Those are called "reality shows."

Because I suppose people are tired of the norm of tv. So we've moved on to the unexpected and unventured, which people find new and entertaining.

I'm still waiting for Spongebob to start being good again, personally.

I like the way you put that, "carnival side-show" TV. XP

Mind if I use that as material? XDD

Though, I hear you. I guess with networking, people are becoming more tightly knit and thus the oddities in human behavior compared to social standards are showing themselves more. Also, with all the talk of tolerance and whatnot going around, the is probably perfect for weird stuff to surface.

Before they always made the joke about weird things popping up in magazines or newspapers like "My husband was abducted by aliens!" Well, now it's TV and now we have resources to verify certain claims like the guy who has a relationship with his car (not kidding, saw a commercial for that a week ago).

Personally, I prefer the old stuff. Hans Christian Andersen, maybe some Sherlock Holmes in black and white, old movies from the 50's, though I do like more recent things like Avatar: The Last Airbender and My Little Pony. (Is it just me, or is this post kinda long? XP)