I’m not the target audience for Bravo and while I respect its heritage as an “artsy” channel, it’s clear that the daft trend of increasingly unlikely reality shows has hit the channel big time. In fact, the latest reality show that’s poised to be introduced is called Untying the Knot and it looks absolutely awful.
The show is hosted by divorce attorney, nope, sorry, “Celebrity Divorce Attorney” Vikki Ziegler, it’s about helping divorcing couples divvy up their stuff. That’s it. It’s not about divorce, it’s not about finding peace or keeping the post-divorce relationship harmonious, and it’s clearly not about kids and their journey through parental divorce.
It’s about stuff.
TV critic Chris Rovzar has seen the first few episodes and says it’s boring. Specifically, he states “Every episode is divided into three segments: a home visit, an appraisal of the property in dispute, and a resolution mandated by Ziegler. (The couple always accepts her decision placidly)”
Doesn’t that sound exciting? Doesn’t this sound like something that people will be able to relate to, something that has the chance to help couples find a way to stay together and try to work things out?
Nah, I didn’t think so. In fact, it’s not even good exploitive TV but instead the formula for a dull series focused on the one thing that’s least important in a divorce, your stuff. I’d much rather see a show that focused on couples addressing tough challenges with child care, support, maintenance, and sometimes, trying a “temporary split” and getting back together again because they actually worked on themselves and have a chance of moving forward as a couple.
The stuff? Really, Bravo? And with slickly coiffed “celebrity” host Vikki Ziegler?
>>yawn<<
Truth be told, divorce is a plague on our culture and it’s a terrible thing to learn that, as I did, by high school, there are less children in an intact family than children who have one parent, split between two families, have step-parents, or some other “new” configuration that rarely serves their needs very well.
But perhaps that’s just symptomatic of our crass, consumption culture. I mean, what’s more American than arguing over our stuff?