You’d think with all the streaming platforms we have nowadays there would at least be some good stuff to watch. However, TV today isn’t the same as what it used to be. Reality shows used to dominate pop culture. We would take a bunch of really good and some horribly bad singers, put them in front of a British guy who’s only joy in life is crushing others’ dreams, and try to find the next big American pop star. That was entertainment.
Now, TV is all about making people feel good and expressing your individuality. Screw that. I want the type of entertainment back where you and your family squeeze on the couch just to laugh at people for thinking they deserve to be famous. Shows like Fear Factor, Wife Swap, or anything that TLC ever aired need to make a comeback. I want the type of TV where real people embarrass themselves in front of the entire world. However, because it doesn’t seem like that type of television is making a return anytime soon, I have regressed to watching shows from when I was growing up. Boy, did I forget how great TV truly used to be. I bet you all did too. So, to refresh your memory, here are four shows you either forgot about or have never heard of before. Either way, check them out because they are some of the best forms of entertainment ever created.
Baggage
Hosted by the late great Jerry Springer, Baggage was a dating show that aired between 2010-2013. The premise of the show was to match two lucky contestants on a date. There would be a main contestant looking for love with three other contestants as potential date options. Throughout an episode, the three potential dates would reveal secrets about themselves that the main contestant may find to be detrimental “baggage.” If you are confused, think of it like “red flags.” Each round, all three of the contestants would share one of their own biggest red flags, with each round’s flag becoming redder and redder. Finally, by the end of the episode, the main contestant would choose who they wanted to go on a date with. It’s a simple structure, but man does it work. The people they would find on this show were insane. It’s almost as if they had no self-respect or remorse for anything they’ve ever done. You would get people whose baggage was like “I hate dogs,” and the next person would just be like “I used to be a man.” It was all time television and I highly suggest a network brings it back.
Moment of Truth
Moment of Truth was a show where a contestant would answer questions while hooked up to a lie detector. Questions would get more personal as they went on, but each time the person answered a question truthfully they would win money. If someone was caught lying, they would go home with nothing. Seems pretty tame, right? Nope, not at all. The show would put all of the contestant’s family and friends in the same room and ask questions like “have you ever cheated on your wife?” or “do you ever have any homosexual fantasies?” Basically, the show should’ve been called Tell The World Your Deepest Secrets For Cash! If you like seeing a person’s life turn to shambles on live TV, you will love Moment of Truth.
Kid Nation
Have you ever read Lord Of The Flies? Basically, this show is a real life version of that book. They get a group of 40 children and stick them in the middle of nowhere to set up their own society. As you’d expect, it is utter chaos and some of the best programming to ever grace screens across the globe. All of the problems that you could possibly expect come up, plus a ton of other ridiculous stuff. I won’t give anything away, but I will say that a child does drink bleach (he’s fine, I think). Kid Nation didn’t even get canceled for being bad. People loved the show, but due to child labor laws, it was very difficult to get that many minors on a set for so long. Hence there only being one season.
Freaky Eaters
Of course we needed a TLC show on this list. Freaky Eaters was essentially a mix of My Strange Addiction and My 600lb Life. Each episode focused on a new person with some crazy food addiction. Some episodes were pretty tame such as curing a woman who only ate cheeseburgers or a man that refused to eat anything other than pizza. However, there were also episodes where people were addicted to eating things that they shouldn’t have ever been eating in the first place. One episode, there is a woman who solely eats corn starch. Yup, raw powdered corn starch. That’s it. There were also people who ate all of their meat completely raw and others who would put loads of pancake syrup on everything they ate. It was one of the most vile and entertaining shows ever. Please TLC, give us a reboot.
