ryan jenkins

It takes a big network to admit that it's been bad. And when VH1 decided to blow up most of its schedule and announce 44 new shows earlier today, that's exactly what they did.

Pretty much all the shows that have been part of the VH1 lineup over the last few years -- shows like 'Flavor of Love,' 'Rock of Love,' 'Tool Academy' and other high art -- are going to fade away in favor of more documentary-style shows. And, shocker of all shocks, music is coming back, with more music-video-centric shows and the revival of 'Behind The Music.'

Even the network's president, Tom Calderone, seems to think that its high time for the network to ditch its recent tawdry past. "(O)ur audience was getting a little fatigued by all those manufactured reality shows," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "They want more authenticity in their reality, which isn't to say that it can't be comedic and light."

But is fatigue the real reason why VH1 is classing it up? And are they really classing things up at all? A closer examination makes both answers a little less obvious.

2009 was a good year for television. It offered the resurgence of the comedy on network television, and the continuing growth of original programming on cable. In all honesty, I don't think I could just do a list of what was great and what was horrible on television because I would need pages and pages.

Instead, I'm going to focus on the things that really stood out this year. Sorry, Mad Men fans, but even though this was a great third season and an amazing finale, I expect it at this point. It's the only way I could come up with to keep my list manageable.

Also, as a point of protest I did not include Jon, Kate or the balloon boy hoax. These events got more attention than they deserved already this year, and I feel bad I even mentioned them.

On the third day of Festivus, TV gave to me ... three reality disasters!

For every good reality show that emerges, there are several horrid shows green-lit, giving reality television its negative light. I could have gone for days talking about tons of reality shows that were disastrous. Jon and Kate Gosselin became national disasters, but even their show had some merit watching a now single Kate deal with her family.

Here are three of the worst offenders of 2009, from least to most disastrous. Oh, and if you're wondering why a certain VH1 show that had Ryan Jenkins as a contestant isn't on the list, don't worry; we'll get to that later this week.

VH1 is expanding on its 'Tough Love' franchise by ordering eight episodes of a show that is to include couples, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The spinoff, aptly titled 'Tough Love: Couples,' will feature 'Tough Love' star Steve Ward and his mother JoAnn. The two will assess the relationships of the couples just before they are set to marry, determining if they are fit to tie the knot together.

This is certainly not the first time VH1 has spun off off their popular shows, sometimes unnecessarily. In fact, there are so many spinoffs of their reality shows, we have compiled a list of just the worst ones.

I paraphrased that title, but you'll see what I mean. And it's damage control more than dissatisfaction with what VH1 has become, considering ratings are higher than ever. Still, after the murder/suicide of one of their reality show participants, something had to be said. So Tom Calderone, the president of VH1, told the LA Times that the network doesn't want to be known for infinite spin-offs of their Flavor of Love and Surreal Life types of shows. Which means skanks and hos.

Which is exactly what they're known for. Before this Megan Wants a Millionaire/I Love Money debacle, they had no problem with it. Ratings were up, proving that there are people out there who will tune into all those atrocities to the senses.