For reasons that utterly escape me, ‘the Hoff’ and his cohorts are pulling an average of 12-million viewers in the crucial 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media. The show is currently the most-watched prime-time series of the Summer when you count total viewers. “Comic,” averages 6.7 million viewers, and a 2.8/8 demographic rating.

And just in case you’re not quite depressed enough, NBC’s new golden boy, Ben Silverman says that yet another reality series, “The Singing Bee,” has won a place in the Fall schedules starting on September 25th. It originally had been targeted to return much later.

As my regular readers know, I hate all ‘reality’ TV with the passionate intensity of a thousand imploding suns. And that is not open to negotiation. The entire genre is a cheap, intellectually unengaging ploy to garner millions of viewers at minuscule cost, on whom can then be unleashed the entire gamut of placements, commercials and other profit-making ploys. Cheap, mindless television that spoon-feeds millions of viewers direct to the advertisers. It’s therefore no surprise that the Networks are addicted.

The most offensive example [so far] is Top Chef. Every single one of the ‘prizes’ is a product placement – Neither Bravo, nor its parent company, NBC, are paying for, or providing one single item that constitutes the prize. To me, that’s nothing less than brazen exploitation.

And this is the kind of mental chewing gum we are supposed to get so excited about being able to watch in Hi-Def??

One reality show is an offense. For the current television landscape to contain so many – most of which are imperceptible clones of each other – is evidence that those in charge of its production hold a pandemic perception of the audience that is far less than flattering. If you enjoy good TV and consider yourself to be of at least a median IQ, you owe it to yourself to resist this onslaught of insult and ignorance.

The true ‘reality’ is, the American television audience were not created simply to be exploited by the nets, to create profits to impress the Stockholders. You deserve better. But unless you make that known, it will never occur. The history of ‘reality’ TV is one of remarkably low cost and infeasible profits, and the networks will gleefully churn out this mind-rotting fare until that imbalance changes. The Fall season is already tarnished, but beyond that could be the chance of relief from this tiresome cavalcade of mind-rotting banality.

Ultimately, the Nets are slaves to their ratings. The power for change is therefore in your hands. Literally.

The choice is yours.

The mark of true greatness is to be known across the World by one name; Garbo, Brando, Elvis… And the atonal, drool-flecked non-entity who wins this irrelevant freakshow will soon join this illustrious crowd…

By Christmas they’ll be known to every sentient being on the planet as, “Who??”