Let me begin by saying that I had no clue that the show John and Kate Plus Eight even existed, let alone that it had been on the air as long as it had been. Let's just say it was never on my radar.
About a month or so ago I was bored and was flipping the channels and that's when I happened upon a day long Eight-a-Palooza. I began watching somewhere in the middle of a show about the parents getting the kids ready to go to a Fourth of July celebration that John had gone to as he was growing up. Eight little kids can be incredibly cute so I decided to watch the rest of that particular episode and then I told myself I'd flick the channel. I think I remember something about Kate whining about how the kids clothes all needing to match. Some fool thing about one of the kids who got a little dirty or something and the one daughter might have a non-matching outfit. It wasn't a big part of the show but it struck me wrong because Kate was lecturing John about how hard she worked to make sure the kids clothes matched. And matched they did. The kids were all wearing red, white, and blue outfits and looked very cute.
That might have been the end of John and Kate for me but I wound up leaving show on because the next show they had on took place in Cape Hatteras. This family was staying in a nice beach house for the Fourth of July so I said to myself, "Well I'll just watch this one more show."
In this particular episode Kate took the girls to a spa to have their hair done. That's because when I take kids to the beach I always say to myself, I'd better head on over to the spa and have the kids hair done. Maybe it's because I had boys that it just didn't make sense to me. The girls were having those braids with beads and one of the girls started to cry because the braids hurt so bad. Kate even acknowledged it and she said she had felt bad but I notice she didn't stop.
Maybe it's just me, but if my kid was having a shot that contained life saving serum and he cried "Mommy this hurts." I'd hold him. I'd comfort him. I wouldn't stop him from getting the shot. However, in this case we are talking HAIR. I'd say "Do you want to stop honey? I don't want you to hurt to have your hair look like your sister's hair."
Now did I think she was psycho Mom? No but she seemed a bit hyper and wound way too tight. Everything having to be done a certain way. Then I saw her talk to her husband about fireworks and she seemed a bit abrupt with him. Her husband had bought some fireworks but they were illegal to fire them. Since I didn't know the context of their relationship, I shrugged off. For me it was one of those, wow this has been a hot busy days and the kids are getting whinny so I'm a bit edgy moments.
With Darryl and his Dad out running errands that Day I decided to leave TLC on while working on my computer. It would give me a break from the endless news, business news, and market analysis, that is normally my Sunday fare.
I think it was by the third show that I caught on how Kate spoke to John and I realized what the show was really about. You can say it's about the kids, you can say it's about John and Kate, but what it's about is blatant marketing machine. You have eight cute little kids and it's an advertisers dream. Can you say the Dionne Quintuplets?
When Darryl got home he'd asked what I was watching. I told him it was "some show called John and Kate Make Eight." We watched a few more shows together. One was about their vow renewal in Hawaii and the other was about moving into their new home. Darryl asked me where this couple got the money to run to Hawaii with eight kids especially a nice resort like that. What did John do for a living?
It shows how little I knew. Google saves the day again. Neither one of them had a job outside of the show. These kids are their cash cow. While the wedding renewal show was on I was scouting the net to learn more about the couple. I learned that people either loved her or hated her. By now I was trending towards a disdain. I didn't like how she dealt with her husband. I felt it was pretty darn cheesy to make a living off your kids. I think the thing I found even more distasteful was her pimping herself to churches and Christian organizations. She would go to churches to speak about her faith. After the show she would accept "Love Gifts" and sell family photos for $25 a pop.
These are people who are making $75,000 an episode and they were selling their family photos to people who probably had household incomes of $40,000 or less. Why would people buy these photos? Did they hope to sell them on eBay?
Darryl and I watched the cash cow, I mean show, as Jon and Kate renewed their vows. At first she had wanted the kids to be up there with them but, being kids they began running around and acting like kids so she made them sit down. Who doesn't realize that kids that age have the attention span of a flea? Fine have them accompany you down the aisle but then let them take a seat. Don't pretend that they will be able to focus during a ceremony. Kate mentioned that she and John wanted the kids to know that they had a "forever Marriage".
Darryl wanted to know why people watched this show. I told him that people with one or two children sometimes feel frustrated sand say "I just can't deal with all this." Watching this show makes them say a silent prayer that goes a little like "Thank God I don't have eight two year olds. I'd go CRAZY!!"
