So You Think You Can Create a Good Reality Competition Show?

Given the amount of time I spend parked in front of my TV, you might think that I would have seen "So You Think You Can Dance" before tonight. But no, I never felt any inclination whatsoever. In fact, I didn't even bother to give it more than a moment's thought, so I actually thought that it was a celebrity dancing competition show a la "Dancing with the Stars." I know: shame on me.

Anyway, the show happened to be on when I turned on the TV this evening, so of course I got sucked in. But I can confidently say that I will not become a regular viewer of this series (unlike my continuing guilty pleasure "Windfall"). There are so many things wrong with it, the overall experience is pretty poor.

Most notably, why do they have such a loud audience? When I watch people dance, I like to hear the music that their movements are choreographed to, not the screams of adolescents.

And Mary Murphy, please don't speak ever again. Thank goodness for DVR, which allowed me to fast forward through her inane commentaries.

And who the hell is Cat Deeley? (That's a rhetorical question. I know she's some sort of model/VJ, but why oh why is she hosting this show? Way to be awkward, lady.)

But even with its faults, this show does have one thing that makes it stand out above the others of its kind: real heart. Or, at least, the contestants have heart — I don't know about the producers. It's obvious that these kids have really bonded and care about one another, which is nice to see. And if it's all an act, I don't care. Why not? Two reasons:

1) I much prefer to see competitors who are good sports over competitors who are vicious, no matter what the television networks think.

2) I won't be watching this show ever again anyway.

Speaking of which, here's what I really don't understand: how my TV happened to be on Fox when I turned it on tonight. When I leave in the morning, it's always on NBC because I watch "The Today Show" while I get ready. So how did it get onto this other channel? Darn that Fox; I thought it was just their news that was fishy, but there really is some sort of larger conspiracy.