TV Observations

I spent a couple of hours the past few days checking my local TV selections. It is of note because I watch little TV and for years have found it to be about on the same level with most Hollywood films- not very good and rarely possessing so much as a speck of intelligence. Having said that, TV does offer some very good channels.
The CNN, C-Span, History, ESPN, and a number of special interest channels that offer some depth and entertainment. But on the whole, TV here in the U.S. is vapid, appealing to the same low level as do many Hollywood films.
If one is 12 years old, TV offers a challenge, but adults are more numbed by it and see it as "something to keep me company" more than an enlightening medium. Several I thumbed through the 80 plus channels I have on my TV and found many starling things. There were times when I was entertained, times when educated, but most of the time I found it had mostly distracting and...well..stupid programming.
The observation I have today is that TV is now filled with so called "reality shows", the survivor mentality in which real people pretend to be in real situations (they are not real, but rather highly controlled by the TV producers), struggling against some force that is supposedly a threat to them.
One kind of reality show I saw at least 8 times when browsing through the channels, and the most odd of all, was the "reality make-over" show. In those programs the people ( Or are they "contestants"?) had their clothes, their bodies or their homes redone by total strangers, alleged "professionals".
Take the case of the home remodel. The premise is that the owners are such slobs that they are incapable of designing their living spaces and need "help" to change the decor. The show starts with a tour of an obviously exaggerated decor that is presented as the original one of the owners. The owners agree to leave the house and the pros enter to redo one or more rooms, spending what is termed "a moderate amount" of money and using their creativity as the balance in bringing about the "needed" changes. The program shows the crew as it transforms the home into what it believes is a more stylish looking an comfortable place.
At the conclusion of the hour the owners are brought back to see what has been done (Can you imagine anyone allowing strangers to literally throw away their home furnishings and replace them without showing what is to be put in their place?). In the three house remodeling shows I saw at the program end the owners gushed enthusiastic joy at seeing their new decor.
In two of them the ladies cried (I guess it was in the script), but the astounding thing for me was that in two of the three I thought the remodeled rooms looked far worse than the original. I guess we will never know if they were pleased or displeased by the remodeling.
The same kind of remaking was done in the shows that changed the person's clothes, though the pros were much more cruel in that one. They practically insulted the person they were there to help, ridiculing their very being because the clothes they wore were not trendy fashions. The same happened in the personal makeover shows. The man or woman being remade was made to appear a dork, stupid and hopeless. I wondered why they would subject themselves to that charade, but then some people will do anything to be on TV.
In sum, here are my observations.
1) This kind of popular program is pointless. It is negative, disparaging and contrived. Why would anyone want to appear or watch that mess. yet those shows must be popular. They can be found in abundance on TV here.
2) They reflect the dumbing down of the culture. I wondered when watching if they were intentionally stupid, whether the producers of the shows felt the audience was such an idiotic crew it had to be treated as such.
3) I think this type of show further degrades from the potential good programing because viewers flock to it an spur intelligent fare.
4) Is this kind of programming appearing elsewhere or is it just an American phenomenon? Sigh...next time I am tempted to sample TV I'll leave the TV alone and read your E mail....Hehe Even that has to be better than a TV make-over.