I think it got my feathers a little ruffled when I told him that no one made a reality shwo about my crazy family with four boys and four girls. Talk about reality show. You'd have Jon and Kate meets Survivor meets House meets WWF. Now tell me that's not television to remember.
The last show Darryl and I watched was when they moved into their new home. This of course required more googling to learn how much the house cost and where it was located. We came away from this series feeling like we had our fill and we never needed to see another episode again.
Then a few weeks later I saw something about Jon cheating on his wife. I'd seen enough of the show to know that there was trouble in the kingdom but that still didn't mean he should cheat. Then again this was the Enquirer. According to them Dr. Phil and his wife are breaing up every week. It's always funny standing on the grocery line and reading about how Jennifer is still mooning over Ben or how Angelina has finally called it quits. Of course the Enquirer was correct about John Edwards so can you totally discount the photos of Jon and the Elementary School teacher?
Now Yahoo news would have stories about John and Kate. Kate with the body guard. Jon off with his girlfriend in Colorado while Kate celebrated her birthday alone. I wish I could say I was forced to watch another show but I did on my own valition. I did it to watch them talk about their relationship. Here's the shocker (lol)
On Monday June 22, 2009, legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the ten-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin.
Half the show was about the Crooked Houses. Boy those people got their money worth. Imagine the viewership on this show. The show reminded me about why some people get upset about bloggers. They act like they just out of the blue tried something and they liked it. Then it sounded like she and Jon just decided to "buy" them for the kids. HA HA HA HA. What a joke. They were given them as in kind advertising.
In this episode you could see ever so clearly why things were going down the tubes so quickly. Jon had cleared out an area for the houses. He told kate where he was going to put them and she didn't say anything about it until the tractor trailer with the crooked houses was pulled out in front of their home. She wanted the houses to be closer to the house so she could supervise the kids better. Instead of talking to him she put the Crooked House guys in the position of talking to Jon about where to put the houses.
How unfair to these Crooked House people. Kate is putting someone else in the middle of their marital squabbles. This is how far this marriage has fallen. Her comments communicate to the viewers and the Crooked House people that Jon just won't listen to reason, is selfish, and basically to stupid to realize that what he is doing is just plain wrong.
Towards the end of the show they make their big announcement. Well sort of. They talk about new beginnings, they talk about sharing the house, they talk about sharing the kids, and they talk about not really knowing where this is taking them. Not sure? Try divorce. That's generally what happens when you file the papers. Why not we realize what we have been doing is not healthy for the kids so we are going to stop? How about we are going try to save this marriage and go to counseling? Why not, I've decided to drop my mistress? Why not, I've decided to stop treating my husband like he's child number nine? It just doesn't make sense.
For the past few weeks the news has carried clips of Kate spanking one daughter. Another clip shows one daughter asking over and over for water. Kate tells her that they are getting ready to do their interview. Kate's trying to get the kids to settle down. The daughter asks again and Kate says there is no time and that she would get water when they are finished. The daughter says "You're mean." Ok you say, it's not likely that the daughter will perish if she waits a few more minutes. Then Kate asks one of her "people to get her a bottle of water." You think, well she's going to give her daughter some water. NOPE. Mom opens the water, takes a swig, and then places the water on the floor our of camera sight. SHE NEVER OFFERED any to her daughter. How crazy rude.
Now here's today's JonandKate Update: Jon & Kate Plus 8 will go on hiatus until August following the Gosselins' separation announcement on Monday's episode, TLC said in a statement. Well uh gee. Don't you think people will want to watch the utter melt down of children wondering when Daddy's coming home? Don't people want to watch little children crying endless hours at night for their mommy who won't be there until the next day? I mean if you're going to continue exploiting these kids why not raise the bar?
I guess I can no longer really make fun of the people who watch American Idol while the world burns down around them. My world, the world as I know it is melting and I'm watching Jon and Kate. This is how far I have fallen.
Ed McMahon is Dead. The 86-year-old TV personality died this morning at Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center.
Most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's announcer on Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992, and as the host of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995, he later also became well-known as the presenter of American Family Publishers sweepstakes, which arrives unannounced at the homes of winners.
McMahon and Dick Clark hosted the television series (later special broadcast) TV Bloopers And Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982 until 1998, when Clark decided to move the production of the series to ABC.
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