Heightened Voyeurism on TV

I hate reality TV! There, I said it. It has made "voyeurs" of us as we watch the intimate details of lives of "newlyweds," "wife swappers," "bachelors," and "Living with ..." the list goes on. I have spent a few minutes from time to time trying to watch some of them so I could participate in the water cooler banter. My feigned attempts at interest were called out by the die-hard fans of each reality show I suffered through.

However, I must admit that I am utterly and completely a slave to "Dancing With The Stars" from season 1. In fact, I was on JetBlue returning from a business trip to New York on the night of the semi-final results show. I was openly devastated when I learned that JetBlue did not carry ABC! To my surprise, I was joined by a chorus of passengers who were equally disappointed that we could not watch the results show while traveling. Interestingly, a majority of them were Emmitt Smith fans so there was mass bonding on that flight. I picked out the winner and voted for each winning couple for every season except the last. I knew Kristy Yamaguchi would win, but I thought she had an unfair advantage over the rest. I voted faithfully each week for Jason Taylor and his partner Edyta Sliwinska. He impressed me each week as he got better in each category. Edyta is such a delight - not only as a dancer, but also as a person. Her smile lights up the dance floor and she's gracious even in defeat.

So, if watching DWTS makes me a hypocrite, so be it. To me, DWTS is truly family entertainment - despite the somewhat risque outfits that some of the dancers wear. It is true poetry in motion to watch two people in total synchronization after only a week of practice.

My brother Anton taught me to dance when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. He told me that to be a good dancer, one has to feel the music moving through one's body. So I live vicariously through the celebrities in "Dancing with the Stars" as I recall my younger, single days when I had won a few amateur competitions with my brother.

And, when I want to get really into it, I play some CDs and dance around my home, as I vacuum. Helps the chores become more bearable.

By the way - this season's DWTS Finals is on Monday night 8/7C on ABC. Watch and please vote for Brooke Burke and Derek Hough. That's my plug ... after all I am a marketer at heart!