Television Tuesday: TLC is Going a Little TOO Hard on Those 90 Day Fiance Shows

I love trashy reality television. Some shows keep me engaged and others eventually wear out their welcome. I eagerly tuned into, "The Bachelor/Bachelorette," for a handful of years until it became overly complicated with so many shows and a tedious formula ("Golden Bachelor," reignited my interest briefly, however). On the other hand, "Big Brother," manages to keep things fresh enough that I always check a new season out because some are fantastic even if others drag. I enjoy a lot of TLC programs and one franchise that has grown, grown, and grown would be, "90 Day Fiance." The initial idea was straightforward. We followed a couple as their future spouse arrived in America and had 90 days to get married as per a K-1 Visa. Then the spin-offs started. 

Some of the mamy 90 Day shows include, "Before the 90 Days," following couples meeting in person for the first time. "The Other Day," which was about the reverse situation where an American is going to live abroad. "Happily Ever After," and its focus on couples that got married. "Single Life," with cast members who did not find love and are now looking for a partner. "Family Chantel," which focused on Chantel and her insane family. "Pillow Talk," where cast members watch, "90 Day," shows and comment on them. The list goes on and I'm going to stop because there are 18 or so of these things creating a complex continuity where people might be on one show, shift to another, then another, and before you know it we've created an unstoppable machine that gets to the point where there is a spin-off featuring the cast doing a cooking show (it happened). You now are unable to tune into TLC without there being at least one new 90 Day-related program occurring that week, possibly a handful. I've got to ask, is this too much?

A chart from Reddit attempting to figure out how to watch everything 90 Day-related.

I used to try and watch almost any, "90 Day Fiance," type show. With so many programs these days, however, the brand feels diluted. I'm not going to criticize how real or fake the shows are, this is reality television and there are always questionably planned-out elements, one theorizes. I don't care too much if I'm entertained, but am I having fun with every show or am I just trying to check them all out so I know who the Hell a couple on, "The Last Resort," is that are trying to save their relationship because they were on two other 90 Day programs already I must've missed due to the sheer deluge of content? I want to watch reality television to relax, not try to keep track of nearly 20 shows and what is going on in them. At least some shows are relatively self-contained still besides some thematic links like, "Thousand Pound Sisters," and, 'Thousand Pound Best Friends," which, yes, are real shows I watch because I already told you I enjoy junk programming. My point is that TLC needs to show a little restraint with the 90 Day brand because you can have too much of a good thing and get sick of it--even deliciously trashy international couples.

It's Not Just You, Honey Crisp Apples Have Become Increasingly Hit-or-Miss in Quality

I love apples. Our eldest child, Clarkson, is very picky about food but he'll eagerly eat apples. His little brother, Gibson, adores apples. My wife, Samii, is fond of apples as well. We have tried a variety and over time a clear favorite has emerged. We are big fans of the Honey Crisp apple. The thing is, over the years it has felt like some Honey Crisp apples just are not as good as they used to be. Is this in our head? Apparently, it is not, as a fascinating article by Genevieve Yam for Serious Eats discusses.

"How Honeycrisp Apples Went From Marvel to Mediocre," has Yam tracing the origin of the Honey Crisp apple to how attempts to greatly scale up production of the tasty fruit has at times impacted the quality. People trying to grow it in regions that aren't optimal for its biology, extensive storage times, and other factors have resulted in there being a risk that your Honey Crisp apple might not always have a delicious taste but instead be a bit weak and mealy--still better than a Red Delicious, though. I suppose in an attempt to meet the demand for the Honey Crisp apple it hurt the quality, a story that can sadly be applied to many products. It still is our household's favorite kind of apple, but I'll admit without hesitation that too many Honey Crisp apples these days for my liking are a disappointment once you chomp into them.

