KEY POINTS:
A few years back, if you wanted to know what was on the minds of the public, you headed to the water cooler. There you could instantly learn the pressing issues of the day - Shortland Street's latest love triangle, Judy Bailey's hair cut and that Toyota ad with the naughty word.
These days, to gain a quick snapshot of the nation, you need only log-in to Facebook for an instant insight into what's on people's minds. Within minutes of Heath Ledger dying in January, the Facebook status of hundreds of users read: "So-and-so is in shock about Heath" and other similar sentiments. Likewise, when news of Patrick Swayze's cancer spread last week, thousands of profiles were updated to reflect the stunned mood.
Indeed, Stalkerbook, as it is commonly known, lets you know exactly what's on people's minds, without ever asking the question. Which is how it came to my attention just how many people are watching TV2's karaoke game show The Singing Bee (Tuesday, 7.30pm). And just how bad it is.
Three weeks ago, a friend's Facebook status read: "Carl hates himself for watching The Singing Bee." Two minutes later, another status read: "Sarah wonders why Jordan Vandermade gave up his athletic career to be a lame game show host." And so it continued.
The following week, I logged in again and the same thing happened. Status updates everywhere indicated people's disgust with themselves for watching. And yet they kept watching. Because, atrocious though the programme is, it is perversely addictive.
Host Vandermade constantly espouses the catchphrase, "You don't have to sing it well, you just have to sing it right" - an ethos most of the competitors seem to have taken to heart. Some rounds they get through an entire verse and chorus before the song becomes even vaguely recognisable, and even then, it's only when the band sing the proper version that you click.
It's enough to make you bury your face in a cushion, wincing in a strange combination of pleasure and pain. A sensation many will remember from the days of NZ Idol.
Which probably explains just how The Singing Bee came to be on our airwaves. After ditching Idol in 2006, TVNZ has been crying out for good trainwreck television.
Pop's Ultimate Star - or PUS as it became known around the TimeOut office - came close, but didn't quite make the grade. Most of the contestants could actually sing. So producers must have been whooping with delight when The Singing Bee came up. Unlike Idol, the talent never improves. Each week there is a new pool of amateurs willing to forfeit their dignity for a chance at the $30,000 prize pool.
The programme also evokes the same sense of injustice as Idol. Where judges' irrational comments once had viewers guffawing into their tea, now The Singing Bee's song selection fills the void. How anyone can claim that Queen's best-selling single Another One Bites the Dust is in the same league as Anika Moa's Falling In Love Again or Hello Sailor's Gutter Black is simply ridiculous.
At the other end of the reality spectrum is the equally addictive So You Think You can Dance? (TV3 Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm). It still produces a sense of indignation and injustice at times, but predominantly elicits awe at the grace and talent of the competitors. Which leaves viewers feeling much better about themselves and life in general, without the need to chastise themselves on Facebook.
