OK, guys, I feel that we’ve gone through a whole “Idol” season together, and I can trust you. I have a confession to make. Ready? (Deep breath.) Here goes ... I’ve never been an avid watcher of “Jon and Kate Plus Eight!”
Hello? Anyone still there? Hello?
It has always been one of those shows I had on for background noise while I was doing other things. Occasionally, I’d glance up from my busywork (cutting and pasting “vision boards” or downloading tunes for a never-to-be-used “workout mix”) and chuckle to myself at Jon’s expressions. Usually these were of the “please help me” variety, often in reaction to Kate berating him on national television yet again.
Then came US Weekly's obsession with the couple. It must have been a slow month in the world of Hollywood hookups and scandal because the Gosselins have been on the cover of the past -- count ‘em -- four issues of the magazine, not to mention appearances on the covers of People and Star. The only thing left to make them truly relevant in the world of entertainment is a Newsweek cover.
The tabloid tales of Jon’s alleged affair (must’ve been the free hair plugs!) and Kate’s iciness towards him and the kids have amped up interest in the show for me and others like me, making it, for the first time ever, “must-see TV.”
So it was with great anticipation that I tuned in to last night’s season premiere. (I have not had such an unhealthy appetite for a TLC show since my college roommate, Andrea, and I would blow off class to watch “The Wedding Story!”)
I have to say, it was compelling, ya’ll!
The 73-minute episode opened with Jon and Kate giving their routine “couch confessionals.” This time, though, they were done separately. (Dum Dum Duuuum!) An emotional Kate (great actress?) closed the introduction by saying, “Very swiftly we turned into two different people and it’s just ... hard.” (Cue single tear.) It must be mentioned that during the separate interviews, Jon sat on his usual side of the couch, while Kate sat in the middle (“center stage,” so to speak).
Although in hindsight it should’ve been expected, I was not prepared for the footage of the family being barraged by paparrazi. (This is what your idle gossip habit supports! Tsk! Tsk!) This “shocking” footage led into Jon and Kate discussing how the media storm has affected their privacy and security.
Interesting. Their “privacy” and “security” did not seem to be huge concerns when they paraded their eight children for all the world to see. Yes, I understand that they want to provide for them and secure their futures financially. But there must be a better way than making your toddlers the stars of a reality show.
Interesting, too, was the fact that during the couch confessionals, Kate was still berating Jon -- even though he wasn’t actually sitting next to her. (Perhaps her parents had been reading Shakespeare when they named her?) The episode wasn’t even three minutes in before Kate said, “Jon made some mistakes and he was out and whatever ... so that makes people question him.”
