realhousewivesoforangecounty

If you're like me, then you're probably a mom. Although, I don't have children. In fact, I'm a quarter-century old dude built like an extra from a 1960's beach movie (that's not necessarily a compliment, especially if you think "compact" is a terrible description of body type, as I often do). However, when I'm at the gym, I seem to get along like gangbusters with all the mothers who take to the Stepper for a mindless lower-body workout in which one essentially climbs to nowhere.

In fact, every now and then, you'll catch me on the machine upwards of an hour, which is by no means an easy task when you have the attention span I do. But luckily, I've got plenty of friends to keep me going, and I don't even have to talk to them. Because they're inside the TV! (Sorry, moms!)

'American Idol'
(8PM, Fox) 8th season premiere
'Idol's' eighth season kicks off with some major changes, namely a fourth judge (singer and songwriter Kara DioGuardi) joining Simon, Paula and Randy and less focus on the more outrageous (read: delusional) contestants as viewers get a deeper look at who the major contenders are early on.

There will also be 36 semifinalists instead of 24, and the return of the Wild Card round, where judges pick three rejects to rejoin the competition.

Best of all, the results shows will now be whittled down from a bloated hour to a still-bloated, but bearable, 30 minutes, because a little Simon/Seacrest gay innuendo banter goes a long way.

Has Bravo gone to the well once too much? It sure seems that way. Hot on the success of The Real Housewives of New York City, which was inspired by The Real Housewives of Orange County, Bravo is now rolling out The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Now, listen, I've watched the first two series; I admit that they are addictive. And they're convenient because Bravo re-airs them again and again, but come on! This is like Coffee-Mate coming up with all these flavored creamers. Do we really need so many creamers?

Okay, I admit it. I like reality TV. Or maybe I should say unscripted TV. These days the parsing of the term "reality" has become as much a discussion as the genre itself. And don't kill me for calling it a genre. It is. It's here to stay. As long as producers can come up with ideas that make money and networks give them air time, reality/non-fiction/unscripted television is going to continue to proliferate the tube.

It's not with any great pride that I admit I'm hooked on reality shows -- some reality shows. My favorites include the high quality, classy shows, like The Amazing Race and Top Chef and Project Runway, as well as trashy ones, i.e. The Real Housewives of Orange County (and New York), Hell's Kitchen and Bridezillas. I like some of the competition-oriented shows, but that doesn't stop me from gazing in astonishment at the train wreck docu-series like Hey Paula and Being Bobby Brown. In fact, when I hear Kathy Griffin riffing on those shows -- her imitation of Whitney screaming "Bobby!" is classic -- I want to cry out, "Yes, yes, I watch that one, too."
%Gallery-21161%

Ah, September. This means the horrible, horrible month of August and the summer in general are going away. Thank God.

Labor Day is the unofficial "last hurrah" for summer, and there are a bunch of special shows and marathons on this three day weekend. Here's the day by day breakdown.

American Idol (8PM, Fox)
Just when you think 'American Idol' can't get any bigger, it does. The first season averaged 12.7 million viewers; last season averaged over 30 million. A whopping 36 million watched Taylor Hicks triumph over Katharine McPhee in the finale. Some people are predicting a drop this year, but most of 'em are envious executives at other networks. 'Idol' is a cultural juggernaut. Deal with it.

Check out AOL Television's extensive coverage of 'Idol.'