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By Mike Hammer
Special to MSN TV
In case you hadn't noticed, TV has been force-feeding the viewing public a ton of shows featuring overweight individuals. And we've been eating it up. The question is whether there is any nutritional value in this latest trend of plus-sized programming, or if this small-screen smorgasbord is simply in poor taste.
One look at this summer's board of fare demonstrates that TV is pushing all kinds of weight-related shows. The Style Network is serving up "Ruby," a sensitive docu-series about one woman's very personal struggle with obesity; Lifetime has "Drop Dead Diva," a sitcom about a gorgeous and vapid model who returns to life as a businesswoman with a lot more, um, baggage; "More to Love" is a blown-up "Bachelor"-style competition show with much-larger ladies; Oxygen's "Dance Your Ass Off" is a sort of "Dancing With the Super-Sized Stars." All come on the heels of NBC's heavyweight hit, "The Biggest Loser" which jumped 21 places in the ratings this season.
So it's kind of obvious that TV is looking to order up fat ratings from America's seemingly endless obsession with obesity TV. And if we're gonna be honest, folks, the small screen has always been ready to use a wide-angle lens to score big laughs and viewing numbers. And while there has been a lot of big talk recently about the honorable intentions of shows like "Celebrity Fit Club" and WE's "I Want to Save Your Life," the chubby bucks don't roll in because viewers are looking for humanitarian television.
Reality TV is based on the principle that people like to watch ordinary people with extraordinary problems. "Celebrity Rehab" ain't intoxicating viewers because they want to see formerly pampered millionaires regain their opulent lifestyles. People also love to watch privileged people hit the skids. It makes us feel fortunate for what we have, and the hard work it took to get it. When the rich and famous get down and dirty it makes regular people realize their own lives ain't so bad.
The "fat guy" has always been one of TV's most successful punch lines. From Ralph Kramden way back in the '50s to "The King of Queens" of the new millennium, it's always been more than OK to kick a chubby in the tummy, as long as it was funny.
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