Problogue: Whatever horrible things I say about anyone in the next few paragraphs, please know that I realize I'm just as bad -- if not worse -- for playing into it.

My wife is a regular viewer of a television program called "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," and has been for several years. As such, I've seen my fair share of episodes, sometimes of my own volition. The show deals with two parents, Jon and Kate Gosselin, and their eight young children.

In the past few months, the show has become a bigger hit because the Gosselins were on the highway to Splitsville, and without "ruining" what went down Monday, they didn't find an interesting enough rest stop.

What really pushed me over the edge with "Jon and Kate Plus Hate" were their explanations. To paraphrase: "it just got out of control, and there was nothing we could do about it."

You sure about that? How about quit your television show or at least go on hiatus? You know, you could try and fix your 10-year marriage or something. At least prepare your kids sans cameras for life without Mom and Dad together.

To make matters worse, they'll keep doing the program. Both said, "The show must go on."

Not really, kids. How about stepping away from the show before your children become the new fairy tale children of misery, like The Seven Dwarves plus One: Methy, Druggy, Smokey, Thiefy, Smutty, Murdery, Boozehound, and Doc. This isn't some sociological experiment of which the scientific community is reaping benefits. It's a television show that's made them rich beyond their wildest dreams just for being exceptionally fertile.

The worst part about all of this? I could've turned it off. I could've left the room whenever it was on the minute it became anything more than, "Holy goodness! These folks have a boatload of anklebiters!" I could've treated this show the way I treat other faux-serious trash like Nancy Grace, Nancy Grace, Jane Velez or Nancy Grace.

I didn't, though, and that makes me part of the problem. Instead of making the world a better place in my downtime, I sit down to watch two self-absorbed folks complain about their lack of privacy and the size of their fame-bought house -- husband and wife, respectively.

I know 2009 is a new frontier for entertainment. For goodness sake, "NicholasMendola" has a Twitter account because most folks "in the know" seem to agree that it's a good way to further your connections, communication and maybe even career. I signed up... more out of career-fear than actual interest.

I don't know if I'm getting across what I want in this space. Reality television blogging is definitely more Greg Bauch's department, and he does it well. I'm just really angry, and the wife and I just finished watching all five seasons of "The Wire," one of the best television programs in the history of drama, and we can't buy solar lights for our backyard every night, can we? We need to get rid of cable, but the History Channel, AMC, CNN, Fox Soccer...

Now, go ahead and lie, and tell me you've never watched the show, or any other hot piece of televised garbage: nick@wgr550.com