realitytvwatcher

The first episode of last’s night’s new Table for 12 episodes focused on the Hayes and their ten kids at Christmas time. The children got to help their parents put together the Christmas tree and decorate which looked very fun. The Hayes parents went to see their kids at their preschool for their Christmas party. Eric Hayes is a police officer and it is good that his schedule allow him to go and partake in those important days in his children’s lives. My parents never came to my school events during the day because they were at work, many of the moms did but mine never did which is sad. The children seemed very excited about meeting Santa Claus. The actual Christmas day activities I can really relate to; each of the children got seven gifts and as soon as the boys got their little airplanes that shot foam darts they were disinterested. The little kids even helped little Rebecca open her Christmas presents. Betty seems especially brokenhearted about the fact that Rebecca will never talk or run and play with her brothers and sisters; it made me want to cry. I loved the opening of the boxes and the plastic ties that aggravate you. I have no idea why these toys have them, my son got little $4.00 toys and the thing was as secure as Fort Knox, it takes forever to get it free from the box. I thought the episode was good, what did you all think?

This week on the Amazing Race, the six teams headed to Thailand.The teams all ended up taking the same flight. Mel and Mike got off to a bad start; the teams were supposed to use a photo of a statue of the gorilla and find the zoo. Sadly, their cab driver was wrong and took them to the beach instead of the zoo and they lost valuable time. The teams then traveled to a spice shop and had to find their next clue in one of ninety nine drawers. Jaime and Cara were very impatient during this part of the challenge. Mel and Mike were pretty easy going even though they were so far behind. The next detour involved either using a rickshaw and running for two miles or filling barrels on a boat. Mel and Mike and Kisha and Jen chose the barrels and the other teams chose the rickshaws. Mark and Michael decided to tamper with the tools and the bicycle pumps and use a taxi to guide them which made them incur two half hour penalties. In the end, Tammy and Victor got there first but were the first team to be allowed to check in so they got a free trip to Hawaii. Mark and Michael finished third. Margie passed out after checking in due to dehydration. I felt very bad for Luke because he looked so scared. Mel and Mike were sent home and I am truly sad to see them go.

This week, I have been reviewing comments that people have sent me about Table of 12 and Jon and Kate Plus 8. Some of the Jon and Kate Plus 8 comments were a little harsh, why I don’t know. I have always stated that I think that a good reality show needs to be realistic. If Jon and Kate were already celebrity parents before their show then I could see why neither of them working and taking care of their kids and getting freebies would be fine. I think as stay at home moms, we want to see how they actually would take care of eight children on one income because that is the premise that was advertised when the show began. If you remember at the first special the children were sixteen months old so they did not survive just on Jon’s income for long. Now, we have Table for 12 which is getting criticized for being boring when the family has two sets of twins and sextuplets one of which has cerebral palsy because they said it is too boring. Now, how many of us have sort of boring and mundane lives as parents? I mean we cannot go on trips all the time or have our husbands stay at home and help us. I think that Table for 12 is less boring as some say because the mother enjoys spending time with her kids and is not yelling at her husband or criticizing him. We will have to see what happens with both series, but I think there needs to be more realistic reality tv shows.

This week on Hell’s Kitchen, times were tough for the contestants. I am always amazed at this show because the contestants obviously have no idea how to actually work on a line and would not be able to run a huge restaurant like the one at the Borgata. The challenge was a taste testing challenge. The red team won and they got to do a photo shoot for TV Guide. The blue team had to serve them food and drinks at the photo shoot and then prep both kitchens again. Lacey had a horrible service as did Carol, Sadly, Lacey had to speak to Lacey twice and then finally sent her packing during service. In the end, the men really stepped it up after Lacey was sent home. Lacey seemed kind of relieved to finally be eliminated and said that her mother had told her not to make enemies early. Sadly, her bad attitude proved futile in the end. In the end, the blue team proved to be victorious. The red team nominated LA and Carol to be eliminated. Gordon nominated Andrea, Carol, and LA. In the end, in a surprising move he eliminated LA instead of Carol or Andrea who are both horrible chefs. I truly think Paula should win the entire thing; she seems like a great chef.

This week on the Real World:Brooklyn Ryan struggled with the fact that he will be re-deployed for a year. War is a very real thing and it was heartbreaking to watch Ryan be so upset especially about telling his girlfriend Belle that he will be gone for a year. The roommates decided to go to Atlantic City and stay at the Borgata Hotel and Casino. Devyn had got a little dog named Brooklyn so she bought a three hundred dollar doggie carrier and then spent the night in her room. Katelynn won six hundred bucks and then ended up losing all of her money. This really ticked off Chet because Katelynn had borrowed money from Scott and had no repaid him so it was not a good idea to gamble with his money. Ryan seemed very morose while on their trip.I think going to war weighs heavily on his mind because he no longer supports the war and is very afraid that he will never come back from Iraq. Next week, the last episode of the season airs. I hope that the ending is good.

