June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547451 I hate the Pickers show but i do think the characters are at least believable as buffoonish, self-absorbed carny assholes out to screw people.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547452 God that Pickers show pisses me off. I can accept some of the characters that wonder into the pawn shop as people that should have left the casino floor earlier. I get really pissed off seeing some old widow sell an artifact of her late husbands for cents on the dollar and seeing the Pickers stride back to the car with great glee. Only reality show I can stand at this point is Big Brother and Top Chef. Much like soap operas, I have a lot of personal context to most of the Bravo reality shows through my wife. I swear she also likes quality programming like Mad Men and Game of Thrones.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547453 Also: Bob Dylan...what the hell? Even if he's a big fan, THAT was weird for a clearly bogus plot. Anyone know what this is about? Didn't catch the reference and as a Bob fan would like to know.
June 10, 201312 yr Author comment_5547454 I enjoy Tabatha Takes Over for the absurdity of it. It seems like someone with such a spotless record of saving small businesses that are about to go under -- and within a week at that! -- would be in higher demand.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547455 I would enjoy seeing Tabatha interact with Chikara to turn the business around.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547461 Also: Bob Dylan...what the hell? Even if he's a big fan, THAT was weird for a clearly bogus plot. Anyone know what this is about? Didn't catch the reference and as a Bob fan would like to know. Bob Dylan's first appearance on American television in who knows how many years was as part of a Pawn Stars scripted B-story where Chumlee (the show's buffoon character) was sent to find him on the Las Vegas strip so he could autograph an album they bought.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547462 Big Brother used to be great but the producers over the past few years have put their hands so deep into it trying to make things go the way they wanted that it's ruined the show.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547463 Also: Bob Dylan...what the hell? Even if he's a big fan, THAT was weird for a clearly bogus plot. Anyone know what this is about? Didn't catch the reference and as a Bob fan would like to know. Bob Dylan's first appearance on American television in who knows how many years was as part of a Pawn Stars scripted B-story where Chumlee (the show's buffoon character) was sent to find him on the Las Vegas strip so he could autograph an album they bought. Jesus. (as soon as I get home you know I'm watching it )
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547464 When Steve Carell was on Letterman promoting Burt Wonderstone a few months back he admitted his appearance on Pawn Stars was completely scripted. I mean it's obvious to anyone watching but it's rare for that to come out I guess.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547465 And even though parts of Pawn Stars are rigged it's still highly entertaining and the spinoffs they have spawned are great as well. American Restoration, Counting Cars, and Lords of War even though it's on a another network are highly informative and entertaining. American Pickers is maybe the least looking staged show on the A&E/History family and the best overall IMO. Sure the freestyles are almost all planned but the way they handle everything makes it look so good. Somehow I missed that Lords of War ended up making it to series, I was looking forward to it when I heard they were doing a pilot with Sean Rich. Seems like NatGeo isn't airing any episodes right now, new or otherwise...is it coming back? I agree about American Pickers. Obviously there's some editing chicanery, but most of the time you can tell if they're actually making the deals on the spot. It can get a little fatiguing to watch, though, since it's longer than the others and sometimes they get into a run of episodes where too many of the picks are similar. The show is at its best when they're not always buying the same type of stuff. Never understood why they make it obvious that Mike and Frank actually have separate businesses but dance around it, though.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547466 Agree about the American Pickers guy being distasteful at times. Essentially saying, "hey come on you're old. You're going to die soon. You can't take it with you. Sell us your stuff." Also agree that the old man saves the Pawn Star side stories. Either by finishing it with a joke or some how finding some genuine amusement from it. There is some obvious ego growth going on there. As for talking wrestling I limit it to just 2 people that I know. We rarely agree but still have fun going to shows together. I'm not sure when wrestling would even have a chance of coming up in a conversation with non fans. Besides obvious times like Benoit.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547467 Anyone want to bring me up to speed on General Hospital over the last 10-15 years? My babysitter got me hooked one year when I had the flu and stuck with it it for years afterwards, but fell off during college and grad school.