I know I can't be alone on this but is it just me or is TV really starting to prove how pathetic we are as intellectuals? I could swear TV is getting split right down the middle for those of us with an attention span shorter than 7 seconds, and those of us who want some substance to our programming. I'm all for the mindless violence and crude humor, but in moderation. When you start to literally craft shows around the idea of a person fitting in to a hole (Hole in the Wall) I start to wonder if some people have given up on TV.

Now I'm definitely not saying that there are no good stimulating shows on TV (Fall line up) but what I am saying is our standards have plummeted on some stations to the point where a mindless zombie could enjoy it. TV is for down time, for resting, for a relaxing moment away from reality, all of these things make sense. The part that doesn't is why during your relaxing down time you must be subjected to some of the worst programming in years.

I'll admit, I watched some of an episode of "Hole in the Wall", which is an Australian game show that made its way on Youtube as a smash hit . The premise of the show is actually very complex and well crafted, oh wait..no..no it's not. You literally watch people stand in front of a pool while a wall with a cut out shape comes towards them and they try to fit through before it knocks them in the water. That’s the whole show; it's not a game show with different segments, that’s it, nothing more. It reminds me of something you would see in an old movie where they almost try to poke fun at how dumb and lazy the future may be. Guess what, news flash, it's a reality.

Some of you are going to watch the clip I post and you’re going to laugh, hell I laughed at first, but try to watch this on TV. I got through about 4minutes of it before a commercial hit and I thought “What the hell just happened? Did my brain literally just shut off?” I had no intelligent or productive thoughts during this show. This crap is designed for the internet, not TV. The internet is a perfect medium for this brainless television. It’s fast, short, and involves little to no thinking. Why FOX is attempting a recreate for TV is beyond me. I have nothing against FOX programming and you can’t even blame them, if it sells, it sells. I can just see this being a guilty pleasure for some closet “Hole in the Wall” viewers, but any further than that and you’ve lost me. There is no way North America has dropped to this level. A good example of this is MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) on Spike TV. This game show derived from Japan was so ridiculous that they chose to bring it over and create unique voice over mocking the contestants and hosts. Not in a malicious way but in a humorous and very understandable way. Even the show “I Survived a Japanese Game Show” has more substance that this. That show shows Americans going over and trying to compete in Japan on a game show. It at least has the underlining factor of the cultural differences between us and them.

I could rant about this for a few more paragraphs but I’ll spare you the suspense and deliver you straight to the torture. Even now while watching the clips I’m going to post, I’m laughing. It’s scary how infectious mindless TV has become in our society. It’s true it’s not just TV that’s taking a dive to a less cranial stimulating level, but it is something we’re all familiar with. So I ask the question, are we getting dumber or maybe just lazier?

I said it before and I’ll say it again, the internet is a large enough market, make this a web show. This sort of “quality” programming shouldn’t be on TV with the likes of LOST, Dexter, House and other quality shows. This should be on the net, where at work (on lunch of course) if I want to see some large women try her hand at fitting through a hole much too small for her, I can.

Well here you finally have it, some funny clips from the show. Enjoy. It’s funny, but internet funny, not television funny. I think you’ll see that everyone who enjoyed this on the internet will have a different reaction when they see it one TV.