This week on the Real Housewives of New York City, it was fashion week in New York. One thing I did not care to learn is that Simon had a vasectomy and is now unable to have any more children. Who says that out loud to someone when they are clothes shopping? Jill’s designer threw a fashion luncheon for her and twenty of her girlfriends including Brad.Simon and Ramona had a confrontation at Fashion Week at a fashion show. Why is Simon featured so much on this show? They really separate Alex and Simon from the rest of the group. I did not understand why the ladies volunteered Alex to do the graphic designs and invitations without even asking her first. I mean they bash Alex and Simon a lot so it seems kind of disrespectful to use them for something. Kelly seems so out of place on this show. I mean she has no real purpose she even refused to attach her name to a charitable event that the ladies were putting together.I just thought it was not for me. The episode was not too interesting.

This week the season finale of Jon and Kate Plus 8 aired. In this episode one thing was clear, Jon wants his privacy back and Kate does not. I think that having a reality show, appearing on Oprah numerous times and writing books and making appearances basically means that you will be treated like a celebrity is. The two kind of go hand in hand because in order to boost ratings you have to be in the public eye. Kate is adamant that there will be a season five and since it is called Jon and Kate Plus 8, I doubt Jon will turn down the offer or the money because there would be no show without him. The kids got to go to a museum like place and touch things and have fun. Kate took them alone because Jon was taking care of his mother who broke her foot. Kate and Jon aid goodbye to their interview set and Kate even wrote on the wall signifying that season four had come to a close.

Okay, last night was the night that I have waited for for a while it was the day that Table for 12 premiered on TLC. For those who do not know, Table for 12 is about the Hayes family of New Jersey. The dad is named Eric and he is a police officer. The mom is named Betty and she is a stay at home mom. They have ten kids- Kevin, Kyle, Kiernan, Meghan, Connor, Tara, Rachel, EJ, Ryan and Rebecca who has cerebral palsy. The first episode was about Eric and the kids trying to make a special day for Betty because it was her birthday. The mom Betty is such a great wife and mom. I have to hand it to her she is such a patient person; she never yells and she takes really good care of everyone. She and Eric really try to include Rebecca in things even though she has cerebral palsy. The kids baked and decorated a cake for Betty. They also made cards for her. Eric bought her a gift certificate to a spa. Betty decided to take her daughter Meghan with her. Betty did not really like the spa but she was still grateful for the experience. The surprise went well and she loved her birthday video. I really liked this family and I will blog about the second episode on Wednesday.

Last night on the Amazing Race 14, the seven teams traveled to the country of India. The road block was to tend to a herd of camels and give them hay and water. Some of the teams were confused and did not use the basket to carry the hay and used a bucket instead.Mel was smart enough to use the basket even though he was in pain he did a good job. Luke cried when he saw how bad things are for children in India. Some of the children were eating garbage. It was very sad for him and I felt his pain. Jodi and Christy had to do a road bump because they got a reprieve last week and were not eliminated from the Amazing Race. The Detour was called movers and shakers. Movers involved using a rickshaw to move barrels of hay and then opening the barrels to find a small elephant. Mark and Michael chose that detour. The shakers detour was to dress in traditional costumes and dance and get one hundred rubies and then give the money to the band leader. Then, they had to go to a man with red telephones, call the number and reach the pit stop. The road bump was for Jodi and Christy to paint an elephant’s face. In the end, Jodi and Christy were eliminated from the Amazing Race.

Now, I have watched every episode of the Duggars reality show and their specials and I actually really like this family a lot. They are debt free which is hard in this economy.The parents are involved in their kids lives even if the daughters do do a lot of the housework and take care of the younger kids a lot of the time. I think having a big family if you can afford it is a good thing. I mean people say how many resources are used in big families but most of the times they reuse things and try to save money. Jim Bob and Michelle actually seem to really love each other very much. They do not fight at all and they seem like very principled people. I like shows that stress morals; in today’s media morals are frowned upon most of the time. I mean just look at music videos; the more skin shown the more popular the music video is. Sex sells and that is sad and makes me afraid for what the world will be like when my son is a teenager. We can all learn something from the Duggars; we should try to be thrifty and live our lives according to our own morals and values and not try to be like everyone else.