It's a Little Like Methodone.

I always forget that for the exchange of a few hard earned dollars, I can buy TV shows to watch on my iPod. It's like my very own cable on demand, except much cheaper and used much more sparingly. (My obsession with reality TV is legendary, and it's one of the reasons we don't have cable and most likely never will.) I decided, though, that with all the less-computer-angst, I deserved a few hits from the tiny screen, and I settled on a true winner:

RuPaul's Drag Race.

I've only watched the first three episodes, but I'm surprised with how much respect the contestants are showing each other, as well as how much respect the show itself (or the editing, really) affords the contestants. There have been some royal fuckups and extremely embarrassing moments, but instead of constant slow-motion replays, in some cases it's almost like the camera would rather not be seeing what it's seeing. There's a constant return to the fact that it takes ENORMOUS balls to tuck yours in and channel Elizabeth Taylor, and none of the contestants have been made into a laughingstock. It's also not so heavy handed with the "be true to yourself" message that it's trite. It's just kind of...light, and nice, like everyone's sharing their toys and playing well together.

Sure, it's sometimes catty and the challenges are always geared to create conflict, but on the whole it's kind of astonishing how wholesome it is. Since the essence of drag is to take an idea over the top, it's nice that the editors are content to let the ladies do their best and respect them for it. It's certainly a hell of a lot less bitchy and melodramatic than America's Next Top Model, and if I'm ever blessed/cursed with a child that has the same love for trashy TV, I hope there are more shows like this one around.

Two very well manicured thumbs up!