Strollerderby : bad tv

Octomom to Kate: Don't You Judge Me

Madeline Holler — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:34:00 GMT

It's a battle of the super-breeders! The LA Times is reporting that Nadya Suleman (aka: Octomom) wants Kate Gosselin, star of TLC's "Jon & Kate + 8," to stop judging her.

Suleman's comments come after a recent episode of "Dr. Phil." Gosselin, the mother of five-year-old sextuplets and two older children, said that Suleman would have a difficult time raising her 14 children without a husband or money. She was responding to a question about Suleman's situation.

Here's what Suleman had to say in response:

"Do I have to watch it? She reminds me of my mother," said Suleman, a resident of La Habra, in an interview with Radar Online released this morning. "I have moved past my mistakes. She has her own issues. ... She needs to stop being so judgmental and stop pulling at straws for attention." ...

Suleman said in the video interview that Gosselin should focus on her own life. "My children are extremely healthy, strong and happy. Don't you have, like, a lot of issues in your life? A lot of marital problems?" she told Radar.

Ouch!

Incidentally, Suleman signed on for her own reality show. But producers want you to know it's different. Ocotomom herself will be holding the camera much of the time. Oh, that can't be good. That can't be good.

'Jon & Kate' Under Investigation

Blogger Defends Kate!

Image: LA Times

Moron Parents Abandon Kids for TV Fame

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:02:00 GMT

My first complaint about Baby Borrowers -- a new reality show in which five teenage couples care for the babies of a few morons who rented them out to NBC -- is that it's just bad television. If you're going to make a reality series about abandoned children, at least make it interesting.

Choose a grittier locale. Get a furry dog. A bald rich guy. A cute little orphan with red hair and maybe some catchy Broadway numbers about what a hard knock life it is but that somehow, tomorrow maybe, the sun will come out. Oh wait, that sounds familiar in some odd, distant way. But you get the picture. Baby Borrowers is not entertainment. It's dregs from the writer's strike -- brought forth during the summer TV doldrums to either sink or swim.

Let us hope it sinks.

Because my second complaint has to do with the aforementioned morons. But let me take a step back for those who haven't heard about NBC's latest reality show. Five teenage couples take care of an infant for three days, and then progress to caring for toddlers then teenagers and then old people. The idea is that this is some form of "birth control" -- showing these teens that raising children is actually hard work. And we get to watch their kooky antics ... joy. (Although did anyone actually hear these teenagers say they wanted to have a baby right away? Like, tomorrow? Like, they need a massive dose of reality check intervention to avoid making a mistake? Of course not.)

But there you go. That's the premise. Teenagers. Infants. NBC went from the West Wing to this. You're caught up.

So OK, back to the morons. Let's say for argument's sake you're dumb enough to give your infant to a TV network for three days. Let's even go a step further and say the cameras are rolling, you meet these teenagers who will be taking care of your infant and you think, "Well, they sure do look awfully young and immature, but what the hell? We're on TV, right?" and you hand over your baby. Then let's say one of those teenagers gets all pissy and lets your kid starve and is clearly frustrated. You wouldn't put up with that from a babysitter, but you're watching from a special "viewing home" nearby and somehow you decide to keep your baby in that situation ... why? Because you're a moron.

Would any sane parent let their infant get into that situation in the first place? The show says there are "shadow" nannies ready to step in at a moment's notice -- but that just seems like yet another glaring reason to avoid handing over your child. (Producer: "Look, they might be in danger - but we promise to step in with our secret cabal of shadow nannies." Ummmmm no thanks.)

The parents who pimped out of their children to a television network argue they're "helping" teenagers realize they're not ready to have kids. (Teenagers who never even say they're ready to have kids -- in fact, one couple says they just hope this "experiment" will save their "turbulent" relationship.)

"I was a teenage mother," says one moron, after dropping off her baby, "And I never got to be the person I could have been. But now I'm on national television and all I had to do was abandon my kid. Awesome!"

So I made up some of that last part. But still. The motive is clear -- some people will do anything to be on TV. Even put their kids at risk.

-- Mike at Cry It Out

Moms of Multiples Kick Butt

Adrienne Martini — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:30:00 GMT

It's time to come out of my closet of shame: I'm hooked on American Gladiators.

I know. I'm a parent of two, a college professor and a responsible taxpayer. I floss daily, for Pete's sake. I should know better. But there's just something about the whole cheesefest that is American Gladiators that hits my crappy TV sweet spot. It also hits Slate.com's Troy Patterson's sweet spot -- but for different reasons.

Part of the appeal is that my husband (then live-in boyfriend) and I watched it in college. It was a ritual, in fact, and a pseudo-date night that we rearranged our schedules in order to make. When you have no money, you make do with what you have.

Now, it's back. Thanks to the strike, most of the shows the spouse and I watch after the kids sack out are in reruns. After wrestling with the kids and jobs and life, we're both ready for something brainless.

Which Gladiators is. Contestants pit themselves against both the Gladiators and various obstacle courses. The show crackles with energy, despite the hosts, Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali's inane banter, which we just fast-forward through to get to the competitions. Unlike wrestling, the matches aren't fixed and there are no storylines. Also, unlike wresting, it isn't stupid.

But what finally rehooked me was competitor Monica. When Monday's episode started unreeling her heartwarming bio footage, I turned to my husband and said that she would smack the crap out of the competition. Why? Monica is a mom of twins. Moms of multiples are tough broads who laugh in the face of measly athletic challenges. If they can hold on to their sanity long enough to get them into school, moms of multiples can do almost anything they put their minds to.

Now I have to watch the rest of the season to see if Monica can keep on winning. I'm betting that she can.