MTV massacre

I might be too young to say this, but TV has really gone downhill. While it's oh-so-tempting to hop on the bandwagon and spend the next 500 words talking about the myth of reality television, I'll better focus my attack. As much as it pains me to say it, MTV might be the worst perpetrator of all.\nMTV used to be cool -- and not just for the fact that it showed music videos. If you happen to tune in to the channel at 3 a.m. nowadays, the network pauses momentarily from airing reruns of "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" to show Outkast's video for "Hey Ya," a song I'm so sick of hearing that listening to it makes me long for one more episode of "Newlyweds" -- or at the very least, a bottle of horse tranquilizers. \nThe creation of MTV2, a network solely dedicated to music videos, is a step in the right direction, but it's also an admission the channel calling itself Music Television has wandered hopelessly astray from music. \nI can live with the fact MTV hardly ever shows music videos. I never really liked them anyway. The shows not even remotely related to music are the ones that grate on me. Is there anyone my age who gets excited about a new season of "The Real World?" \nWhiny kids are given the keys to an unbelievable mansion and whine about how the cushy job for which they were instantly hired gets in the way of their binge drinking. If the house didn't come with a hot tub, I think people in the cast would actually die of boredom. I would tune in to see that. Pointless and contrived though the show has become, I have to admit it has some (just a little) entertainment value.\nIf you're looking for a show with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, folks, you needn't touch the dial, which is easily done since TVs haven't come with dials since Chester A. Arthur was president. If you've ever had the misfortune of seeing the show "Viva la Bam," you have to agree it's the most idiotically-conceived show in the history of television. That's right, it's even worse than "Walker: Texas Ranger." Www.MTV.com provides a summary of the show's concept and its host: "To those who know and love Bam Margera, he's merely a guy who likes to have fun at the expense of those he loves." \nTo be honest, that's putting it mildly. The show is essentially an opportunity for Bam to embarrass and/or injure his friends and family. In the last episode I saw, he convinced his friend to swing at a piñata blindfolded but replaced the piñata at the last second with a beehive and his friend was stung over a dozen times while Bam was doubled over from laughter.\nMTV has been known to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to its programming. "Punk'd" is an awful show, but it had its funny moments -- especially when Ashton Kutcher almost made Justin Timberlake cry. \n"Viva la Bam," however, comes from some cold, dark place hundreds of miles below the bottom of the barrel. If anyone above the age of 11 finds this show amusing, I'd be greatly distressed. It is comedy appealing to the less-than-lowest common denominator.\nShows created by and for chuckleheads is why MTV is Public Enemy No. 1 when it comes to assigning blame for the quality of television today. It knows better, and airing morally reprehensible shows whose entertainment value can't even be charted, is just irresponsible. I feel really old for saying that, but violence, for its own sake, shouldn't have a place on TV, even if it is basic cable. Now if you'll excuse me, I think "The Real World" is on.