Television, etc.

I try not to watch too much TV.  There are a lot of shows that are stupid (Real Housewives of Wherever), annoying (everything on during the day), or not funny at all (almost every network sitcom).  Sure, there are some good shows.  In particular, I like Family Guy, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Tosh.0, and this new series on HBO called Boardwalk Empire.  Generally, though, if I’m not watching sports or the Ski Channel, I’m not watching TV.

That might change, however with the recent announcement of A$pen: The Series.  From what I gather, it’s a scripted sitcom about the making of a (fictional) reality show in Aspen, Colorado.  It’s aimed at the 18-34 year old demographic, and it includes cameos from Paris Hilton, Carmen Electra, and Bode Miller.  Wow.  In addition, the article promises that “Scenes shot in Aspen include EXTREME SPORTS at one of the planet’s greatest ski resorts” (my uppercase, but it would’ve been a lot cooler if they wrote it like that).  The producers say that the actors and actresses (who are playing the roles of reality show contestants, I assume) “are shown as wealthy spoiled brats loving HARD, skiing HARD, and having HUGE bank accounts” (my uppercase again . . . sorry).

Maybe I’m being a little bit of a curmudgeon, but do we really need more “spoiled brats” on television?  We already have the Kardashians, the Housewives, and The Hills (ended, but somehow surviving in syndication).  At some point, don’t people get tired of watching rich people whine about trivial problems?  There’s an opportunity, I guess, to use the format of the show to take the piss out of these types of “stars”, and maybe that’s what they are going to do.  Maybe the $ in the title means that they recognize the ridiculousness of the culture, and they are going to savagely knock people down as hilarity ensues.  I’ll definitely be watching, so I’m hoping that it’s more Joe Shmo and less The Mountain.

Really, though, isn’t it time that we expected a little more from our televisions?  And shouldn’t we expect more from our internet, too?  Here’s a post from Onthesnow.com:

The work also involved building an Interconnect between North Pole and Gore, and a new quad chairlift at Gore.

Wow.  North Pole and Gore??  Sweet!!  Coca-cola for All!!!

But just when I thought all was lost, I found this solid internet post, about a sick early season backcountry excursion in Montana’s Bridger Mountains.  A guy went out skiing on September 12^th after an early season storm dropped a few inches on some of his favorite lines.  Unfortunately, it appears as though someone beat him to the goods:

I hoped to get first tracks but two people beat me to it, probably the day before.  The top half was great thick pow that sloughed while I skied down.  The second half was tight due to lack of snow, but skiable until the top of the apron. Pretty much the best September turns I”ve ever got.  Cheers to who ever beat me to the Great One, nice work.

Probably those spoiled brats from A$pen.  I heard they were EXTREME.