Fall Shows

I am so excited that fall shows have started the rounds. HOUSE is back with some of the most brilliant writing and acting on television. Seriously, if you haven't watched this - try it. But rent the seasons in order or you will miss the backstory subtleties. HELL'S KITCHEN is back and I'm sorta worried on that one. This has to be the worst set of candidates I've ever seen. I'm starting to wonder if people are being selected for the show to produce ratings by being mental or awful, but for those of us who want to see a real competition, it's only annoying. Besides, didn't the HK producers learn from that whole American Idol "Sunjaya" fiasco? Anyway, I don't like anyone on there yet and quite frankly, would physically strangle a few of them if they were in my grasp.

But probably the most entertaining of all the train wrecks on television is JERSEY SHORE. I know, I know. People may groan and shake their heads in dismay, but Lord help, that show is funny. I don't get all the whining by those from New Jersey who somehow think it reflects poorly on them. Do they really think the entire country is so stupid we think those kids are representative of an entire state? Not to mention that what they do represent is a specific subculture found in the New England regions - the guidos. They are not making this up - that's the way of life they've chosen, just like skaters or goths or whatever other subcultures exist.

Where else are you going to learn great expressions like the "smush room" (the only room in the shared household with a double bed - you get the idea) or here a girl referring to getting lucky as "getting it in?" They're young, they're having fun and they're making a ton of money partying. If I could have acted a fool for money when I was in my early twenties, then never had to worry about money again, I probably would have. New identities just aren't that hard to come by. LOL

Last week, there was a big fray in the writing community because one of the JS stars, Snooki, got a book deal for a romance book. Snooki has been unlucky in love so far on the show, but she did coin the "get it in" phrase and she has indeed "gotten it in" twice so far this season. (She wasn't so lucky in the first season) So some writers are outraged and downright angry. Again, I don't get it. Snooki did not take a romance slot from a legitimate work. Celebrity books are not slotted with the rest of our works. Publishing is a business. So the publisher hires a ghost writer, puts Snooki's name on the book, and makes a ton of money while the kid is somebody. Sound business decision. And the money made on a Snooki book can be used to market or acquire more works by real writers.

I guess I'm just infinitely practical, or perhaps it's because above all else, I still view publishing as a business first and foremost. But I'm not calling foul. What about you?

Deadly DeLeon