The Hills and Jon and Kate Plus 8

Good news: I finally have DVR.

Bad news: I haven't been posting for awhile! And for that, I am SO SORRY. Things have been hectic, I was out of state the past weekend, etc etc.

That being said, there's two specific things I want to discuss here today - The Hills and Jon and Kate Plus 8.

The Hills started up again last week, the second half of the fifth season - Kristin Cavallari has officially replaced Lauren Conrad as the "star" of what I am calling a borderline reality show. In press junkets leading up to the premiere last week, Kristin basically said the show is fake and things are scripted. That being said, is it a reality show? I think the line is drawn when producers get involved and tell the cast what to talk about - in reality shows, producers should not be involved in the filming unless someone's dying. They should not be allowed to "guide" the conversation so they can create an episode. This used to be one of my favorite shows, but with the addition of Kristin and her discussions of how the producers wanted her to be with Justin Bobby, it makes the show less real and more fake. That bugs me.

Jon and Kate Plus 8 is a serious mess. Let me start off by saying that this is still one of my favorite shows but has become less fun and more awkward to watch over the past year. The reason that I can't give up watching the trainwreck on television is because I've watched this show for the past few years and felt like I personally knew Aaden, Alexis, Cara, Collin, Mady, Leah, Hannah, and Joel. See, I even know all their names, and if you want them in birth order I can do that too, and describe their personalities. It sounds weird, but I loved watching them grow and evolve on the show, even if their parents gave up their privacy.

Jon has turned into a major douche bag - much, MUCH more so than Douchey Scott. He is totally up for a "worst father of the year" award. Their divorce has become a mess and tabloid fodder. It's a completely he said/she said thing.... and I feel like I need to chime in, like everyone else with a voice has. They used to be my favorite family and they definitely had their quirks and their problems as a couple. I really thought they were in love when they renewed their vows in Hawaii and made for great television too. So I felt fooled when tabloids started printing that Jon was with other women in the winter, and thought it was just friends, and when more and more information started coming out, it looked to be that they were having marriage difficulties. The thing was, it started to roll from a snowball into a HUGEEEEEEEEE snowball in a matter of months, and then they were quickly announcing a separation/divorce. Then, from there, it just seemed to get worse. Every tabloid ran stories about them, and it looks like it's hit the pinnacle last week when TLC decided that "Jon and" would be dropped from the show's title... renaming it "Kate plus eight" and focusing on her raising eight children as a single mother. Jon would still make appearances in the show, but (my opinion) wouldn't be paid quite as much.

So how did Jon retaliate? He told TLC to stop filming and thought it was hurting his kids. Even though he has always said the kids loved filming. All of a sudden, he said he had an epiphany. More like, he realized that his cash flow was going to significantly decline. If a lot of people didn't like him now, this probably pushed them over the edge. I think Kate is selfish for continuing the show when she can raise kids now on the money she's made from the show, and her books and tv appearances and etc etc, but I think Jon is much, much, MUCH more selfish for stopping the show because he was basically kicked off it.

For those reasons, even though I loved the show, it's much different now. The show has taken a turn for the worse. Kate makes a jab at the absent Jon at least once every episode. The only thing I do like watching now is that they have the kidlets make appearances in the interview room, and they're super cute discussing the event that's being profiled in the episode. I continue to stay Team Plus 8 and sometimes Kate, but Jon needs to take a reality check (no pun intended) and shop being douchey.