Have you seen this show? I have a wierd love-hate relationship with it. I catch it from time to time when I am surfing the channels, and I always stop. I can’t wrap my head around it. I am not talking about their religion – to each his own and all that. But I don’t see how it can work on a practical level. I like all the women. They all seem like women I would be friends with. I think it’s him that bugs me. I keep picturing him hopping from bed to bed and being quite all right with that. I get the impression that he really likes the limelight. But more importantly, I try and figure out under what circumstance I would ever a) be married to a guy who said, “lets get another wife” b), be friends with that woman, and c) want to have lots and lots of children with that guy. And his other wives. I don’t get it. I am confident I never will.
Did someone mention train wrecks? Because American Gypsy Wedding is that and more. I knew I had stumbled onto trash viewing gold when I flipped past and the girl said she was marrying her first cousin, but that was okay among gypsies. First of all, did anyone know that West Virginia had a lot of American gypsies with big wedding dresses and a gypsy culture? I didn’t know it. Secondly, didn’t it become taboo to marry a first cousin for a reason? And third, does it get any better than a wedding with an enormous dress, a first cousin, and a girl fight? Turn up the volume and pass the popcorn!
You all know about toddler beauty pageants. Once again, not passing judgment, but asking…do you know how much it costs to participate in these weekend events? I am astounded by how much is spent on the costumes (those little dresses cost more than I’ve ever spent on a dress), the tans, and the coaching. We are talking thousands of dollars, and if someone tries to home-spin it, forget it. Those costumes never win. I can see spending that kind of money if a kid was a little older and capable of expressing an intererst, but these little three year-olds? Wow. That’s a lot of dough for someone who probably has a different favorite color every week and cannot handle the disappointment of not getting another popsicle.
Someone explain to me why I am so addicted to this show. I DVR it every year. I watch it every week, and it never changes–they go out, they fish. They either catch a lot of crab, or they don’t. They get mad at each other and their ships rise and fall as they plow through some pretty intense water. I marvel at the attraction to it, why I want to see it, why I want to know how much crab they caught. I don’t get it at all–but I am not alone. Seems like millions of us are caught up with the Deadliest Catch. Five bucks to anyone who can explain to me what is so addictive about this show.
I didn’t go into the Real Housewives, because that’s a whole other post. What fringe TV have you seen that’s made you scratch your head? Is there anything that draws you in and won’t let you go? What’s your summer viewing?
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
I saw a reference to the show ‘Love in the Wild’ on the web and so I searched it out. Think a combination of Survivor and dating. Supposedly these folks are looking for love. I can’t imagine anyone finding their life partner on a ‘reality’ show. Of course there is the requisite camera in the bedroom/sleeping area. I was shocked when one of the women admitted to getting intimate with the guy she’d been paired with. What a train wreck. This show is on NBC, but I’ll just watch it on the web…maybe. LOL
I caught on to the “Gypsey Weddings”, when I saw the orgianal sereis that was started in Irleand and England.. Was about Irish Gypsy’s living culture.. Then when I saw they were bring out the American version, I thought OMG can it get any worse… But I reality show that I love to watch is “Say Yes to the Dress” and the Bridesmaid’s version too. They are a good lesson in what not to do….
I PVR everthing and then it there is nothing on TV, these shows are always good to watch when I feel like watching something trashy…lol
We only really watch two reality type shows. Judge Judy. And Time Team. Time Team is where they have three days to dig and find the archaeology of why the things are there. There is a Time Team USA now but it is not as exciting as the UK one.
I just cannot get into some of these reality shows. In the US we watched Survivor and Amazing Race and some pawn and auction shows but other than that…naw. Gypsy Weddings make me sick because living here and seeing first hand how rude and filthy mouthed these people are; I want nothing to do with them. I cannot wait for them to pass the law making it illegal to trespass on land and buildings without permission. They had a documentary of the squatters. London has a real problem with them. It is legal, to go in a house (you cannot break in you have to get in through a window or door thats unlocked) and set up residence. People go to the store and come back finding people living in their house. It’s expensive and time consuming to remove them too. Which brings me back to the This is WHY I don’t watch the shows…they usually bring my blood pressure up.
I cannot wait for Merlin and the next season Game of Thrones. Along with the CSI and NCIS shows, thats what we like.
Train wreck tv is my favorite! I am a big fan of most of these shows, and I got my husband hooked on My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding this weekend. I feel like I’ve accomplished something major.
You have, Beth!
Julia, you mentioned Sister Wives and I had to come visit. I’m like you – I can’t imagine ANY circumstances where my dh would say, “You know, we should get another wife.” and I would answer with anything other than a frying pan alongside his skull.
