Prime time TV sinks to new lows

By Nicole Rodriguez

Although a skeptic at first, I have to admit that I eventually succumbed to the guilty pleasures of the now-ubiquitous reality show.

Although I missed the first two installments of "The Bachelor," I followed Trista Rehn's "Bachelorette" journey from the first episode to the final proposal and even managed to find entertainment value in Fox's borderline ridiculous "Joe Millionaire."

However, lately it seems as though networks have been so desperate to cash in on the reality-based profit that they will produce anything - no matter how tacky and tasteless it is.

A prime example: ABC's "Are You Hot: The Search For America's Sexiest People," which aired its series finale last Thursday night. This show features all of the degrading aspects of a beauty pageant with none of their redeeming qualities.

The basic show premise is as follows: a bunch of bikini-clad women and topless men are paraded in front of a panel of has-been celebrity judges (including "Renegade's" Lorenzo Lamas) who proceed to point out all of their physical flaws on national television.

Although something like the Miss America pageant is cheesy and superficial, at least it makes an attempt to show some depth with talent competitions and interviews. "Are You Hot," however, never even bothered to make any such attempt.

The only questions posed to the contestants run along the lines of "Did you think you were hot enough to make it this far?" and "What does it feel like to be sexy?" And, of course, the show's host always sends off the losers with the same comment: "I'm sorry, but you're not hot enough."

And this is just the beginning. Aside from fostering eating disorders in America's youth, the broadcasting companies have also taken it upon themselves to contribute to our growing divorce rate with the introduction of Fox's "Married By America," a series which takes five people and allows viewers to log on to a website and match them with complete strangers.

Reality television has the potential to be more fun to watch than the average sitcom, but it seems that lately TV producers have strayed from the slice of life concept the shows used to be based on. "Are You Hot" and the succession of spin-offs it is sure to spawn proves that the greatest reality we are now being exposed to is the ridiculous lengths both producers and contestants will go to in order to make a quick buck or get fifteen minutes in the limelight.