My Ultimate Reality Show

As I don't have cable, I have recently developed an obsession with So You Think You Can Dance. The dancing on this show, when it's good, is SO GOOD. And when it's bad, weeeeeelllllllll. I have to admit, this show makes American Idol look like the Care Bears. The judges pull absolutely no punches whatsoever. Sure. Part of you inwardly rolls your eyes when dancers talk about the piece they're going to perform as "an expression of triumph over adversity" and "going after your dreams" or that "this dance really helped me get through my break up with my boyfriend."

And then they dance it in this overwrought manner and you're thinking "oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh." But still, when the judge says it was the worst thing they've ever seen and you can see these people trying not to cry, it's a bit much. It's all fine and good not being good enough, but who the hell ever wants to hear that?

I don't think reality shows appeal to people because they enjoy making fun of others. I think it's because life takes down everyone a notch, but you experience it in isolation. These shows are just a televised proof that it does in fact happen to everyone else, so ultimately you don't feel alone.

And that you can triumph over adversity and go after your dreams.

Ahem.

But nothing I think can compete with what the good folks at Meow Mix have planned. Check this out, from Mediapost:

Meow Mix is sponsoring a reality show competition just for cats. Kitty competitors will be asked to lick themselves clean, chase balls of string, and relieve themselves in a litter box as they scratch and claw their way towards the grand prize.

Ten cats from shelters across the U.S. will be selected to compete in the inaugural edition of The Meow Mix House. The cats will travel to New York City and live together in a specially-designed house from June 13-23. Webcams will be mounted in every room in the house to get a glimpse into what cats do all day--and in our household, that's sleep. Well, most of the time, anyway.

Visitors can also go to http://www.MeowMixHouse.com to vote for their favorite cat, (starting Thursday.) The cat with the fewest votes will be evicted from the house. However, all the cats in the Meow Mix House are winners: each cat that gets the boot will be adopted into a permanent home and receive a one-year supply of Meow Mix as a consolation prize. Meow Mix will pre-select a family in each city to adopt the cats after their stay in the house ends.

The last cat standing in the house will receive a job working for The Meow Mix Co. as Feline Vice President of Research and Development. He or she will be responsible for taste-testing and feedback on new Meow Mix product launches and line extensions. The Meow Mix Co. is producing the show along with Grand Central Marketing, an event marketing and promotion agency, and MMB, Meow Mix's advertising agency. Since it takes a special kind of person to understand what cats are saying, pop-up dialogue bubbles will be used to help translate the meows into English. Negotiations are underway with several cable networks to air the show.

Hmmm. I think I may have to get cable after all.