But I’m from TN. We take the ‘other wife’ thing much more seriously then they do in Utah.
And they DON’T get along. They DO argue. And they ARE jealous, so … how is that a good working arrangement? And before the teevee show came along, they were all on welfare, too, which means he couldn’t/cannot support those children and wives without his reality teevee income, which brings me to one of my favorite mantras: if you can’t afford it, don’t marry it.
I’ve never seen the gypsy wedding thing, but I’ll look for it. As for the Toddlers and Tiaras, it’s too creepy. But I do watch Deadliest Catch and I had no idea I’d be so into crab fishing but I’m mesmerized. I, too, tape the show and check out the crab count, and wonder where the best place to lay the pots will be this show.
It’s weird. But there it is.
So nice to know I am not alone in my obsession with crab fishing, Karen. Or sister wives for that matter. I feel much better about my confession
I watch all the “trash tv” as my daughter and I call it. All the housewives, the Kardashians, Sister Wives (even though I think Kody is gross and I feel sorry for the ladies because they have to sleep with him), the gypsy weddings, Flipped Off (Russell from Survivor flipping houses) and I watched Don’t be Tardy For the Wedding (Kim from Atlanta Housewives getting married to her football player baby daddy). I used to watch Deadliest Catch until Captain Phil passed away, I don’t really watch it anymore. My mother tries to force The Bachelor and The Bachelorette on me, but I REFUSE to watch that. Oh, and I almost forgot 2 of my faves! Joan and Melissa, Joan knows best and Duck Dynasty!! Both hilarious! I managed to catch a marathon of Duck Dynasty and could not stop watching. I watched for about 7 hours, the episodes are only 1/2 hour long. Hi, my name is Heather and I am a Reality TV Junkie.
duck Dynasty? I don’t know this one!
Omg Julia, it’s the BEST! A family of rednecks (they call themselves that so it’s okay) became millionaires making duck calls. Most of the family is just running wild. Its on A&E and available on demand.
I watch all of the above and then some! I did tell my daughter last night I will cancel cable before I let her DVR Bristol Palin: Life is a Tripp, tho, so I must have some standards
LOLOL
Didn’t you just DIE when Sarah ate a bit of the bow off of Heather’s cake last night? On the other hand, the women acted like she’d vandalized The Mona Lisa instead of nipping a bit off of an uncut cake at a party.
Nitty, I am right there with you. Bristol Palin has done me a favor and defined my bottom line for me. And there for a while I didn’t think I had one, LOL
I watch My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding and My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding (the UK version). It is so like a train wreck – I just can’t get enough. New show that sucked me in the other night “Glass House” – it is Big Brother with glass walls.
Check out Sister Wives every now and then but not obsessed – don’t watch the Housewives but do like Bethanny’s show.
I have not seen the Glass House, but saw it advertised.
Hate, hate hate Sister Wives! That guy is an ass! My middle schooler turns on some of these shows. This is one I tell her to turn off. She loves Dance Moms. I like to watch the girls dance, but I can’t stand Abby & the moms. I feel so sorry for those kids. She used to watch Downsized. I also didn’t get that show, about a family trying to make ends meet when the dad loses his job. So, they get money for being on TV, right? Duh? Most men I know like Deadliest Catch. It makes me too nervous, especially after the main guy died of a heart attack!
I totally forgot about Dance Moms!! Talk about train wrecks!
Since we don’t have cable any more, I kind of try to catch up on shows I used to watch online. But my fringe TV shows where Deadly Catch, Ice Road Trucker and a few others. I did not get the Sister wife show, I guess the guy is pretty horny, so he married four time to have sex, is what I got out of it. After what happen with Jon Bennet I don’t get how people can put there children threw with the pageants. I do love to watch America Got Talent and American Idle.
Idol not Idle.
LOL Patsi – American Idle should film at my house.
I really like American Idol. I keep thinking I will get tired of it, but I haven’t yet.
LOL Very time I type a word my auto correct inserts words and some times I don’t get them before I submit. Yeah American Idle could film at my house too, specially on the weekends when I am at work and My hubby and kids are at home. LOL
I usually end up watching Deadliest Catch (although I personally lost interest in the show after Captain Phil died,) Ice Road Truckers, Swamp People, Pawn Stars and Storage Wars over the top of my laptop screen because my husband loves them all. I also find that both of the Gypsy Wedding shows can suck you in so that you can’t stop watching…you just HAVE to know how it all turns out. The one show that I refuse to watch is Toddlers & Tiaras. It just makes me want to reach through the TV screen and slap the mothers, and until they figure out a way to make that possible, I want no part of it.
