New era of MTV shows offers beneficial lessons

The other night while in the gym, I noticed something other than “The Hills” playing on MTV; a show entitled “Sex…with Mom and Dad.” The show features possibly sexually active teenagers, both female and male, gay and straight, and proceeds to have the teenager, as well as his or her mom and dad meet with longtime Loveline host Dr. Drew. Dr. Drew helps kid and parental unit learn to talk about sex openly and honestly and serves not just to fix one family at a time, but obviously hopes to help encourage such candid conversation between teenager viewers and their parents.

My initial thought to the show was a sigh of relief that I myself never had to go through a videotaped version of the birds and the bees talk, but my second reaction was the appreciation that MTV is actually airing something decent and beneficial to society. I’m not even going to touch on the fact that their official title is “music television” because you’ve probably all been reading complaints about their lack of video play since you started watching MTV (I know I have) and why try for the impossible? However, I have to admit I will gladly take this entertaining yet educational show over the latest installment of “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” (everyone hooks up and then back stabs everyone else. … Shocker) and MTV’s current crown jewel, “The Hills.”

Yes, I am an A&E writer but I am first and foremost an honest journalist who must “˜fess up to watching this show. I can only compare watching LC and Brody trash talk over dinner to eating too much cookie dough while trying to bake or eating junk food less than half-an-hour before dinner. You know its ridiculously bad for you but you can’t stop yourself.

However, as “The Hills” has become more and more staged in recent seasons and “The Real World” has turned into a show about anything but, someone in the higher ups at 1515 Broadway has managed to pull a fast one with the recent addition of educational shows such as “Sex…with Mom and Dad” as well as one of my new favorite MTV staples, “Busted.”

“Busted” is my pick of the new fall TV season thus far as it adds a little of both the best and worst MTV has to offer. It is a reality show in the truest form of this guilty pleasure genre as camera crews follow around police officers in small towns such as Oxnard, CA and Toms River, NJ and then tape and show the footage featuring those 25 years and younger getting pulled over/fined/arrested for DUIs, MIPs, marijuana, etc. The show is organic hilarity when the camera crews manage to find charismatic subjects, such as one Maryland 19-year-old caught drunk in public underage as she tried to run to Arby’s for a late night drunchie attack … three days after receiving a DUI nonetheless. “I’m walkin’!” the college student pleads with the cop. “I’m hungry so I’m goin’ to the hungry store!”

Even after she receives a citation, she still asks the cop semi-politely if she can resume her trip to Arby’s. 21st century TV at its finest.

Besides such accidental gems, “Busted” is a great show because it actually shows viewers the consequences of their actions as arrested youth are seen freaking out about college scholarships and their parents’ reaction to their illegal antics.

Everyone should think before taking part in illegal activities as D.A.R.E. taught many of us so well back in elementary school but it helps to have a few soundbites from “Busted” in your head before you get in the driver’s seat with a few beers in your system.

I don’t know who exactly is to blame/thank endlessly for this new inventive new method of programming. Knowing MTV, said person’s tricks to get ratings and do some good may have already been discovered and discarded.

But whatever alternative reality I have managed to wander into, one where W. is a movie rather than an administration and MTV is trying to teach life lessons, it’s a welcome respite from the normal confines of “Les Deux” and “People’s Revolution,” no?

If you want to appear on “Sex…with Mom and Dad,” then e-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu

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