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547469 I hate the Pickers show but i do think the characters are at least believable as buffoonish, self-absorbed carny assholes out to screw people. God that Pickers show pisses me off. I can accept some of the characters that wonder into the pawn shop as people that should have left the casino floor earlier. I get really pissed off seeing some old widow sell an artifact of her late husbands for cents on the dollar and seeing the Pickers stride back to the car with great glee.I never really got this interpretation of the show. The "valued at" numbers are often pulled out of thin air, and some items they bought on the show have ended up on Mike's website sitting unsold for years. The people who actually have an emotional attachment to the items don't end up selling them anything. The widows selling stuff their husbands loved are also widows who clearly wanted their husbands to get rid of that shit. Yes, the show clearly changed a little in response to the early bad press from people that felt similarly, and I'm not sure they would've included certain scenes where they do act like asses and realize it afterwards otherwise. Still, these are people who have obviously signed releases in advance and know what they're getting into.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547470 Regarding Lords of War.....I think it is coming back for another season....really good show. Regarding Mike & Frank having separate businesses yeah that is something that isn't talked about much but they do storylines about Frank getting uppity about Mike spending a lot of "their" money.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547471 There's no one on TV I like less than Mike (as presented on TV as a character) from American Pickers. He just has this smug, self-entitled, beady-eyed passive aggressiveness that reminds me of some people I know in real life. Someone like Dave Hester is the sort of character you love to hate. Mike (, the character of) earnestly thinks he's the hero of the piece.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547472 Storage Wars without Dave Hester has been brutal lately. Barry Weiss has been the saving grace of that show and even had a wrestling tie in a couple of weeks ago with Roddy Piper showing up.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547477 Out of curiosity, Are there any reality shows that are real these days? Partly real? Boston's Finest feels like the first thing to come to mind.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547483 Hardcore Pawn makes Pawn Stars look like a Ken Burns documentary. As lame as Pawn Stars can be it's never ruined my immersion like Hardcore Pawn has when they have had cameras inside the customer's cars. It's like that close-up of the Rock's face during the pin in Halftime Heat. The real slick carnies are the guys on Ghost Hunters who have worked my parents to the point that when I imply the whole show is a con they act as if I took a dump on the family bible.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547484 Storage Wars without Dave Hester has been brutal lately. Barry Weiss has been the saving grace of that show and even had a wrestling tie in a couple of weeks ago with Roddy Piper showing up. Piper as kilt appraiser was one of the more bizarre things I"ve seen on tv recently. I like Storage Wars, but losing their top heel may kill the territory
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547486 Anyone want to bring me up to speed on General Hospital over the last 10-15 years? My babysitter got me hooked one year when I had the flu and stuck with it it for years afterwards, but fell off during college and grad school. Haven't watched since college, which finished way back in 1988. I am even further out of date.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547489 Anyone want to bring me up to speed on General Hospital over the last 10-15 years? My babysitter got me hooked one year when I had the flu and stuck with it it for years afterwards, but fell off during college and grad school. Haven't watched since college, which finished way back in 1988. I am even further out of date. A few less trips to TJ and hours spent watching AJ and maybe you'd be of some use!
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547490 Out of curiosity, Are there any reality shows that are real these days? Partly real? Boston's Finest feels like the first thing to come to mind. I wouldn't count on that. I know for a fact that The First 48 had a ton of staged stuff. Obviously, not stuff with the case. Just things like the guys shooting the show getting cops to say shit like, "Damn. I was just sitting down to dinner!" when they get a homicide call when really they were on the clock.
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547492 My wife and I like watching Storage Wars. The characters make the show fun, but goddamn is it ever obvious. For one thing, how the hell do you fire someone from bidding at public auctions?!
June 10, 201312 yr comment_5547502 Anyone want to bring me up to speed on General Hospital over the last 10-15 years? My babysitter got me hooked one year when I had the flu and stuck with it it for years afterwards, but fell off during college and grad school. I still watch it most every day so I could probably help you out. They brought back a lot of the vets like Laura, Scotty, Anna, Kevin, Lucy etc. after Edward Quartermaine died. Most of the show was written about the Mob storyline with Sonny and Carly until a year ago when they fired the writing team. Then a bunch of people from One Life To Live came on the show but they had to be rewritten when OLTL became a web show. If One Life To Live and All My Children can last on Hulu, that's probably the future of Soap Operas, online only. I think they only post 2 episodes a week instead of daily. Do Any of you guys watch Breaking Amish? That's my new favorite reality show now that Hoarders/Intervention/Jersey Shore have been canceled. It's pretty obvious that that show is scripted as hell but it's still entertaining.
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