Monday, March 3, 2008

Crazy TV Entertainment

I knew it was only a matter of time.
When I saw ads on TV for My Dad's Better Than Your Dad, I thought, oh, crap, this is just asking for trouble. Not only do we have grown men competing against one another in a nationally televised pissing match, we have grown men competing against one another in front of their kids!
In many ways, when I got sucked into it last week, I found it sweet. A little Asian girl squeals with intensity as her dad sends her flying by a harness at a target on which she must toss some giant darts. With her jet black braids flowing from her head, it was hard not to get a kick out of it.
But, there's the down side, of course. Like the dad who made an ass out of himself during the question round when he said the "J" in JK Rowling stood for Joshua. (He and his son were eliminated because they live under a rock).
As much as there are nice moment; kids hugging dads, high-fiving, doing a special hand-shake together, telling each other how highly they think of one another and how proud they are to have them, you also have dads who are trying not to look like a chump in front of their kid. Well, really, they are all trying not to look like a chump in front of their kid.
Well, my concern was realized during tonight's show (keeping in mind it's only been on the air a few weeks). In an effort to keep-up with the Mr. California Dad he was competing against, Mr. Science Teacher Dad was sent to the hospital for heart problems.
He's fine, but you get my point. I can see the Saturday Night Live spoof sketch in my head right now, "My Dad Died While Competing Against Your Dad".
The show kinda makes me nervous.

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