Reality at its Un-reality-est ...

John and Kate Plus 8 is something, like so many other reality shows on cable, I unknowingly get sucked in to when flipping through cable channels on a rainy afternoon. But there's something about this show that infuriates me.

In a time of financial uncertainty of many Americans, the Discovery Channel has the balls to continue to air (and worse pay for) the life of a family of twins and sextuplets and the trials and tribulations the parents have in raising them. I have seen an episode where the mother travels to New York to receive lypo-suction for free from a doctor who's wife had seen the show and the husband has received hairplugs...both for free. I have seen an episode where the family traveled to Sesame Place, a children's amusement park north of Philadelphia and had received special treatment including free rides and visits with the muppet characters, all private and away from the general public.

In interview segments of the show, the couple talks about the difficulties of raising 8 children, yet in these segments you don't hear a sound coming from any of these children. Are these interviews held in the middle of the night or is there someone (a nanny no one is supposed to see or members of The Discovery Channel team) watching the children off-camera?

They (reality-TV producers) are stuck making these shows to save money on actors/sets and other expenses that go in to making scripted television and yet they still call it reality?

Now I hear there's a new family on the reality-tv couch; a family of 19.

How much money are they being paid to talk about their hardships?

How many free gifts will they receive?

Reality TV is becoming the best job to have in this millenium...