The Charms of Being Charming

This past weekend, VH1's Charm School finale captured just over 4 million viewers - the third highest rated series ever for VH1.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, VH1 had comparable audiences with Flavor of Love 2 season finale at 8 million viewers and nearly 5 million for the final episode of I Love New York....Amazing.

As stated in previous writings, I am quite fond of VH1 and they have an incredible knack with spin-offs and this particular franchise produced by Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin (51 Minds(less) Entertainment) has experienced unprecedented success.

Let's see....First there was the Surreal Life, then Flavor of Love, Flavor of Love 2, I Love New York, Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, and I Love New York 2. Basically, a whole lot of 'Flavor'.

Undoubtedly, the shows are noticeable juggernauts in the ratings.

The Train Wreck Gone Terribly Wrong
Just as the tournaments in the ancient Roman coliseum and the sordid topic of the 1970's movie "NETWORK", viewers tune in to watch the bombastic 'cartoonish' characters that do and say over-the-top and even obviously ridiculous antics. Of course, the viewers enjoy laughing AT the participants, NOT with them....

So what does that say about us and what does it mean? Apparently, we like slap-stick nicknames and unabashed buffoonery.

An Elaborate Talent Competition

Flavor Flav (aka William Drayton) promised the female 'contestants' that they were auditioning for a talent show - not so much a dating show (Oh, that's nothing more than a clever rouse). So more than likely, Flav knew about the never ending spin-offs and rightfully has an invested/compensatory financial interest in the perpetuity of the franchise.

An enthusiastic fan wrote: We need an I Love New York Men: Charm School. Ah, there you have it, another possible idea for my friends at VH1 - Flav are you reading this or what?

More importantly, we very well may see a number of similar programs on air about the subject of 'reform', including Ladette to Lady (Already airing on the Sundance Channel) and soon there will be Don Trump's interpretation/version of the show, Lady or a Tramp.

Lady or a Tramp is "a reality-competition series in which girls in love with the party life will be sent to a charm school where they will receive a stern course on debutante manners," says Variety.

Trump will be the Executive Producer of the show and may possibly appear on the show to evaluate contestants’ progress...I know someone who may have a few things to say about this idea and she recently left a popular morning show to audition for the Price Is Right...

Really, everyone in my circle is a "Reformed" something or other and it did not happen as a result of rehabilitation or finishing school - Quite frankly, the charming part happened gradually over time and it was simply called "Growing up".