Gimme a Shot!

Once upon a time, I caught a little bug, which I dubbed the "Reality Television Virus" - RTVV. The main symptoms are watching - and enjoying - reality TV. Associated symptoms include getting 'attached' to the contestants, talking about the shows with other people, recording the shows and possibly re-watching them, and actually wanting to either audition for a show or to attend a post-show performance tour. Differential diagnosis includes General Television Addiction, Thinking You're Better Than Those TV Freaks and Frank Insanity. Treatment at this point is mostly supportive.

Shows that have supported my Illness (this is probably not an all-inclusive list):
Survivor
Big Brother
American Idol
Amazing Race
So You Think You Can Dance
How To Get the Guy
America's Next Top Model
Project Runway
Made
My Super Sweet 16

And now, there is a new addition to my list. Possibly the most egregious sign of RTVV's hold on me yet. Are you ready for it?? It is called Who Want's To Be A Superhero? And it, my friends, is awe-some. Inspiring of awe. It is on the Sci-Fi channel. The concept is that Stan Lee, of comic book fame (I hadn't heard of him either, but he's apparently super-famous) - has gathered together 12 superhero wannabes - including Monkey Woman, Fat Mama, Cell Phone Girl, Feedback, Major Victory, The Iron Enforcer and more! - and puts them through challenges to see who possesses the most super-hero qualities. It is so fantastically staged that I can't even begin to express the wonderful-ness of it. One of the characters is actually a spy; one gets recruited to be a super-villain - and that's just the beginning. It's reality TV at its best - some people obviously placed by the producers to fill a certain role, others in it just for the fame that being on TV will bring them with no actual passion for comic books, and a couple gung-ho-Stan-Lee-loving-actually-thing-they're-superhero people. It's the kind of group that makes you feel good about yourself as a person. And after all, isn't that the point of Reality TV - to make you, as the viewer, feel superior?

Except for a few people on a few shows - specifically this season of So You Think You Can Dance. I cannot express how in love I am with all of the finalists. They are just Good People as far as I can tell. Takes away from the Superiority Complex aspect of the show, but definitely adds in spades to the Tugging On The Heartstrings aspect.

Hmm. Methinks I should do a whole breakdown of the Reality TV Virus and It's Appeal.

Despite my love of the shows, I realize that the RTVV is Not Healthy. I'm on vacation from work right now, and I think I should use some of this time to develop an anti-RTVV vaccine. I just read an article about a new anti-Rotavirus vaccine (rotavirus causes nasty diarrhea in kids). I think it can give me some clues as to where to get started with the anti-RTVV. Specifically this sentence:

"The parent bovine rotavirus strain Wistar Calf 3 (WC3) was isolated from a calf with diarrhea in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1981 and was passaged 12 times in African green monkey kidney cells (79)."

Hmm. Okay, maybe not. Hopefully RTVV is a self-limited illness that will eventually run its course. In the meantime, I'll just continue to watch.