Insipid Reality that kills Inspired Fantasy

Reality shows are cheap to make. Reality shows are incredibly popular. Reality shows are everywhere. I can't stand them. 'Reality' to them is putting ordinary people in either extraordinary situations or celebrities in a normal every day situation. Paris Hilton is a spoiled twit in my opinion. She certainly didn't need her own show. Yet we, as an audience, were stupid enough to watch it and it make money as far as the networks were concerned.

Scripted shows, especially dramas, are becoming rare now. Hence, the beginning of the last 6 episodes of the best drama out there now starts being shown tonight: Angel. It has tons of fantastic elements: demons, vampires, gods, and inspired humans just running around in the middle of it. Jess Whedon was able to explain the greatest of human dramas by putting it in the middle of such fantasy. Betrayal and honor. Death, life and rebirth. Love and revenge. The wimpiest of characters slowly falling into the grays and blacks of our emotional spectrum. The darkest and broodiest of characters slowly seeing the best and brightest in ourselves.

Angel is a show that made you think about the human condition through the eyes of a souled vampire and his companions. The writing was not only dramatic, but extremely witty, topical, and always made you think and wonder. It's a shame we no longer want to reward creativity. We just seem to like manufactured reality. Go see the last 6 episodes starting tonight. Reward yourself.