Picking up the Trash on ‘Jersey Shore’

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know that I have a serious addiction to reality television. It is entertaining to me and I watch just about all of it. On the really painful ones I may watch only 5 minutes and skip over all the crap but for the most part, I watch all of them.

Every once in a while a new “reality” gem will come along and I will get hooked. My favorite one of course is "The Bachelor," which starts up on January 4 on ABC at 9 p.m. I think the promos that ABC is running for the show are brilliant and the one thing more exciting than watching the new season will be to blog about it!

There are the classics like "The Amazing Race," "Survivor," and the "Real Housewives" franchise. I watch them, love them, talk about them and make sure my DVR is set to record them all. It is a very special day, however, when a show comes along that is so painful to watch it makes you pray your power will go out and at the same time you can’t turn away.

It is a holiday present that shall keep on giving for the next few weeks and I am so very happy. What is this train wreck, you ask? "Jersey Shore" on MTV, Thursday nights at 10. If you have not watched it, you must. Even if it’s only one time, you need to see what all the fuss is about.

I know a lot of people who are from the garden state and they were all mortified by "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" because they felt it was an unrealistic look at people from their state — but "Jersey Shore" has made them nostalgic for the good old days when that was who was representing them.

The cast ranges in age from 21 to 28. The girls — Angelina, Jenni, Nicole and Sammi — wear more make-up in one day than I have in my entire life. The boys — Mike, Pauly, Ronnie and Vinny — all have fabulous bodies, tons of tattoos and spend the majority of their days tanning, working out, putting product in their hair and being in love with themselves.

I don’t know these people, and I am sure they are nice kids and have parents who love them — but I think if you are unclear about what the word “skank” means, watch this show and you will see first-hand. The girls are trashy, the boys are sleazy and it is the most divine hour of reality television. Turns out there is something worse than being single in LA: being single on the Jersey shore.

If you visit the MTV website you can watch episodes that have aired already and see what is coming up but don’t bother looking at the cast page because the pictures are seriously photoshopped. They look like a cute group of Italian kids and all traces of skank have been washed away.

For those who think reality television is the end of the world, this show is a good indication that the end is near.