|
|
The Osbournes
Airdate 4-16-02
Thanks to the wonderful highway system in the San Jose area, I missed the first half of this week's The Osbournes. The last 15 minutes of the show was about Ozzy's birthday. He had to spend the special day out in the Midwest on tour, and he told his family he didn't want them to go out and visit him. Sharon and the kids fly out to be with him anyway, and we get to view a touching dinner scene where his family surprises Ozzy and he seems quite happy to have them there.
Laugh Out Loud Moment: Sharon, Jack, and Kelly are hiding out in the same hotel as Ozzy as they wait to surprise him later for dinner. Kelly and Sharon are sitting on the bed discussing their father and Jack is standing behind them facing the blank wall, in total Blair Witch fashion. The ladies notice Jack standing there, staring at nothing, and ask what he is doing. He replies, "I am in the background." That sh*t killed me.
In the past week I have been terribly impressed by the fan base that this show is gathering. Although I do not personally share the zeal for the show that most young people seem to have, I do completely understand that The Osbournes has jumped into full-blown phenomenon status. I mean, once you hit Access Hollywood, you have hit it big. One thing that fans of the show need to keep in mind is that The Osbournes is not "a day in the life of Ozzy and his family." It is actually a meticulously edited series of clips designed to create short, 28-minute entertaining stories. Combined with the occasional Smashing Pumpkins song playing in the background, you get a mini-serial that may not always be the actual truth. I take back what I said before. The Osbournes is not a reality show, it is a surreality show.
I say this because during the portion of the show I saw last night, it became painfully clear that someone other than an Osbourne was steering the feel of the show. During the last 10 minutes, the clips jumped back and forth from locale to locale. Strategically put together like that, they do form a nice, well-organized family monologue, but you get an eerie feeling that it didn't really go down like that.
Does this mean the show is a fraud? Of course not. Does MTV succeed in crafting entertaining mini-stories? Why yes they do. I just want viewers to understand that they are not enjoying Ozzy Osborne's life; they are enjoying some mid-30's MTV producer's vision of what MTV fans might find fun about Ozzy.
In other Ozzy news, most of you probably have heard rumors of a second season. I will continue to cover this season on Fanboy, but I don't think I can take it a second time 'round. So Oz fans, if you would like to cover the next season for Fanboy Planet, shoot Derek an e-mail.