Teen Mom Has Jumped a Palin Sized Shark

Get the Palin’s off my television already

I've been talking about sports a lot the past couple of weeks. And, I still have a good amount of sports stuff in the hopper, but I'm going to take a bit of a break from it for a minute. Today I want to talk about a show that I have talked about a few times on this website.

So, I have written a few things about the show "Teen Mom". My wife loves it, I have grown to like it, I have watched it from the start, I have watched the spin offs and other iterations of it, and I have even given it some praise. I do appreciate that, at first, MTV showed how un glamorous life can get when you have a baby, and you are a teenager. They did that really well in the beginning.

Then, as the show grew bigger and bigger, and the kids became more "famous", I started to kind of get annoyed. I have vocalized as much to my wife. A good group of the teens, who are now in their 20's, act like they are important and, as I said before, "famous". Most of them have even started their own businesses, the majority of them, and this is just insane to me. Just because you are on TV does not mean that you will be able to sell children's clothes, or clothes for grown ups or food or treats. Starting a business is hard, hard work, but I feel as if these kids feel entitled to this. I feel like they think they can do no wrong now just because they are on TV. Some have even taken the "acting"/podcasting route. Basically, these kids are trying to do anything and everything they can to stay in the public eye. To stay "famous" if you will. 

It got so bad, one of the original girls, Farrah Abraham, did some adult movies. After these "movies" blew up, she started to act like she was the most famous of all the famous people. Now, Farrah Abraham is not famous. Not at all. She is as far away from it as I am. But, when you saw her on the show in the last season, by the way she carried herself and talked about herself, you would have thought she was a star. It got so bad that MTV fired her. She said she was going to continue to make adult movies and they said they didn't want to be in business with her. They went their separate ways and I thought that might be the end of the original "Teen Mom".

I was wrong.

This is where we get to my main point of my blog today. My wife told me, maybe around 6 months ago, that the show was coming back, and that they were adding 2 new moms. I was a little stunned by this news. Then, I wanted to know who the new moms were. She told me that one of them was a person that was on some other MTV show, and the other was Bristol Palin.

This news was upsetting. The show was already starting to go down hill, and I thought that the firing of Abraham was a good way to end the first run. Well, I guess MTV and I had a different idea. I feel like they thought adding someone like Bristol Palin would re energize the show.

They were so, so wrong.

Yes, my wife and I still watch the show, maybe we are gluttons for punishment, but this new season has been really, really bad. It has been boring too. First off, they are still calling the show "Teen Mom O.G.". The "O.G." stands for "Original Girls". This is a smack in the face to what O.G. really stands for, original gangster. The title was off from the jump, and it has always bothered me. But, now it doesn't make any sense. Sure, they still have 3 of the 4 moms when the show started, but now there are 2 new moms. The whole "original girls" is simply not true anymore.

And, before I shred Bristol Palin, I do not mind the other new mom. Her name is Cheyenne, and she seems fun and I like her, her baby and her baby's father, who is from multiple other MTV shows. And for the "original mom's" still on the show, they are just dull now. Their stories are either super depressing or, I just don't care about them anymore. Maci is the most stable, but I'm bored with the stuff with her first son's father, Ryan. Ryan needs to get real help and not constantly have his name dragged through the mud by MTV. He has a serious drug problem, but MTV just seems to keep showing it because it is the most "interesting" thing about Maci's life now. She has also started some kind of business, and anytime her, her husband or any of their friends are on TV, they all have to wear a shirt with the company logo on it. It is the lowest level of product placement. Amber is just flat out boring now too. I feel like she is trying to drum up her past anxiety stuff just to stay relevant. The stuff with her new son, and his dad, is very blah. Gary and his family are just a normal family. His story is played out. I tune out completely whenever she is on screen. And Catelynn and Tyler need to get real help too, just like Ryan. Unlike Ryan, they don't have a drug problem, they have a relationship problem. Their marriage seems to be on very thin ice, and instead of MTV trying to really help them, I feel like they are pushing the problems for ratings. Their story, when it started, was the best, but now, it is just depressing and rough to watch. They are the only couple that I "feel" for, and I just feel horrible for both of them.

