Game Show Junkie

It all began so innocently.

Winter 7 p.m.: We're all just wiped out from a long day of work, school and after school activities, that the most appealing thing to do is watch a little television before the girls' 7:30 bedtime. Randy scans the television guide and the only family friendly show on is "Deal or No Deal".

Randy turns the show on and we all begin to watch. Innocent, right?

7:30 p.m. rolls around and by this time, Elisan is so ensconced with the whole premise and asks us if we will tape the remainder of the show, so she can watch the rest of it tomorrow night.

Sure, why not. It's harmless right?

Fast forward a month of two - 7 p.m.: Drew Carey's Million Dollar "The Price is Right" is on. Again, we're just too tired to combat it and besides, Randy has already played at least one game of Candy Land and G0-Fish... he could use a break too. So, we turn on "The Price is Right." The girls love it! And why not? I remember loving it too and watching it every weekday at 10:00 a.m. during my summer break.

Summer 6:30 p.m. - Enter "Wheel of Fortune." We tend to eat earlier in the day in the Summer, so oftentimes, we'll be finished by with dinner by 6:00 p.m., have some quality 'jump on daddy' time, play a few card games and then by 6:30 - the day of work, swimming and fun has caught up with everyone. So what happens? We turn on "Wheel of Fortune" for the girls. I mean, it's like they're learning how to spell, right? It's educational... And who can resist Pat and Vanna? I mean, really...

Okay, so, now we're watching (and Tivo'ing) "Deal or No Deal," "The Price is Right" and "Wheel of Fortune." Are ya keeping up?

Enter "American Gladiators"... Oh, yeah, baby. AMERICAN GLADIATORS You heard me right. I recall the conversation so vividly. Randy says, "Oh, Elisan. American Gladiators is coming on! You will love this show!" I'm thinking... what?! American Gladiators? Not my little girl. Boy, was I wrong. They both love it. Yes, it's rated "V" for violent, but really, it's like professional wrestling kind of violence. Semi-fake stunts. But, I'll admit, I even like this show and we all tend to root for the gladiators. Forget the underdog trying to score some cash. And, my rationalization is this... I have two girls. It's not like they're going to start challenging the neighborhood boys to a "joust" or a game of "hit and run". The worst thing that could happen is they might have a Barbi vs. Polly Pocket fight upstairs in the game room.

And now, finally... we've added one more show to our game-show repertoire (and hopefully the last!) It is ABC's brand-new show "Wipe-Out". This game show is much like "American Gladiators," in that the contestant has to complete ridiculous obstacles to compete in the final round of an impossible obstacle course to win cash. The only difference is that they are competing against a group of people for the best time to whittle down the final four. It's ridiculous television at it's best. And, you can't beat John Henderson's (a.k.a. Skunk Boy from Talk Soup) commentary on the contestants - much of which goes waaaay over the heads of my little girls' thought processes, thank goodness.

Now, if we can just keep her away from "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" we'll be alright.

EDITED TO ADD: I totally forgot about "Are you smarter than a 5th grader!" It's one of our favs. And, it's educational... isn't it?