Apparently TLC wanted to introduce a "Real Housewives of..." type reality show where the women are more "relateable." Why would they choose Alabama? *I* don't find people from the South to be relateable. Were there no relateable women in bigger cities or towns like New York City, or Chicago, Los Angeles, etc? How are a bunch of housewives in a rural redstate "relateable"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So13bmEwnOM&feature=related
I included a poorly taped commercial from YouTube. Yes, it looks like someone literally just set their cell phone cam up and taped the goddamn thing off their TV, but there aren't very many teasers for this show.
I also found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6746-IR1X9o
Apparently this girl that is going to be on Bama Belles isn't from 'Bama, she's from NYC. She'd never been there before. I'm going to stalk her website and see how exactly she got into this... did she marry someone from the south? Did she move there simply to be on the show? I guess it's still legit if she actually moved there year-round with her husband, although, like many "reality" shows, I doubt she did. Look at LA Ink, when they're not recording, apparently many of the artists that "work" in the shop are not there. Which, to me, is a total lie. I know, the show is just about drama, but at least Miami Ink was much more realistic... which is an adjective you would want to be able to use to describe your reality show, no?
So that brings me back to Bama Belles. Who are these girls? Are they all already friends? Or are they friends like on the Hills? And is this Val Tignini their Kristin Cavalleri? Some chick they threw in and pretended they already knew, or decided to take on and just filmed the growing pains? We shall see.
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I briefly surfed her website, in that little pagebreak. Apparently the point of her website, which she owns and created, is as follows:
"My company goal is to create a community for women online and offline where they find comfort from our Neighbors and to feel safe enough to ask ValSecrets' Neighbors or the ValSecrets community questions about their lives." Okay, so she happened to hit it big, but already had a site? I'm still confused.
I did find a 1:00 or so excert from the show. The NY Socialite (Val) is dragged to a lawnmower race, and mentions that there are people in the stands with no teeth, and her HorseFaced friend got angry because her Daddy is missing a tooth. http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/bama-belles-off-to-the-lawn-mower-races.html
So, basically, from TLC we get another staged "reality" show. I don't know why TLC favors these reality shows like this. Like Sarah Palin's Alaska, I have to doubt she does these amazing things every single day. I think it's like (Jon and) Kate Plus Eight, TLC pays for these activities that they may not be able to afford or participate in normally in order to be able to film them. Now, I don't think they FUND Palin's activities on the show 100%, but I'm SURE they said something along the lines of, "Hey, do you want to be able to show all of America that they're wrong about you and Alaska?" and she said, "sure."
Anyway, back on topic: I think the "relateable" part of this series is the New York Socialite getting stuck doing these backwater hillbilly things that are beyond her scope of imagination. THAT'S relateable, to me. Because I've never even SEEN a ride on lawnmower in person, and would never, ever get on one with the intention to race other people. So I'm guessing this is the entire premise of the show. I could be wrong, but not an episode has aired. TLC only has three made and ordered, and they're going to see how it does. The Youtube posts don't have many comments, and there isn't much when you Google. There aren't many things on TLC's site, they don't even have it under listed shows, BUT you can't say that TLC is pulling a FOX or NBC and totally watching something they put money into drown. Unlike FOX or NBC, they took the money to create the show and are plugging the shit out of it, so I will give TLC that.
If this show succeeds, and honestly, it shouldn't, FOX and NBC need to get on the phone with TLC and ask how they did it. FOX and NBC will take these awesome, truly unique premises for TV shows and just crap on them and watch them drown. Meanwhile, TLC is taking a show that is not at all unique (it's "The Simple Life", with the exception that they don't do gross chores, they do "fun" activities unique to the south), and plugging the crap out of it, giving it a chance, and it will probably become a long-lived show. Because, let's face it, TLC actually knows how to treat their shows from a PR perspective.