Joe Biden is Over It/Has Pardoned Hunter Biden

Today, Joe Biden signed a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden. A full and unconditional pardon relating to Hunter's illegal gun ownership, tax issues, all of it. Biden (the elder) released a statement saying he was doing it because he felt Hunter was treated differently by the justice system due to his relation to Joe and that was unfair. I know the real reason, however: Joe Biden is done. He's done with Republicans who fought him tooth and nail to accomplish anything good for our Nation as it clawed its way back from the COVID-19 pandemic. He's done with Democrats who forced him to not run for President and how as a result he dropped out of the race way late for Kamala Harris to take his place...and she still lost. Joe Biden is done with politics once he leaves office this January and he doesn't care what anyone thinks anymore.

Now, Trump has always done this kind of bullshit and is already making it clear he's going to appoint loyalists and relatives to positions of power the day he takes office having won the white house for a nonconsecutive second. Biden was a career politician (for better or worse) who wanted to follow the rules and do whatever helped the greater good. It got him pushed out of a reelection bid (I mean, we all were thinking he was going to lose, but now who knows considering how good it looked for Kamala and all that got us), and it didn't do any good. Republicans won the white house, Senate, and House. They pulled off a trifecta with their empty promises and hateful rhetoric that more than half the Nation lapped up, and I imagine Joe Biden saw it all and felt a mix of rage, hopelessness, and defeat. I know I still feel that way about the election, but unlike Joe Biden, I don't have the power to do anything about it. 

Biden isn't going to try to stop Trump from assuming office like some kind of January 6th redux, but he can still throw up a couple middle-fingers to everybody, and pardoning Hunter is quite a big flipping of the bird. We can talk about the political implications this could have, but what does it matter? Biden is done and the Democrats lost it all. Biden is basically just flicking a lighter while a building (our nation)  burns down around him--sure it isn't a good idea, but the house is already ablaze so what harm could a few extra sparks do anyway? Joe Biden is a lame-duck President who doesn't give a hoot anymore. He lost one son, Beau, to cancer, and he doesn't want to lose another to the criminal justice system. Therefore, he did something unquestionably in poor judgment with his power to help a family member. He did something that we would shrug at if Trump did it but which was shocking for Biden--he showed he can be selfish. Trump proves every day he is an incredibly flawed person and today Biden showed some cracks too. He doesn't care about his party anymore, they've self-inflicted enough wounds--again, they lost everything.

The one funny thing about this is there is basically nothing anyone can do about this. A pardon can't be taken back and ol' Joe can't get in trouble as this was an official act he did as President--something the Supreme Court ruled he is legally exempt from when people were trying to bring charges against Trump. A ruling that protected Trump has indirectly served as quite useful to Joe and Hunter. Talk about the Biden's finding a silver lining in a major shitstorm cloud, eh? Still, I didn't have Joe Biden basically saying, "Forgot all ya'll," on my bingo card for 2024. It's been a year.

I Enjoyed but Also Have One Quibble with, "West Coast Avengers," #1

I read the latest iteration of, "West Coast Avengers," by Gerry Duggan and Danny Kim, and quite enjoyed it! The debut issue features Tony Stark and an assortment of heroes (and reformed villains) working to help the Western end of the United States stay safe from danger. The West Coast Avengers comics have always had an interesting mish-mash of a cast from the days when it was Hawkeye's team in California, and this new series contains bigger names (Iron Man, Spider-Woman, War Machine) and random characters (Firestar, new addition Blue Bolt, a reformed Ultron). One thing slightly bugged me, however. You see, a potential villain is revealed at the issue's end, and...Ultron is up to no good.

The idea of taking a monster like Ultron and having him be a good guy now (due to events in some other mini-series) is a cool change to the usual formula, for real! The extra twist that he's still plotting destruction with, "The Gospel of Ultron," being advertised as coming in 2025 at the issue's end kind of ruins things. I mean, it is zero surprise for Ultron to be doing evil again--even if it is slightly different in the sense he seems to be fusing humans with machines (kind of like he used to be with Hank Pym) instead of outright wanting to kill all humans.

I don't mind Ultron being a baddie, but why would you solicit him as reformed and make a big deal out of it only to do an immediate rug-pull and declare, "Nope, he's going to be a problem!" It is my one quibble with the new series even if it leads to a cool story from this new, "Gospel," of that mischievous machine. It just could've been less obvious this was going to happen.