An Idiot Exemplified

I used to be the most loyal defender of the Idiot Box. I never believed a word that others said about how it can spoil you, make your brains freeze or just turn you into a couch potato. But today, I stand corrected.
Reasons why watching TV is the worst possible time pass at 11.30 in the morning:

1) Only re-runs of Ekta Kapoor and pseudo Ekta Kapoor serials are aired. The women, dressed to give a rainbow an inferiority complex, are in a constant tug of war with one another. The men are only present in these shows to be unfaithful, marry thrice, die twice and undergo a series of plastic surgeries until they end up looking quite the same as the first episode. Earlier, the one difference between these soaps and movies were the song and dance sequences. But due to a lack of story and creativity, even film songs have entered these mansions. Why induce melancholy in life by watching these sagas anyway?

2) Spitsvilla- I know I’ve spelt it wrong. But seriously, all they do in splitsvilla is spit at each other’s reputations and sub-zero sized images. A score of girls try and woo two desperate looking boys just so that they can claim their fifteen seconds of fame, and if luck is on their side, maybe even the love of one of those loser fellows. Really, have girls in this country become this desperate for companionship? Their antics make me wonder if accepting fraaanship requests on social networking sites is a much better option.

3) News Channels- This is not prime time for news anyway. It’s prime time for scandalous news. Try any desi news channel, and they’ll be discussing why Shilpa Shetty has become so Anglicized or something equally intriguing.

4) Teleshopping Channels. This is the time allocated for teleshopping. Even normal channels that usually air sitcoms end up airing teleshopping ads. A failed actress would be coaxing you to buy that magical roti-maker or those massage belt thingies that are bound to make you a smart, thin and efficient home-maker (the contemporary euphemism for housewife.)

This is only a chip off the humongous block of crappy stuff shown on TV at 11.30. The genres of shows change with times of the day as they cater to varying audiences. Using this point, we know that 11.30 is perhaps the time for home-makers to view television. So has Indian Television come to a conclusion that home-makers needs shows that are mundane enough to stimulate a pea-brain or am I just turning cynical after having watched this much TV in my holidays?