Jason Hasselkus

It’s no secret that I like reality TV. That is, TV that is actually reality. I’ve been watching this show on A&E about Gene Simmons (the KISS guy) and his family called “Family Jewels”, and I’ve discovered that it’s more of a comedy than a reality show. Each week the writers come up with some staged event to take place that totally makes you laugh, and totally make Gene look like a super hero. Yes his two kids get involved and so does his wife Shannon Tweed, but what really makes the show great, is that they don’t try to hide the fact that everything is setup. For instance, what ever happened to the assistant that had all the great ideas?
Well for some reason he never showed up again in another episode, but neither do a lot of the events and people that we see week to week. Could the Tweed sisters really have opened up a nail salon and kept it going? I doubt it. Would Nick really be stupid enough to pick up a foreign girl friend stranded in Hollywood and make his current girlfriend sit in the back seat of his car while he drives damsel in distress to his home? I don’t think so. Those are just a few, but each week, we find the Simmons family in lots of trouble, my favorite being Gene in jail for soliciting a prostitute.
But my point here is not how bad this show is, it’s the entertainment that one gets out of it. No Family Jewels is no more “Real” than the “Real World” on MTV. Really how many 20 somethings get a phat house and a job offer handed to them just for filming themselves and sending it in the mail? Not really reality folks. But there are obviously enough people tuning in for it to stay on, so it works. So when I talk to my friends and they ask “Why do you watch that crap”, I can honestly say “it makes me laugh”. Yes if 40 is the new 20, then reality is the new comedy, and I’m going to indulge myself in some reality each and every night until something better comes along.