<p style=”text-align: left;”><img class=”alignleft” src=”http://straightfacecomics.com/avatar/matt_avatar80.jpg” border=”2″ alt=”" width=”80″ height=”80″ /> My new roomate Richard, this weekend, said that he more defines himself by the things he hates than the things that he’s interested in. He said this while we were at a post moving day dinner. He proceed to order a burger all business, meat, cheese, ketchup, hold the fun. I on the other hand like just about a little bit of everything and will give just about anything a go, at least once.
The reality of the situation is, that if I did have to pick off the top of my head one thing that I did hate that I felt helped define my person, I’d say I hate reality television. Don’t leave just yet, if you enjoy reality television, I don’t hate you, because well I can’t hate everyone, it would kind of defeat the purpose of putting out comics. I do promise that I get enough reality television intake to make more comics about the subject. I’ll catch some at a friend’s house occasionally and my girlfriend loves a couple of them.
Off the top of my head I can think of two “reality” based shows that I do like, so I guess I’m already a liar. I like stuff like Mythbusters and Man Vs Food. And I really want to like Ace of Cakes. Man vs Food and Mythbusters I know you’re saying ‘Geek stuff and Food stuff, I’ve seen your comic caricatures and that friend makes sense, and frankly why not a little cake to go with that fatty?’ Chef Duff seems cool. I could see myself having drinks and bullshitting about music, our mutual hatred for cupcakes, or whatever. The cakes they make, well quite a few of them are ingenious–I myself love building things and knowing how they work. The car engine cake (I couldn’t find a video so you get Harry Potter Cake) he made for Leno was the bees knees.
I just hate the fake drama that goes on. The building music, the long cuts to commercials about hair dye for the ladies at the end of the show before the reveal–that and the show is deliberately cut to show an out of proportion amount of pained expressions on people’s faces. I have a new title for the show–Oh fuck not again: Will they or won’t they be able to fit the cake in the car/truck/elevator/fat kid? I heard Chef Duff fired a guy for bringing a tape measure to work once.
Then you have Mythbusters, when something doesn’t work out, they just blow a cement mixer into the fucking sky. Man vs Food is about eating the biggest damn plate of food(or several) a restaurant serves in a time limit while not blowing chunks, that’s drama a fat man can get behind. I root for that crazed pudgy bastard every step of the way. When Adam dies of a coronary and someone else replaces him I will mourn him. He must work out the other six days a week to stay in as good of shape as he’s in.
At my core though, there is one constant about reality television that I enjoy. When something awful happens to someone I giggle, we all do. This is what they signed up for when they agreed to be on film, for there misery to bring me, Matt, the customer, joy. I remember when I found out that American Idol was going to have people that sort of have talent on it. I stopped watching as soon as the auditions were over. So I guess the best diagnossis for me is to watch one of the week in review shows like The Soup. And before you stop to argue that reality television isn’t awful, just remember now we reference Flava Flav, again. AND we’re not even talking about his giant retarded clock. Now we talk about how retarded the girls are that were heartbroken by him, or the fact that he looks like a fucking gremlin. I know you’ve seen the photo.
Dude, Duff’s from Detroit, which makes him insane by default, its the same as being from Texas makes you retarded by default or being from New York City makes you a worthless asshole by default, and I don’t know if myth busters counts as reality tv. Although if it does, its easily the best one out of the bunch. I’d classify it as the same type of random science show with more of a Outdoors Bill Nye feel to it then I would insult it with the reality TV moniker.
I definitely agree with Detroit, my coworker has hair down to his calves plays in a reggae band and can tell you any of the latest online conspiracies off the top of his head. He’s from Detroit.
I don’t know if thats a Detroit thing or a Pothead thing Matt.
@Smith, those are two different demographics?
@Ika, I can’t win them all. I hope I haven’t brought shame upon my family.
@Jinrai, I would name this show Bastardette.
I didn’t really enjoy the strip today, but your commentary was entertaining. My number one favorite reality show is Top Chef. Of course, most of my favorite shows end up being about cooking or food anyway, but that’s just the kind of person I am. I love food and I love to cook for family and friends.
I would watch this show so much my eyes would begin to bleed.
That show would be awesome
Kika, I think we’re soul mates.. it and Mythbusters are the only reality shows I watch, though until Matt decided to, I never thought of Mythbusters as reality TV
My grannie lived in Detroit, and she smoked pot. she was also the only family member who liked that odd veggie/fruit avocados…they were odd to us midwesterners. Don’t know how she got so chummy w/ them. I dislike Ace of Cakes because I know what that Fondant stuff tastes like (the stuff they “frost” the cakes with) and it is nasty and the texture is like eating a t-shirt. Why don’t they call it what it is? A design show. The only reality t.v. I watch is Amazing Race. I would like to travel the world and I am competitive so I guess I watch it because I’m not on it and I get grrrrr pissed about that.
Poor little Kid, haha, nice one by the way! XD
Thanks glad you liked it
I am not sure I would count Mythbusters as reality TV. Its not like we go home with the dudes and find out why his wife isn’t satisfied. But I guess you kind of get to know them in a reality setting. I effing hate reality TV too but I have watched some of it. You almost have to watch some to accurately make fun of it. I mean w/o watching Biggest Loser how would you get a show with tons of commercials within the show. Like having a bottle of One A Day plus pills on your dresser and start to talk about it and pitch it at the same time. It makes you want to shoot yourself in real life but makes you tip your cap at material to make fun of for a few months. So all you need to do is watch a 10min of a 1hour reality show. This will give you plenty of material to rip on the show when at the same time not showing loyalty to the show.
Reality shows aren’t even about reality. I know someone who was on one of the dating ones, and they filmed multiple reactions to situations and choose the ones that would ‘play best’. So in the episode he turned down the girl he actually liked, but got her number and took her out later.
Reality shows are a piece of shit.
I dunno, would you really rate Mythbusters as reality TV? I always saw it as more of a skeptic/science/documentary type of thing. Of course, then they brought in all those extras to help out…..my interest dwindled after that. Admittedly, I never watched the show religiously, only when I ran into it.
Even normal documentaries are very reality TV these days…..sad but true.
Either way, I am anti-reality TV. You have to wonder why people turn into some kind of weird vampire and watch this stuff…..