i'm so over reality tv

i admit it. i used to be a big reality tv fan. my biggest weaknesses were american idol , survivor and the apprentice. i was probably the only person who was sad when they cancelled the apprentice: martha stewart (she wrote sweet notes to each fired contestant!) and i secretly rejoiced when i learned there would be a second season of the real housewives of orange countyy.

but, my reality show watching has decreased significantly in recent months. i blame it on the fact that i no longer own a dvr. but this change in my taste in television is not a bad thing. a lot of the shows i used to love have slipped from my weekly rotation. i no longer have a show i watch every night of the week. let me repeat, there are actually nights, more often than not, when i say to myself, there is nothing i am dying to watch on tv tonight. let me pop in a dvd.

the problem is the things that are on tv. reality tv and game shows dominate. serial dramas like heroes, 24 and lost fill in the gaps. but i've lost interest in lost, and never got into heroes or the rest. i find myself watching america idol most nights, although i don't really care the way i used to. i crave mindless half-hour and hour long comedies or dramadies. shows that don't require a knowledge of the back story. shows that i can watch one week and not the next and not miss anything. i have been watching a lot of law & order.

my current favorites in this vein are the office, house, ugly betty and medium. i still religiously watch desperate housewives and grey's anatomy, but they require week-to-week dedication. beyond that? i'm dying for something new. i need something like the o.c. to come in a catch my eye this summer.

i got to thinking about this while watching..for lack of anything better...dancing with the stars. the show is crap. this is coming from a self-described reality show fan. heather mills looks fake, from head to toe. (did she have a lot of work done?) ian zering is annoying. i just can't get into this.

this is the best you can do, networks? the reality tv shows has me running to the scripted shows, which let me down, too. so i'm stuck waiting for the newest seasons of project runway and top chef (the best reality tv on tv) and sticking to the food network.