Who needs rifles and Alaska and Sarah Palin’s half-baked opinions when you can watch some truly strange stuff? No one, that’s who. That’s the stance TLC seems to be taking with the list of shows they’ve got lined up. Most of them are just “specials” at the moment, but TLC is notorious for turning these little specials into full-blown series once they catch on with viewers. Babies Behind Bars is just one of the new ideas over at the network formerly known as The Learning Channel, following women behind bars as they’re allowed to serve their sentences in close proximity to their infants. Wow. Where do they find these angles? I’m not even that upset, I’m just kind of impressed at their ingenuity.
Here’s what we can look forward to on the docket. First is Taxidermy: USA — never thought you’d see a show about stuffing dead animals with enough fluff to make them look like creepy zombie versions of themselves did you? Ultimate Cleaners sounds like a reality version of Sunshine Cleaning because they’re also cleaning up really disgusting crime scenes and such. Heavily Ever After has a title that is just kind of offensive and follows an overweight couple; see we’re doing the opposite of Little Couple! Finally, we have Tiniest Tween: Kenadie’s Story, which returns to the story of a primordial dwarf who at seven years old has to begin to deal with puberty.
Leave it to TLC to find the “best” ways to exploit people and turn them into “freak shows.” Just because this isn’t going down at Coney Island doesn’t mean you’re treating these people with any more respect than those old timey freak shows did. I get that they bring in ratings but Sarah Palin’s Alaska and What Not To Wear are doing just fine and the Taxidermy show sounds crazily entertaining, so how about we stop broadcasting folks with ailments and major life issues all over television? It can’t be healthy for them or for viewers to get into that mindset.
Source: NY Mag
