ready for the pearly gates yet. Hi Jesus, I had a good life, but I did miss the last three episodes of Celebrity Rehab. Is there Comcast On Demand here? Just the kind of thing that cements your standing as a Deeply Spiritual Person. Now that we're in the third season (with, for my money, the best cast so far -- Heidi Fleiss is television gold! Dennis Rodman is also pretty cool and let me point out that he wasn't near as crazy as he is now when he was a Detroit Piston. Forget Dr. Drew; let's just reincarnate Chuck Daley to straighten his ass out), I find myself asking why I like the show.

Well, I delve into this mystery because I'm not touching Sarah Palin being hired by Fox News even though I got an email asking me what I thought about it. No comment on much of the political scene which has raised some ire in the past. One old boyfriend used to say, You're a nihilist, Boo Boo. How anyone nicknamed Boo Boo by her then-beloved could be called a nihilist, who knows? But back to the point. Why do I like the show? Not because I particularly like Dr. Drew -- I find him a bit condescending. Not because the patients are such beds of roses -- just like in life, you find some you adore, some you think are true assclowns. It's more the sense of urgency that everyday actions carry. I know this is in large part because of careful editing. Reality shows have more in common with soap operas than reality. But what makes either form compelling? It's because words and actions matter in a way they don't in real life. I once read that women watch soap operas because it's one of the few forms where women are listened to by men, where their actions matter deeply to the plot. This makes sense to me. Who doesn't want to matter in some fundamental way? And our interest in celebrities gone wrong also stems from the whole love to build them up to tear them down mentality. Everyone always complains about the cars slowing down to see a car wreck. I've never heard anyone say, I'm the dufus who slows down to look. But someone sure the hell must be.

Michelle's Spell of the Day
"Isak Dinesen said that she wrote a little every day, without hope and without despair. I like that.” Raymond Carver

Cocktail Hour
About to read the new Raymond Carver biography. Will give a full report when I'm finished.

Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Monday!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not touching Sarah Palin being hired by Fox News..

Why was Sarah Palin hired by Fox News? Simple. Hitler was unavailable.

jodi said...

Hi Girl, I remember when Dennis was Detroit's own "The Worm". Loved him as a Piston! Is that THE Betsy Johnson? xo

Anonymous said...

Glug,glug,glug....--Raymond Carver

Anonymous said...

Anything goes good with RC Cola!!!--Ray

Lana Gramlich said...

I'm with Dave.
...and in other news, I'm stuck on shows like Intervention, Obsessed & Hoarders. I'm not sure why--maybe because it's like a train wreck...I just can't look away. I am glad to see when Interventions "take," though. No telling how long such things will last, but I really hope those people have gone on to better lives. I wish we knew more about hoarders after the show. Given a year or so, perhaps they'll come out with the Hoarders update special...

Charles Gramlich said...

I guess these types of shows don't interest me much. Like Lana says, she watches stuff like intervention and so on, and I've watched an episode or two with her but in general I don't find the stuff compelling.