Written by James Fohl

Last week when I unplugged my television cable in order to install my new VCR, I did not take the time to plug the television cable back in. This week, the television cable is still not plugged in, yet it seems that I am still using the television everyday to play video games and watch either DVD or VHS movies. I guess the only reason I still have cable is the fact that I need a subscription to cable television in order to get cable internet which I also use everyday.

Cable television is expensive; let's just face it. It is much more expensive than satellite television, and the price of it just keeps going up, while its main competition (satellite) is going down. To me, I really don't understand why on Earth the price of cable keeps going up, when all the quality programming seems to be fading away.

It seems like years, and years ago, you could turn the TV any day, any time of the week and find something actually worth watching. Today however, it seems that when I turn the television on at night the only thing I am able to find are reality TV shows based on some really stupid concepts.

What exactly is the deal with all these reality shows? I can understand one or two, but there are tons and tons of them. It is simply getting so ridiculous, that just about everybody on the street now has his or her own reality television show. Do some people have to watch a television show, just to know how they are supposed to go about with their daily life? While I am in the barber shop, or just on a street corner, I always find some people who share my perspective on the reality TV show situation, however these same people will still continue to watch the reality shows just to keep up with them.

All the major television networks are devoting airtime to assorted reality shows because simply put, that is exactly what people seem to want to watch. My simple question is why? Really, look at some of these reality TV shows, there is one about plumbers, one about repomen; it's getting some what ridiculous.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the television networks keep making new reality shows is the fact that people continue to watch them. I understand some people love these shows to death, but why are so many people watching them? Personally, I think that everyone is watching all of these reality television shows because there is nothing else to watch on TV.

We all thought that reality television was just a phase five years ago, but it its appearing to be much more than a phase, as it does not seem to be going away anytime soon. Sure other television shows exist, however great number of them are getting cancelled after airing only a few short episodes and getting replaced with new reality shows.

When will so-called normal television come back? I wish I could answer that, but until they stop plugging ads for the various reality TV shows on the air, I think I will keep my television cable unplugged, and watch movies instead.