Then there is Bristol Palin. Why does anyone anywhere still care about her, or her family? Didn't the Palin's stop being relevant around a decade ago? You know, when her mother made an ass of herself on national TV over and over and over and over again. I had forgotten about them, and did not remember, at all, that Bristol was once a teen mom. Then she shows up on MTV. That was a real kick in the teeth. In the season premier she was at some kind of pre wedding party, or some kind of nonsense, and I heard her mother's grating voice. I then heard Bristol's whiny voice. It was ridiculous. It made me mad. I was so disappointed in a MTV show that I actually used to like. The addition of Palin to "Teen Mom" really feels like a nail in the coffin. She, like much of the cast, is boring. She makes shit up just to seem interesting. She is always fighting with her now ex husband, who is clearly suffering from horrific PTSD that MTV uses for ratings, as opposed to getting him the real help he needs. Her fits and complaints and whining to the producers is so stupid and seems acted. I don't really think that she is as upset as she portrays herself. I don't think she is as good a mother as she thinks she is. There was one scene where she is basically pimping her son out to be on a dancing competition show just so she can stay in the limelight. The scene made her seem like a stage mom. And I do not like the way she talks to her kids and her ex husband. She acts like she is so much more important than all of them. She has this air of superiority that is so off putting. Bristol Palin was a horrible, stupid and far reaching choice to try and stay relevant from MTV.

"Teen Mom O.G." is bad, and it is getting worse. Even my wife, who LOVES shows like this, has bounced around the idea of us stopping the show. She is getting fed up. This was a bad addition, and it should be the final thing needed to cancel this show. MTV is no longer trying to help these kids. They are no longer trying to show how hard it is to raise kids. They are using these kids. They have given these kids an air of entitlement that they have not even come close to deserving. "Teen Mom" is just bad now. It is not even fun bad, like "The Room", it is just bad. Bristol Palin has made this show bad. And MTV has not tried to change it at all. They had lightening in a bottle, but the time has passed. They need to rid themselves of this mess. It is rough.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Once again MTV, Ty is up for a mid thirties mom show. He has a great opportunity right in the middle of the country.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Merits and Virtue of "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom"

MTV is the model of highlighting kids having kids

So, for all of my posts this week, I wanted to try something a bit different. My wife and I were talking the other day and she told me that I should argue a point that I don't necessarily agree with. All five posts this week will be topics given to me that I have expressed a dislike for to, either my wife or everyone who reads my blog, but I have to give the opposite view. I have to explain why these things are actually true, or that they at least have some good qualities. This is going to be a weird, but also very fun, and maybe even a bit difficult, but I'm up to the task.

Let's get started with the first topic. The topic sentence my wife gave me today was, "explain why shows like "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" are, in fact, not garbage reality TV, but that they have had a positive impact on society".

Here we go.

I first saw "16 and Pregnant" about 6 or 7 years ago. My wife has a very deep love for reality TV, and I enjoy spending time with her, so I watch a lot of the shows with her. "16 and Pregnant" immediately held my attention. It was fascinating to see these children pregnant. They were literally babies having babies. It was unreal to hear these 16 year olds complain about always being hungry, tired and "feeling fat". I would say to my TV, "that's what happens when you get pregnant. You should have waited like 90 percent of the country does".

As the episodes wore on, I found myself seeing some good coming from "16 and Pregnant". I was happy that MTV was letting these girls be as real as they wanted to be about their not so good situation. I have 2 kids, one is 4 and the other is almost 9 months, and it is very hard. But, I'm a 33 year old adult. I lived my childhood and had a pretty much carefree teenage experience. The same cannot be said about the girls on this show. They had to deal with people saying things behind their back, calling them names and making fun of them. High school is hard enough, most people are going through puberty and almost everything is awkward, but throw being pregnant on top of that, that had to be brutal. So, the fact that the people behind "16 and Pregnant" had the thinking to let this reality show be an actual reality show, I give them big, big kudos.

