Television snobs who bemoan the lack of quality shows on our screens must be apoplectic in front of their high-definition TVs right now.
They've just had to sit through eight or so weeks of home renovation as the couples on TV3's The Block battled it out; tonight the grand-daddy of reality TV shows opens when TV One premieres New Zealand's Got Talent; and you can bet the poison darts will be flying later in the week when the much-hyped fly-on-the-wall show The Ridges makes its screen debut.
Anyone doubting the success of these types of programmes will have been put firmly in their place on Friday when MediaWorks' publicists released the viewing figures for The Block's auction finale. More than one million Kiwis tuned in. Interest in the show, or should that be the people on it, was reflected in mainstream media, both online and in print, who followed the contestants' exploits closely. How could it be otherwise when something like 10,000 people blocked the streets trying to get a glimpse inside the four houses?
Further evidence comes today in our story on the Coronation St saga, where TV One claims its move to drop the Brit soap on Saturday nights for the low-rent food show Come Dine With Me has seen the audience surge in the key 25-54 demographic by 37 per cent.
We are, it seems, addicted to crap.
