Guilty Pleasures in Television

What exactly is a guilty pleasure? Wikipedia defines a guilty pleasure as something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. In other words: Something you like, but are ashamed to like it. In this article ill be talking all about guilty pleasure TV. The kind of shows that make you look out your front door to make sure your friends arent spying on you. I dont really consider myself to have any true guilty pleasures in my adult life (considering i really dont care if people make fun of me any longer). But being a kid with guilty pleasures is a whole different story. I may be destroying what little shred of dignity I have left, by revealing these to you guys but oh well bombs away!



My first guilty pleasure as a child was Mister Rogers Neighborhood. It was absolutely never cool to like this show. Even in preschool, if you admitted to liking Mister Rogers Neighborhood the name baby would immediately be slapped on you for the remainder of the year. Pre-school kids can be so so cruel.


Why I shouldnt have liked it: Lets be honest, this show is so simple a newborn infant could follow along. And at a time when mutant turtles were ninjas and rangers were mighty and morphin, an old man playing with puppets was just plain lame. The puppet play wasnt the only thing lame, just about everything he did was a snoozefest for a small child. Disagree? The highlights of the show involved him feeding his fish, waiting for the mail man and changing his sweater.

Why I liked it: I guess I was born with a love of all things retro because thats what I loved about the show. From start to finish you knew this show wasnt from your time. A lot of things have been said about Fred Rogers, many kids saw him as a kindly old grandfather figure, full of love and nurture and more love. Others found him to be more of a creepy old uncle that made them feel uncomfortable. I honestly think that Fred Rogers is an American hero. He devoted his entire life to making kids feel loved and teaching them that they are special just the way they are. This all may sound horribly corny, but in all honesty, I could only hope that my kids would learn something like that from a television show. For any Mr.Rogers fans reading this, check out the link below and tell me you dont have a little fuzzy feeling in your stomach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcvRMHz4mb4


Next up? Barney and Friends! Yes that loveable purple dinosaur thats been rockin the PBS airways for 17 years now! For those living under a rock for the last 17 years heres the scoop: Barney is a dinosaur toy at a daycare that comes to life and dances with a bunch of unattended children. Yep pretty much just 238 episodes of that.


Why I shouldnt have dug it: I shouldnt have dug it for every reason, this (like Mister Rogers) always seemed to be aimed at an age group younger than me. Mister Roger's plot was very boring and basic, but atleast it made sence. A giant dinosaur and some non terrified kids? I think not. And where was the day care staff? You never saw a single adult, except for the ones Barney would warp in from the past (yeah that makes sence).

Why I did dig it: I didnt. I dont have a clue why I watched it, but I did. Every kid at my school would have probably stonned me to death, but i still found myself watching it. I think PBS transmitted some sort of hypno-beam through the screen during the show because it really didnt have any saving qualities.


Gerbert. I found myself watching this christian puppet show in my younger days. Its not my fault i watched the show, I blame Gerbert himself. I felt so bad for him, i knew that no kids were watching him and he was so pathetic. I couldnt just walk away from him. Plus the show threw in biblical elements, so I wouldnt just be walking away from Gerbert. I'd be walking away from God himself! Even the most die hard Barney fan would call me a wuss if he walked in on me enjoying this sunday morning show.
Why I shouldnt watch it: The show was so depressing! My parents had to hide the razor blades when it was on. Okay so maybe it wasnt that bad, but Gerbert was always down or pissed off about something. Nothing but bad things ever happened to him, he loses his teddy bear, his dog dies, his mom beats him. Alright maybe that last part didnt happen, but honestly it was a bummer.


Why I should have watched it: Aside from its positive message, the show did have some actually funny moments. The character above is Binny Brush. Hes pretty much a crazy homeless hippy paint brush that makes stuff out of garbage. Im not making that up, and I genuinley laugh every time I see that guy.


Full House. I know all of us have sat through one episode of this show. In a time when TGIF was all the rage how could liking this show make you the object of ridicule? One word, Michelle. That little troll was everywhere! Michelle dolls, Michelle books, Michelle shoes, " You got it dude" this and "Oh baby" that. She literally took over the show as soon as she could walk.

Why I shouldnt be ashamed: The show is a strange kind of entertaining. Its not funny in any way shape or form, yet I was strangly drawn to the story, just to see what happens. I think it must have been Uncle Jesse. I thought he was such a badass. That roaring harley, that rockin band, that wild flowing mullet. Definitely someone to look up to.


Why I should be ashamed of myself: Like I said, the show was not funny. Back in 1987 when the show was created, it was supposed to be an adult comedy about three single guys. They actually mentioned sex a few times and said damn and hell. As the three children got older something happened and the show completely took focus off the guys and placed it on the kids. Suddenly it became a show all about girl's life and girl's problems. Totally lame for an eight year old boy.


There are some shows that I was ashamed of as a child but as an adult I actually find these shows to be quite good. And to start these off, here is a show that I still get ridiculed for to this day. The Golden Girls. My mother was a "stay at home mom" so I ended up watching quite a bit of television aimed at women.Yet I managed to turn out relatively normal, even though I know all the golden girls by full character name and actress name. Alright so maybe im not so normal.


Why I loved it: Its actually a very well written show, those crazy ladies are entertaining as hell. And im not afraid to admit it. Not to mention Bea Arthur is smokin hot! Alright im just kiddin there, but really it won a ton of Emmys and Golden Globes.

Why I shouldnt have loved it: This show is probably the most universally panned show among non gay men. If you dont think so try mentioning Golden Girls next time your around your guy friends and watch the laughs unfold. Its understandable though, i mean it is a show about four old ladies that talk about sex and menopause. That sums it up pretty nicely.


Yep, Mama's Family. Another product of watching television with my mom. This show was about a sassy lady called Mama (aka Thelma Harper) and her mooching family. They lived in a town named Raytown and hung out at a bar called the Bigger Jigger. What else can I say? If that doesnt spark your interest, nothing can.


Why I shouldnt have watched: It was a show
about another sassy old lady. At that age I thought that all shows should have just been filled with macho, beef jerky eating men...preferably ninjas (or robots).

Why I should have watched: She was an old lady and she cursed alot. That was quite a novelty to me back then because none of the old people I knew cursed.


Last but not least, the one and only Bob Ross. You know the fro sportin hippy that paints "happy little trees" in his spare time. Yep, just one man with one fro talking about happy things and painting majestic mountains. I think this maybe came on after sesame street or something, but it was the most relaxing thing in the world to me.
Why watch: Like i said this was insanely relaxing! Its like a whole day of medatation crammed into thirty minutes. I think the world would be a better place if they took the time to watch this guy paint for a bit each day.
Why not watch: There actually isnt a reason not to watch Bob Ross, the guy is amazing!





Well there you have it, my awful dirty secrets of television. Id like to get a few things out of the way now, im aware a few years ago there was an article about guilty pleasure movies. Hopefully you can enjoy my article none the less. And another thing, I am not and never will be an english major, and im pretty sure most of you guys arent either. So please keep in mind that you are commenting on peoples articles not grading them. Now, with all that being said, let the public humiliation commence!