John Stanko

I went to bed early last night and watched, for the first time, some of the show called The Bachelor.  This just happened to be the season's finale and Jason, the bachelor, was going to pick his lucky bride.  If I were those girls, I would have run the other way.  They seemed pretty interested in this loser, however, so I thought, "Oh well, it's your life."

So Jason chose his girl, Melissa, which prompted great rejoicing by the victor and tears from the other girl, Molly, who was rejected. But wait, in the show following the show, we learned that all was not well with Eric as he was having second thoughts.  At that point, I turned it off, but I have learned that "poor" Jason dumped both girls. But alas, all is not lost, for Jason has now reunited with Molly and they have gone off to live happily ever after.  Oh please give me a break.

One claim to fame is that I have never watched what is called reality, but what I call voyeuristic, television (I use voyeur in the more righteous sense of the word: a prying observer who is usually seeking the sordid or the scandalous). I have never seen an episode of Survivor or American Idol.  I am guilty, however, of watching World Wrestling Federation from time to time, which can never be confused with reality television.

All right, I am not quite telling the truth.  There is one reality show that I watch and I love it.  It's on the TLC channel and it's called What Not To Wear (WNTW).  In that show, Stacy and Clinton, fashion consultants of sorts, choose one woman who has been nominated by friends and family because the poor nominee is considered to be the queen of frump.

Stacy and Clinton offer the woman they select a $5,000 allowance toward a new wardrobe and a trip to NY City where they will try to help her understand how to dress for success.  The only catch is that the woman chosen must discard her entire wardrobe and be subjected to snide comments by the hosts as she models what she has worn up to that point in her life.

By the end of the show, the woman chosen has done a total makeover, including makeup and hair, and is re-presented to family and friends where she extols the virtues of her born-again fashion experience.  What's the difference between What Not To Wear and the other reality shows.  WNTW shows someone doing something for someone else; other reality shows have people doing things to others.  I like the spirit of WNTW and think it would be cool to do a show like that offering a purpose makeover to the person.  I would love that.

So Melissa, you will live without Jason, but Stacy and Clinton, keep up the good work.  In the meantime, I have to get back to work. I have enough reality to deal with that I don't need much more from television.