I’m old enough to remember the good old days when MTV just showed music videos. That was fun. “Thriller” just isn’t the same on YouTube. But OMG, am I obsessed with MTV’s documentaries.
It started with one several years ago about people obsessed with their dogs. There was a little doggie wedding, but the bride’s owners left the groom at the altar when they decided the groom was too big for their little pug. It was delightful television–you got to feel superior, and you got to peek into a weird little world. Good stuff!
Of course, nowadays TV is full of reality shows that fulfill the same function. But I don’t actually have access to much TV, living in Switzerland. (Swiss TV simply doesn’t count, I’m afraid.) But the MTV shows still bring it. I’ve seen Pimp My Ride in Norway, Prague, Italy–everywhere. It’s always on in airports, for some reason. I won’t speculate on why.
At the moment I’m obsessed with Teen Mom, I’m sorry to say, and I Used to Be Fat. The Teen Mom thing is technically research–a teen pregnancy plays a role in the book I’m writing, and hey, I write for teens–but also the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Will Jenelle step up and be a real mom for Jace? Will Chelsea get a clue and ban Adam from her life forever? Will the teenagers watching get the message that condoms are a really, really good thing? I wonder.
I Used to Be Fat is completely different. I started watching that because I am struggling hard with losing my baby weight. People say, “9 months on, 9 months off” as if the weight just creeps down without really trying. And maybe that works for some people. But not me, it seems.
When I watch the show I’m desperate for the teens to lose whatever ridiculous amount they’re planning to lose in three months. These kids work out with a trainer 4 hours a day–with Rosie, I’m lucky to work out 4 hours a week. And they mostly fail, which makes for riveting TV. But then they go off to college and come back even thinner, which is fantastic.
I haven’t had a working TV in my house for more than ten years, so I don’t watch that much TV. Supernatural (which should have way more fans), The Wire, the odd British show with my husband. But my love for MTV is so intense that I would actually consider getting a TV just so I could watch MTV shows when they actually air.
But.
But.
But here in Switzerland, MTV is dubbed into German. Dubbing! Practically everything else on TV is subtitled, but not MTV. My husband says this is because MTV is now TV for idiots. (Full disclosure: back when MTV showed music videos, my husband was in one. He’s biased.)
Anyway, I hope he’s not right, because I WANT MY MTV.
[/caption]