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For a True Story Part III: TV Shows



I am not into reality shows per se. I find most of them mindless and it sickens me that people with a sixth grade education like those rejects on the Jersey Shore are making millions of dollars. When I think of them, it makes me crazy. Now that being said, I could never give up my Kardashians. That’s a family show.  

However, this week I am writing about true stories, and I think we can all agree the series listed below are intriguing.

(TLC) My Strange Addiction is too soft a term for what goes on here. If you are addicted to sleeping with your hot hair dryer on in your bed or you think a blow-up doll is your actual, living, breathing wife, then you will relate to this show. I want to know what other strange addictions exist in the world that I am not yet aware of. Sundays, 10/9c



(A&E) Picture not cleaning your house or apartment in the last ten years and instead throwing garbage and everything you own on the floor. Now on top of that image, you keep buying and adding to your mess. This my friends is a classic hoarder. This show is definitely one of my favorites. It can be totally sickening to watch and there are some episodes I take all week to watch because I can’t bare it all at once. I am completely fascinated that people can live in their own filth and usually go for years without heat and running water. The best part is always the ending when they finally convince the old crazy person that they are indeed hoarders and the1-800-GOT-JUNK? guys aren’t going to wait forever. They start cleaning up and inevitably they find the crushed cat skeleton posed like it was praying for help. And it’s always a surprise, even if they had a cat they haven’t seen alive in twelve years. If nothing else you walk away feeling good about your life and hopefully your home as well. Mondays, 9/8c.



(NBC) There have been two seasons of this show so far and I’m so glad it has been renewed for a third. Here, celebrities trace their ancestry and find out all kinds of cool stuff. For instance, Brooke Shields is directly related to the Kings of France and her ancestors once lived in the mansion that is now the Louvre Museum in Paris. I hate her. But I do wish the people from ancestry.com that work on the show would come to my house and tell me about my relative’s history. Although; that could really go either way. Fridays & Saturdays, 8/7c

 


(Animal Planet) That there are even enough people in the world that qualify to make this show a series and not a stand-alone special is enough reason to watch.
If you would like to be on this show all you have to do is:  
    • Illegally purchase a wild animal online,
    • Keep it for a few years telling everyone around you that this “tiger, elephant, bear, cobra, bull, etc” is your family and would never harm you,
    • Let it kill you, and
    • Then once it murders you, your family will come on this show and talk about how they saw it coming.
          How can anyone be this stupid? Like Chris Rock says, “that tiger didn’t go crazy, that tiger went    
          tiger.” Fridays, 9/8c.



(E!) Who says you can’t learn anything from watching TV? This show is an oldie but a goodie, spanning over a decade and 500 episodes. I have watched episodes on people I had never heard of before and walked away enlightened. For instance, I never knew who Sharon Tate was until I watched the true story of her life, and mainly death. There are so many A and B list celebrities out there that you can probably fill up an entire year watching their life stories. It makes me wonder what would be said at the end of mine. It also makes me think of the scene in “Along Came Polly” when acting God Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character walks around with a film crew that are allegedly filming his episode. There really should be an E! True Hollywood Story about E! True Hollywood Stories. Currently in reruns.


(OWN) Without fail, every time I watch this show I believe I have every disease discussed. I think it is educational and entertaining. People discuss misdiagnosed and/or undiagnosed illnesses they have had for anywhere from six months to ten years, and why it took so long to figure out what they had.  I will continue to watch just in case one day I need to diagnose myself. Wednesdays 9/8c.


(Lifetime) Oh Beth why do you do this to yourself? After losing her daughter Natalee to a teenage murderer named Joran van der Sloot in Aruba in 2005, Ms. Holloway is now trying to help others who are in the same predicament. She visits and talks with the families of missing persons and hopes that someone watching will be able to help, ala America’s Most Wanted. Most of the time she breaks down and cries along with these families and I don’t know who to feel sorrier for. But Beth is a tough bird and she is determined to use her fame for something good. I admire anyone who takes a negative and makes it a positive. I always hope I recognize someone they are looking for, but no such luck yet. Mondays, 10/9c.        


(Food Network) I realize at first glance that this might not seem like a TV show based on a true story but it technically is. Now of course I love this show and try to go to all of the places I find interesting any time I travel. I also love hearing the chefs discuss the stories behind these dishes and how they came to find out about them. That’s the best part. You have to know why it is the best thing they ever ate, to know if it’s worth finding out if it’s the best thing you’ll ever eat. Mondays 10:30/9:30c.


(History) This is a new show and the first season has only begun in recent weeks. I don’t know if they will be or could be a second season but if there is I am ALL in. This is a topic I never thought about and now it seems like such an obvious question. You will be surprised about what cultural, political, and geographical elements had input in shaping our states and always leave wanting more.  Reruns

Now these next four shows are on my favorite channel, one seemingly created just for me...Investigation Discovery. Sometimes I think they are somehow tapping into my brain and stealing my ideas. If this channel didn’t exist my DVR might actually have room on it. Thank God that is not the case!
 



God how I love this show! Let me count the ways! One, you need to really know the person you are marrying. Two, even if you have them investigated there is still a chance they are a serial killer or in Mary Jo Buttafuco’s case, have a teenage girl try to murder you. Three, after the spouse’s secret is found out, their family is always surprised and in denial. So the next time you say to yourself, “Who the Bleep Did I Marry?”, be grateful it is not for these reasons. Wednesdays, 10/9c


I recently discovered Ms. Jones and now I’m obsessed with her and this show. She is a true crime writer who travels the nation and dives into famous criminal cases, always revealing more information than the public has ever been aware of.  You can bet that if Nancy Grace can’t find out the truth, Aphrodite Jones will. Thursdays, 10/9c.


It is just that. It takes you behind the most twisted, horrible crimes ever committed and is definitely not for the faint of heart. I have actually heard of most of these individuals and their crimes, but that’s only because I have the encyclopedia of serial killers. You will definitely learn a lot. Fridays at 10/9c.


This is a combination of a lot of crime shows out there. There are cases, mostly unknown, and during the hour you try to follow along and figure out who committed the crime. It’s a real who dunnit. Usually it’s someone that is hiding something and is the last person likely to have been suspected. I always loved the game CLUE as a child, maybe this is why I love this show so much. Only here it is not usually the maid, in the conservatory, with the rope. But I guess anything is possible. Thursdays, 10/9c (this is in the same time slot as True Crime mentioned above, but they air during different seasons)


What does Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Sally Field all have in common? Check back tomorrow for Part IV to find out!!!




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