For a few erroneous minutes, Entertainment Tonight found itself running on our television. Then it struck me: I’ve seen this before.
What’s “this”? The silly inanity, the total irrelevance to adult life, showing the worst of America. And where have I seen it before? On Jerry Springer!
The parallels are breathtaking. Both types of shows feature people who look like freaks, behave like freaks, and are role models to other freaks.
| ET | JS |
| Paris Hilton and her sex life and Jane Fonda’s threesomes | little Jimmy with the septuplet fathers |
| some with public relationship troubles | some with relationship troubles made public |
| people gloating the presence or absence of plastic surgery | people who desperately need some |
| starlets who believe they are role models (to whom??) | weirdos whose virtual clones “star” on consecutive shows |
| run-ins with drug and alcohol addictions | run-ins with drug and alcohol addictions |
| people who believe they are important | people thinking they are important by being on TV |
They are two sides of the same coin. They are both utterly titillating to watch. Both leave me shaking my head, wondering how all the intellect was sucked out of the studios that produce and the living rooms that consume this stuff.