TV Blog Post- Claudia Flores

Date Logged: Monday, 3 November

In terms of my weekly viewing habits, I’d say that Monday’s TV viewing was a typical day for me. I first started watching Dr.90210 on the E! Network at about 5pm and it was actually the episode that I had missed last Monday, so I was able to catch up by watching it for the total one hour. In terms of the level of denotation, the show is literally about well known cosmetic doctors in the Los Angeles Area who transforms people’s lives by specializing in plastic surgery. The episode I tuned into was about a woman pilot named Trayve from Provo, Utah who travels to L.A. to get breast augmentation. On the other hand, an older, divorced woman named Mary wants to get both facial rejuvenation and ear corrective surgery in order to gain more confidence to date again after seven years. The level of connotation present in a reality show such as Dr.90210 is that it not only presents viewers with the actual surgeries, but viewers are able to connect on an emotional level about the reality of their own self insecurities in terms of imperfections. There is also a family situation going on at the same time concerning Dr. Rey and his disputes with his wife over moving to Calabasas, California. Her parents are moving there and she wants to be closer to them which Dr. Rey is refusing to do, causing tension and drama to the show.

At 6pm, I stayed on the same channel and watched E! News for 30 minutes and then afterwards, I watched The Daily 10 until about 7pm. I personally find shows like these addicting because I enjoy catching up on celebrity news and entertainment. Perhaps my interest in finding out the private ceremony of Jennifer Hudson’s family to Joaquin Phoenix at the American Film Institute proclaiming that he is officially retiring from acting to pursue a music career, are all the things that intrigue me to tune in and watch the latest Hollywood gossip and facts. Perhaps my interest in celeb reality is due to my California upbringing, being born and raised in a place where Hollywood is the norm and the city of Los Angeles is a fun weekend getaway. I do regularly watch E! News during the weekdays, but I hardly tune into The Daily 10 because it is similar in the certain topics they decide to focus on. I found similarities that both shows discussed the Presidential Election, specifically mentioning John McCain’s appearance on SNL this past Saturday and how it was the 2nd highest rating episode in eleven years. (Governor Sarah Palin garners the #1 spot)

By 8pm, I was back to watching the TV on the same network and saw the 30 minute episode of The Girls Next Door which I must admit is a guilty pleasure to either see them parading around using Hef’s money. It’s literally a show about Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends who live in the Playboy Mansion, but they also have certain parties that they throw and the crazy photo shoots the three girls come up with are pretty hilarious. Fans are able to also connect to these girls and see them get along with each other quite well without the drama. This episode was actually the one that I had missed last Sunday, so I was able to get caught up. At 9pm, I decided to switch channels and see if there was anything else interesting to watch and I came upon a show called Scream Queens on VH1. This was a show that I had never watched before, but I found it interesting enough and quite funny to watch for the hour long episode. From what I gathered, it’s basically a reality show competition for wannabe starlets to compete in becoming the ultimate scream queen and a guaranteed d role in the next (spoilers ahead) SAW VI movie. I find that the show appeals to a younger, more female audience because there’s drama between contestants, and I found it similar to such coined term as America’s Next Top Horror Thespian.

I was really glad by 10:30 pm that I was able to watch Chelsea Lately back on the E! Network because the things Chelsea Handler chooses to discuss in her open panel are really funny and appealing because I enjoy hearing about the latest celebrity news. I watch her show every day from Monday thru Thursday and therefore, I never miss an episode because it’s so entertaining. Not only does she talk about whose hooking and breaking up in Tinsel town, but Chelsea also features headlines like a woman in Ohio who was hitting her boyfriend because she was trying to get her missing teeth back. It’s not only celebrities that get poked fun at, but also commenting on people who live normal lives and tend to find themselves in really idiotic circumstances themselves.

Overall, all of the shows that I watched on Monday were on my TV and I didn’t have to watch any of them online. Most of the time what I find is that if a new episode of The Soup on the E! Network at 11:30pm, chances are that the older episode from the last week will air beforehand so that viewers can get caught up and tune in for both. I was the only one watching TV in my apartment and I chose to view as much as seven different programs because I had the time and liberty to do so. Normally, I watch about 3 to 4 shows each day, which is actually more than I watched when I was living back at home with my family. In terms of channel surfing, I don’t change the channel during commercials, but I do tend to put them on mute until the show is back on. Reason being, since I tend to generally watch my shows on the E! Network, they always have the same commercials about AT&T Family Talk featuring roll over minutes and the magic of cotton. Furthermore, I do find that the reliability of Journals is important for keeping track of what people watch because it helps understand what viewers consider to be intriguing and worth watching. If you are someone that despises Hollywood stars, then you would have a hard time relating and watching the shows featured on the Entertainment Network or the reality shows also featured on VH1 which appeals to a certain audience.