I admit to being negatively biased when it comes to reality shows. I'm a writer. The very existence of reality shows threatens to make me completely culturally obsolete and I resent that. That said, let's admit that reality TV contributes a healthy amount of the ridicule. As do the networks who so fondly love the reality TV phenomenon, what with allowing them to make billions of dollars without spending any of it beforehand on... y'know... writers.

My new favourite ridiculous horror is called Age of Love. It's about... and here's a term I would not know if not for American television... "cougars" competing with twenty-somethings for some bachelor guy. I don't know. I have no fucking clue what network execs smoke when they draft these things. Sometimes I think they have a hat they're only allowed to draw from while stoned out of their godsdamned minds.

Anyway, the commercial's tagline has the standbys. Palm trees, various attractive people in their bathing suits, flashes of various jealous faces, really stupid and incredibly fake midi score, completely average and unexceptional grand prize guy smirking around at everyone concerned.

And then the NBC announcement voice, with all his deep-toned, thoroughly silly enthusiasm:

"THESE forty-year-old women are dating THIS thirty-year-old man."

Okay, you know what? When you stop talking about older women dating younger men like they're competing to shoot him in the face with a shoulder-mounted missile launcher while chain-smoking puppies, I"ll MAYBE start taking you seriously.

Until then, stay the HELL out of my good evening drama slots and STOP KILLING GOOD TV.

Fuckers.