The producers show you all the hard parts. They show the stretch marks, the clothes not fitting, the snickers, the loss of friendships, the pain of going into labor and delivering a baby, and then, to top it all off, they showed how hard it is to have an infant. You have to feed, clothe and diaper that baby when that baby needs those things. You are not the most important person anymore, your child is, and "16 and Pregnant" did an excellent job of portraying this. They also showed how terrible teenage boys are at being fathers. These kids, for the most part, had no interest in being involved after their child was born. They all still wanted to go play basketball, ride their bikes or continue to party. Well, all that ends when you have a kid. Some of the couples, while the girlfriend was still pregnant, were going to get married. None of them did, or if they did, I'm sure they are now divorced. "16 and Pregnant" definitely showed how real it is to have a baby. It is tough. Tack on the fact that the kids are teenagers, "16 and Pregnant" did an excellent job of not glorifying having a baby. I will always give them kudos for this. They let the viewing audience know how insanely hard, unforgiving and flat outbrutal it is to raise infants when you are still a child yourself.

A few years after I saw my first episode of "16 and Pregnant", another show came on called "Teen Mom". This show followed the girls from the first season of "16 and Pregnant". They waited a few months, even some a year, after their kids were born to see where they were. This was also an interesting wrinkle inside the life of a teen parent. For the most part, the couples that were still couples in "16 and Pregnant" had broken up. They were all inevitably stuck in some kind of custody battle. This seemed odd and selfish to me. Now, the parent that was absent when the baby was an infant, wanted to be involved because the hard part was over. They didn't have to get up in the middle of the night for feedings or diaper changes, most of the babies were sleeping through the night. That is so selfish to all of the sudden want to be involved in a child's life when the tough part is over. You cannot pick and choose when you want to care for your kid. You made that kid, so you should have been there all along, not when it is convenient for you.

Once again, MTV and "Teen Mom" did a very good job of showing how tough it is to be a teen parent. They show the kids going to court, or meeting with child protective services, or getting divorced, all before they turned 21. This was fascinating to me because, when I was 21, I was still living at home with my folks and had a dead end job and was going to concerts every weekend. I didn't have a kid to care for. Had I seen "Teen Mom" back then, it would have made me even more secure in my life decisions.

"Teen Mom" did not sugar coat how hard all this stuff is to do. But, what "Teen Mom" did that "16 and Pregnant" couldn't do, they showed all the joy that comes from having kids. These teen parents got to see their child walk, talk and smile for the first time, and so did we as an audience. We got to see many triumphs from the parents. Things like potty training be successful, families reuniting, and so on and so forth.

Look, I'm not one to watch reality TV, it just isn't my thing. But, I will say that shows like "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom" are so much better and they actually show consequences to actions than any piece of garbage that the TLC Network puts on TV. "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" can also be given a huge thanks to the decreased number in teen pregnancy, so there is a real life correlation that these shows do work. If you are a teen, and you think you can be made famous by getting pregnant, I'd suggest watching "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom", because it is not the quick and easy way to make money. It will alter your entire life.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. After reading Ty's thoughts, it seems like he is not pretending to like the MTV teen mom genre. He will be here all week folks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Sunday Night TV on Fox is Mostly All Right

Stop hanging out with Mother Nature. Good TV is back on.

Sunday night TV is back people.

I've been waiting all summer, now we are in fall technically, for good TV shows. In the summer, we are subjected to reality show after reality show. These shows are cheap to make and viewers flock to them for reasons I'll never understand. My wife loves reality TV. She watches all the iterations of "Teen Mom", she likes all the reality cooking shows, anything except the Kardashian crap that's on TV basically. I inevitably end up watching some of these shows with her because I enjoy spending time with her. But, these are really awful shows. They're all the same and they tend to be very boring because reality is pretty boring.

