Baby Steps

You know, truth be told, I'll take a great big heart-tugging drama over a reality show any day, but I do think people are too quick to pass judgment on reality shows and assume they're all exploitive pieces of trash (or in the case of my parents, that all 'reality' shows involve dares to get people to eat live bugs...is Fear Factor even still on? Wasn't George Clooney's girlfriend on that show? Do I actually have this much ADD that I am digressing this much inside the parentheses?).

Anyhoo, tick tock, as we await the return of the post-strike juggernaut of programming like Grey's Anatomy, 30 Rock, and Lost, I've stumbled upon a few reality jems.

First, over on Bravo, I really got into the premiere of Step It Up and Dance. Now, full disclosure, I must admit I not only recently met contestant Oscar but also actually watched the premiere at his apartment, however, "Step It Up and Dance" is like, really, really fun TV!
First, the timing for the show is perfect: dancing hasn't been this big since Patrick Swayze took Baby out of a corner in 1987.
Second, it's still got a little freak factor. Watching Elizabeth Berkley on that show, well, I can't possibly say it any better than NY Times writer Ginia Bellafante: "Ms. Berkley looks as if a rolling pin has been applied to her forehead, intimidating into fearful compliance any wrinkle that might labor to emerge".
And finally, it's freaking Fame-worthy fun! What a feelin'...oh, wait, it's Flashdance-worthy fun! Watch it on Thursdays at 10p on Bravo and root along with me for Oscar.

Next, I watched a full on marathon Saturday night of High School Reunion on TV Land (is it really any wonder why I'm single?). I watched seriously like 7 episodes. Basically, these genius casting people found the most perfect high school archetypes ever from the class of 1987 and shoved them all in a house for like 2 weeks to get them to hook up, then set the whole thing to 80's music. What else does one need? You can jump on the bandwagon, too. It's cheesy, it's fluff, and...it's not too late. The finale is on Wed at 10 on TV Land.

Finally, MTV's got Rock the Cradle (also Thurs at 10, so if you're jumping on my Step it Up bandwagon, there's Tivo-ing involved). Offspring of celeb singers (real celebs for the most part, not too many punchlines save for MC Hammer) compete in an American Idol-like sing off each week. Lucy Walsh (daughter of Joe Walsh) is the one to beat, while Chloe Lattanzi (daughter of Olivia Newton-John) clearly needs mental health counseling on a Britney size level. Her face is screwed up in a really really big, Meg Ryan-Lara Flynn Boyle-Melanie Griffith sort of way, and this young thing is like 22! Get this girl out of the spotlight, stat!

No live bugs were harmed in the making of any of these shows...as far as I know.