Jim Bob, 40, center right, and Michelle Duggar, 39, center left, pose for family portrait with their 16 biological children, ten boys, and six girls, at their family home in Springdale, Arkansas, December 14, 2005.
Credit: Courtesy of TNS
I have always found cartoons to be stressful. They are too brightly colored, too loud with too much activity. This caused me to look elsewhere for my television fill at a young age.
Enter TLC. My obsession with the network began before I had even graduated elementary school. After school I would consume mass amounts of “A Wedding Story,” “A Baby Story” and “What Not to Wear” to glean information that I thought would be useful as an adult. Now I am an adult (technically) and my devotion to TLC has remained.
Last fall, the network aired its final episode of “What Not to Wear” after 10 seasons.
There will never be another show that so perfectly displayed tough love. It was really about changing lives and attitudes for the better, not just structured jackets and wrap dresses.
Recently, TLC has attempted to fill the style void by introducing “Love, Lust or Run” and “Style by Jury.” They tried really hard to make “Love, Lust or Run” good by casting none other than “What Not to Wear” alumna Stacy London as the host. She’s great, but the show itself leaves a lot to be desired. They choose people with the most outrageous and polarized sense of style possible, making it hard to relate to.
Both of the shows use the opinion of the public to try to convince people that they need a style change. In the episode of “Style by Jury” episode I watched, complete strangers ripped apart this woman’s sense of style, assumed things about her life and pushed her to tears. The hosts of “Style by Jury” don’t have the warmth and down-to-earth quality that Stacy and Clinton had to try to balance the criticism. Part of what made “What Not to Wear” great was that no public opinions were solicited. It was all about how the fashion victim dressed and what the people close to them thought, and in the end, that’s really all that matters.
What TLC lacks in the fashion department, it makes up for with the best family shows on television. To fill the void of “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” enter Whitney and her family in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” So they don’t necessarily have a knack for naming shows over at TLC, but this show still deserves a chance. Like the Honey Boo Boo clan, Whitney and her parents are southern and hilarious, sans the obnoxiousness and fart noises.
“Our Little Family” has only aired a few episodes, but it shows promise. I love the Hamill family’s kick-butt attitude, and hearing the adorable things their son Jack has to say.
“19 Kids and Counting,” formerly 17, and then “18 Kids and Counting,” came out the year that “Jon and Kate Plus 8” ended and is now the crown jewel of the network.
The Duggar family, from “19 Kids and Counting,” has taken on a life outside of the show, writing books, and are often featured on entertainment news and tabloid magazines. The crazy thing about it is that they gained all of this fame for being ultra tame. They didn’t break any laws or do anything scandalous. To watch “19 Kids and Counting” is almost like watching “The Brady Bunch.” You know nothing outrageous is going to happen, and any conflicts will be resolved by the end of the episode. That’s nice to see for a change.
As long as TLC keeps putting out shows, I’ll keep watching them.