There was some good summer TV though. I loved "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll", season two of "Married" has been great, and "Review" is the best show on TV right now in my personal opinion. But, most of these are just about done with their seasons as summer comes to an end. Well, last night Fox returned to its Sunday night programming with four of the best, most enjoyable shows on TV right now. There's technically five shows on their Sunday night lineup, but I don't care for "Family Guy", so I don't watch it. But, we got season premieres from "Bob's Burgers", "The Simpsons", "Brooklyn 99" and "Last Man on Earth". I absolutely adore all four of these shows. Everyone who reads my writings knows that I'm a HUGE "Simpsons" fan and if you listened to the most recent podcast, you all know how I feel about "Last Man on Earth". "Bob's Burgers" and "Brooklyn 99" are just as good.

The night started off with "Bob's Burgers". In the season premiere, we got three different stories, one from Gene, one from Tina and one from Louise, each talking about what would've happened had Bob and Linda never got married. This topic is brought up because Bob is losing his mustache, which is his most attractive quality to Linda. Tina believes that, no matter what, fate brought her parents together and, mustache or no mustache, they still would have found and married each other. The kids stories are all hilarious, Gene's being my favorite, and the episode is great. "Bob's Burgers" is the type of show that just gets better and stronger as each season goes on. I was very pleased with the premiere.

Next, we got the biggest story of the summer, in sitcom news, that Homer and Marge were going to split up on the season premiere of "The Simpsons". The episode started with the two of them in therapy, due to Homer's new found narcolepsy, and Marge is fed up with Homer's excuses. Homer isn't listening, classic Homer, and he falls asleep. Here we get the Simpsons version of the movie "Inception". Did Homer and Marge really split up, or was it just a dream from Homer? Marge was asleep at one point, so was it a dream from Marge? I'll leave that up to your own interpretation. Lena Dunham was excellent as Homer's new girlfriend. Another solid season premiere from "The Simpsons". I love that a show that's been on the air for almost thirty years can still come up with fresh and funny ideas.

"Brooklyn 99" started right where the last season left off. Jake and Amy kissed and their relationship is the thru line for the whole episode, but they get a new captain and we get to see where Holt and Gina are now. The precinct's new captain was played hilariously by Bill Hader. He was a total hard ass, but had an aortic problem and would have involuntary heart attacks. Hader was really, really good. Amy and Jake decide to date for real and the whole precinct eventually finds out, even with the two of them trying their best to keep it secret. Holt is now working for Wunch in a terrible circumstance. They hate each other and she's his superior and she's giving him tedious, menial tasks. The shouting match between the two of them is very funny. Gina is his secretary and she is still very full of herself and really great. Chelsea Peretti is perfect for this role. Back at the 99, Hader has a for real heart attack and dies, so they get yet another captain. The new captain is "the vulture", those of you who watch the show know exactly who I'm taking about, and everyone is extremely upset.

The final show of the night was "Last Man on Earth". When we left last season, Phil had been kicked out of Tucson and was told not to come back. To everyone's surprise, Carol came to his aid and they drove away. We opened this season by seeing a stealth plane on the streets of DC and Phil and Carol are driving to the store to get tequila. There's great moments in the White House with the two of them laying together in the margarita pool, they play with busts of the presidents, Carol tries on a lot of the former First Ladies clothes and they ride dune buggies around the house. We learn that they haven't found a place to stay yet and it's clear that Carol wants to go back to Tucson. This starts a fight between the two of them and Carol retreats to the back of the RV to sleep. Phil stops at a gas station to siphon gas and Carol goes into the store, unbeknownst to Phil, to get some clothes. Phil finishes with the gas and starts the RV and drives away, loudly listening to music. Carol gets stranded, and it's not until hours later that Phil realizes Carol isn't there and he turns around to try and find her. He ends up back in Tucson, but it's a ghost town and there looks to have been a fire. Carol isn't there and Phil doesn't know what to do next. All the while this is going on, there's another story involving Phil's brother who's in outer space. He's looking for any sign of life, but no luck so far. As the episode ends, Phil, Carol and Phil's brother are all alone. It was sad, but such a great ending to the season premiere.

I'm so excited for all four of these shows to be back. Sunday's are now complete and will be during these shows runs. So, make sure you all stop watching reality TV now that Sunday nights on Fox are providing you some excellent, original material.

As Homer would say, "woo hoo!"

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thinks HBO Sunday night is for suckers who still hide their 20 sided die. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.