C-List Celebrities and Crappy Reality TV

This evening's rant spawns off of the TV show I caught tonight on NBC, "Hit Me Baby One More Time". Has anyone seen this trainwreck? It was the season finale, so who knows if it'll be back on the air or not. If you aren't familiar, they bring back all of these one-hit wonders from the 80's and 90's. The musicians perform their one hit, along with a cover of a current music hit. The audience and fans vote for who wins. And the winner...well I actually didn't get that far into the show because I switched over to the free preview of NBA TV that I have this week. They were showing one of the games from the 1977 NBA Finals between the 76ers and the Trailblazers, but I digress.

Anyway, the "Hit Me Baby" show was pretty bad since I couldn't even make it until the end. But it got me thinking. People have always been fascinated with celebrities. They are everywhere - on TV, in movies, magazines, the tabloids, you name it. However, the latest craze is our fascination with C-List celebrities, or even, the has-been celebs. That's exactly what "Hit Me Baby" is going for...all of the bands you remember from back in the day who fell off the face of the earth. Another great example: "The Surreal Life". Again, I can't say I've seen that show too many times, but it single-handedly revived the careers of superstars (and I say that phrase sarcasticly) such as Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), Flavor Flav, Brigette Neilsen, and on the new season, Bronson Pinchot (Balki!), Omarosa, and Jose Canseco. This is absurd to me. I don't know what's worse, VH1 putting these clowns back in the spotlight, or MTV allowing those Real World/Road Rules challenges to continue until the Miz and Coral are collecting Social Security. We're fascinated with these lesser-known and has-been celebs, and I just don't get it.

One item in closing: If "Hit Me Baby One More Time" returns for another season, can I suggest the following artists from the 90's: Los Del Rio ("The Macarena"), Tag Team ("Whoomp There It Is"), The Divinyls ("I Touch Myself"), and Skee-Lo ("I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller"). Why not bring these artists back for a second chance at stardom? I think I'd rather throw myself in front of a bull while wearing a red leisure suit in Pamplona.