A Guilty Pleasure

Summertime TV totally sucks. No real programs of interest. But last summer a cheesy oasis appeared in the dessert. "Who wants to be a Superhero" aired for 8 weeks on the Sci-Fi channel and I was hooked from the word go. The characters were somewhat lame, but some of the contestants really seemed earnest about why they wanted to be a superhero. I pimped this show so hard on the Internet (http://www.cosmiccomix.com/conversations) that it became somewhat annoying to the other panelists. The show did well enough to earn a second season and so far the cheese factor is just as good. Now, don't go looking for deep meaning in any of this stuff. It's fluff of the highest order. But as far as reality shows go ( I hate them all!) this is not bad. It's not a long show, only 8 weeks in length so you don't get tired of the players. There are no major rewards, like cars and trips. The grand prize itself is not really all that special to most people. The winner gets a comic done by Stan Lee, a movie based on their character, and this year, and action figure.



Rusty, my bud who owns Cosmic Comix, tried half-heartedly to get yours truly to sign up and try out for this season. After I told him to go take a rectal exam, I realized why I could never do this show. First and foremost, everything I touch turns to absolute crap. No exceptions. So the idea that I could design and carry through with a costume and character is absurd. I also have the crazy idea that I would give comics fans and more importantly my family a bad name and embarrass them. So I sit on Thursday nights at 9 with the most important woman in the world to me (my wife, not my mom. I am happily married despite being a raging geek.) and shut my brain down for an hour. It is a show that families can watch and maybe some of the younger ones can learn some of the values of being a superhero. If they take that and become doctors, policeman, fireman or any of the real life heroes, then this show has worked.