Well said Mary Cas...I REALLY couldn't agree with you more! That said, I STILL can't turn away from American Idol, Survivor or the Apprentice.

I find it funny how some people I know will assume that I am a shallow, uneducated, uncouth individual for watching these shows when nothing could be further from the truth. For me it is mindless entertainment - a guilty pleasure if you will -in which I don't have to devote too much time or mental energy to.I can walk out of the room and if I miss 10 minutes - big whoop. It gives my work friends something to talk about by the water cooler - talking about people on TV rather than the alternative - gossiping about "real life" people we know. It's light, it's stupid, but it's fun for some people. I'm guilty as charged.

Funny these are the same people who give ME a hard time because I don't watch those "gripping dramas" on TV - you know...the TRUE and REAL ones like CSI, ER, and whatever the cop show du jour is ( I dont even know!!!) We all know THOSE are real. The retired cop I live with and all our friends in the biz will tell you how real that stuff is...

For the record, I have never seen an episode of Seinfeld, Everyone loves Raymond, South Park, Cheers or whatever sitcom has been out there the last 10 years not since I watched the Facts of Life when I was a teenager . Maybe I was too afraid I would get too attached to the characters in a weekly sitcom (I'm still not over Rachel not exactly being Ross's lobster...

That said, I must settle in to watch the Idol in 5 minutes. No sex, no violence, no vulgarity unless you count Ryan's hair. Something the whole family can watch together.

Go Mario and Nadia!!!! :p