)
Those gypsy weddings are bizarre.
I DVR Sister Wives and love watching them. But I have a fascination with fringe religions and trying to wrap my head around it.
It really boggles my mind. I like them all (I don’t care for Kody much), and they fascinate me.
I watch Sister Wives and My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding (and the UK version too.) I have no qualms in admitting that I watch them or that I enjoy watching them.
I watch the Hutterites on Nat Geo on occasion and to be honest, I know it’s all “reality” tv and I’m sick to death of it but, the way that the Hutterites are presented on Nat Geo bothers me more than Sister Wives and the two Gypsy shows.
I watched Toddlers and Tiaras until I got fed up with it and said enough. I feel as though the parents are exploiting their children and I won’t give them ratings to further stroke their egos.
What the heck is a Hutterite?
Think Amish or Mennonite. They are an Anabaptist religion. Unlike the Amish or Mennonite, they live in a colony. Their homes are owned by the colony, they don’t have their own personal money, the colony owns vehicles as they aren’t allowed to own a vehicle, and they have their own strict standards to live by.
Google “Hutterite.” I tried posting a link to Wiki but I received errors.
Wow. I have never heard of them before this morning. I went to their website. Another fascinating group!
I stopped watching the toddlers last season because I thought I was going to pop a blood vessel. I don’t get it. I’ve seen Deadliest Catch a few times and have gotten caught up (ha!) in the episode but that’s about it. Have never seen Sister Wives, and, uh, no thanks. Didn’t see the American gypsies, but did see the English gypsies and…wow. It was indeed a train wreck and yeah, I couldn’t look away. For reasons I can’t figure out, I get caught up in Say Yes to the Dress. Like Julia and the fishing show, I don’t know why–it’s the same every episode–either the bride is meek and is trying to please impossible-to-please relatives with her choice, or she’s a total bridezilla. I don’t even like the dresses 99% of the time! So why do I watch? Beats the heck out of me!
I watch that too, Jacquie! And like you, I have no clue as to why. I think I’ve seen the same mermaid dress about 5 million times now.
Don’t watch a lot of fringe TV – -been too busy watching all eleventy-hundred NCIS episodes, but one night did catch “Cat Whisperer” and actually watched like five episodes… in a row. So not immune by any means. it was fascinating. And weirdly addictive.
Never heard of it. I can’t believe I am missing all this fringe stuff!
I watched Rock of Love when it was on. No way there was any reality involved in that– especially when we found out that Bret Michaels was still in a committed relationship with his daughter’s mother the entire time he was filming every Rock of Love show. But it was so fun. Until the Rock of Love bus season, and then the women cast were just over the top raunchy and I felt icky watching. (But I watched). And then there was that Pick Up Artist show, with the “master” Pick Up Artist who called himself Mystery and wore those insane hats? But then, I just really miss the days when VH1 and MTV played actual music videos.
Wow. Fringe TV I missed!! I love the pick up artist idea. I bet he is now on the bachelor. hahaa
I loved it when people were ‘amazed and hurt’ that those House Hunter’s had already selected and were in escrow on their homes at the time of filming… Toddlers??? mom has more money than brains… fishing? you’re on your own on that… the guys aren’t even shirtless.. sister wives? how on earth do they support that kind of family?
I think they support that kind of family by being on TV, Cate
I thought it was common knowledge about the House Hunters house being a done deal before filming. I was surprised when the news hit that people were surprised, because I just assumed everyone knew. How else would they film it, really? It doesn’t change my enjoyment of the show, which I catch every now and then.
I’ve watched 5 minutes each of the wives and the fishing show. Didn’t like either one. I don’t watch reality shows because it just isn’t reality. I think reality for the Survivor would be to put everyone on an island, leave them there for a few weeks and then go back and see if they survived. How much reality is there with cameramen, director, etc. My summer TV will be watching the final episodes of The Closer. I’d rather read.
I get my reading in, too. Maybe this is why I am not getting enough writing done, you think?
I don’t even think they can actually call “reality TV” “unscripted” because they always list writers in the credits. I’m not sure anyone is remembering lines of dialogue but they are definitely editing what they have into story lines. I love Survivor, but it gets more gimmicky every year as they try to hang on to ratings. I liked the first season best, when the cast was more real people who wanted the glory and not picked from central casting out of L.A. And they were left alone more and so hungry they ate dog food. And the producers hadn’t settled into a routine of how much they should leave the people alone and how to intervene, so it did feel more like a Survivor situation (even though there was still obvious cameraman and producer intervention).