The year of "Everyman"

Have I mentioned before that I *heart* reality TV? American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance?, Last Comic Standing, The One (did this get cancelled already?), and so on and so forth ad infinitum. I've noticed, starting with Taylor Hicks' victory on AI, that an interesting pattern is emerging. Every day, average appearing/acting people are becoming the stars of reality TV. It's not just for the beautiful people any more. Benji (goofy and lovable, a fantastic showman) appears to be a heavy favorite for SYTYCD. Josh Blue (he has Cerebral Palsy!) won LCS. One of the most talented contestants on "The One" is an overweight guy with "Flock of Seagulls" hair, while one of the most beautiful girls got voted off the first week. (I really hope this show isn't cancelled!) America is voting for these "average Joes," and I think that is terrific. If they can do it, then so can you and I (totally buying into the gimmick). Well, at least we could if we had great talent at singing and/or dancing! I believe that this is the pinnacle of what reality TV is supposed to be about, average people "making it to the top." Real World started out being about "real people", but it has now devolved into cramming a bunch of beautiful people in a house, sousing them with alcohol, and hoping that they will all hook up with one another. Of course I know that even "reality shows" are very formulaic, edit-happy, and not totally un-scripted. I get this, but boy, am I a sucker for the act! The producers of these shows must be brilliant at manipulating the masses or just very, very lucky. Either way, I'm completely entertained. (Puppet, thy name is Dr_Whoo.) I don't think I'm making any sense; it must be all of the sleep that I got this week! That and the full moon hanging above doesn't bode well for the weekend! I'm off now to Google whether or not "The One" has been cancelled. I'm curious. Happy Friday!