I love reality TV. I probably catch one reality show a month, but knowing hundreds of ordinary people are baring their thoughts, souls and often bodies on national television just brightens my day. Why? With shows like "The Bachelor" and "Newlyweds," I can say with certainty I am not the dumbest person in the world.

Come on, be honest. Why does anyone turn on the TV to watch these people? To laugh at them. Don't lie. Seeing dozens of attractive, affluent and supposedly intelligent adults fighting over a "Joe Millionaire" or a "Bachelorette" while showing desperation many times, also flaunts the greed and materialism of these contestants.

Not all reality shows hold comedic interest for me, though. I was a faithful fan of "Survivor" during high school, and I still catch it when I can to see who can outwit, outplay and outlast. I'm not the most unintelligent person in the world, and I am also not the meanest. That prize would go to Susan Hawk, if any of you watched the first season of "Survivor."

However, while I like watching brief intervals of "Newlyweds," I don't think I could handle an entire episode. I thoroughly enjoy Jessica Simpson boosting my self esteem by being a ditzy airhead and making me feel like a genius, but any idiocy has its limits. Someone just needs to slap some sense into that girl. Don't defend her. She is dumb in the purest sense of the word. Chicken of the Sea, what?

From Susan to Jessica, we then head to Trista, the rejected pediatric physical therapist who turned her elimination on "The Bachelor" into her own show and eventually a marriage and allowed her pink wedding to invade our homes, our check-out stands and our newspapers.

The ABC matchmaking series, along with other Fox shows like "Joe Millionaire" and NBC's "Average Joe," dig into my skin. Watching people fight, cry and whine about their unpopularity and their progress (or lack of) with their hopeful spouse-to-be just makes me want to chunk the TV (or spend the extra grocery money on a subscription to HBO and Showtime).

However, ABC, NBC and Fox have nothing compared to WB's dating shows "The Fifth Wheel" and "Elimidate." I discovered these abnormally scary shows last summer and wondered how I was lucky enough to avoid these people on the street.

OK, I am kind of a traditional person with traditional views. Seeing two girls rip their shirts off and make out for a guy's pleasure was enough for me to realize I didn't think I would have to be educated by that show anymore and there are some weird, desperate people in this world.

However, as I glance over this article, I'm noticing the people I mentioned seem to be É female. I think I know why, though. It's traditional for the guy to pursue the girl. That's the way the world needs to go, in my opinion. Susan made a big brouhaha over not being the sole survivor, Trista fought 24 other girls for a guy, and Jessica É Jessica's just dumb.

Not only am I bombarded by reality television by commercials, social discussion and the Internet, but I recently noticed the new Reality TV magazine is out in stands for your conversational enjoyment.

Everyone is obsessed with hook-ups, break ups and catfights. I think the entire television network has a death grip on reality shows, and we as the viewers are sucking the blood out of them. One or two reality shows are fine, even three or four. But literally hundreds? That's taking things a little too far.

Judith McDaniel is a junior journalism major from Oak Grove and serves as a news editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to jpm022

@latech.edu.