It’s frightening. Commercial TV’s weekday shows that are primarily aimed at housewives — and increasingly, the unemployed — may be more empty-headed and insulting than the soap operas they replaced. Especially those studio shows that pretend to be better.
Consider the syndicated “Rachael Ray Show,” seen here at 10 a.m. on WABC-Ch. 7.
Often her guests are experts in advancing the careers, goals, health and overall condition of the lives of women. These experts speak, Ray nods and the studio audience applauds. What’s not to applaud?
Other times, such as two weeks ago, Ray’s guest is just an available “celebrity,” no value judgments needed.
So out comes the violent, vulgar, misogynistic thug rapper and recidivist criminal 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson. Ray introduces him as one of her absolute favorites and greets him with a hug before the camera cuts to the applauding audience.
The applauding audience, by the way — unless it was inserted file footage — appeared to be 99 percent adult women.
And so, Ms. Ray and Mr. Cent settled down to the business of selling his new book.
Perhaps because she didn’t want to upset Cent or her audience, Ray did not mention that Cent had just copped his latest plea — this one to reduced charges of assault against one of the mothers of one of his children.
And, of course, while Ray professed to love Cent’s work, she didn’t explain why. After all, it’s difficult to believe that Ray, in fact, is a fan of his.
His consistent rap themes: Self-love. Boasts. Hateful put-downs and threats. His great regard for assault weapons and fancy cars. His proud mistreatment of women as worthy only of immediately satisfying his sexual urges before he tosses them as trash.
We hit the Internet in random search for the lyrics to one of Cent’s “numbers.” It came up “Material Girl 2000.” I can’t touch it here. It would just be a series of deleted expletives and violent vulgarities.
You’ll have to check it out for yourself. Then remember that Rachael Ray claimed on national TV to be wild about 50 Cent; yep, one of her favorites. She gave him a big hug while her audience applauded.
A week later, a judge ruled that 50 Cent can be sued for circulating a sex tape “starring” the ex-girlfriend of one of his rival rappers.
Coming soon on Rachael Ray? Perhaps Part 2 of “Self-Defense Every Woman Should Know.” Part 1 ran in April.
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Last Sunday at 1 p.m., Ch. 5 and Ch. 9 — both Fox-owned — aired the same show, a “Larry King Special Report.”
It was a King-hosted infomercial for some omega vitamins.
This was false advertising — in tandem. But you can get away with such things in small towns such as New York.
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Even on Jan. 1, those Ch. 7 newshounds were hot on the scent. Ch. 7 News sent a crew to Home Depot in Westchester to film people buying snow shovels and rock salt ahead of the snow.
Brilliant! How do our local news shot-callers come up with such ideas?!
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Judging from last week’s multimedia hysterics, were we supposed to be surprised that the car in which actor Paul Walker was killed was traveling in excess of 100 mph?
Good grief. Judging from the photos of the November crash the car had either been speeding or hit by a meteor.
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Is it hopelessly old-fashioned to have been saddened that NYC’s first two New Year’s babies — as seen on Ch. 2 and Ch. 7 newscasts — appeared to have been born to unwed mothers? Is it un-hip to think that those two kids are disadvantaged from Day 1?