I can’t remember when I first heard about Jon & Kate Plus 8. Maybe it was such a traumatic experience that I subconsciously blocked it from memory. Perhaps it’s a suppressed memory that can only be brought back through hypnosis. Whatever the case may be, as far back as I can remember knowing about the show, I’ve known I hated it. Or, should I say, in the spirit of alliteration, I h8-ed it?

I don’t have anything against the Gosselins personally. I don’t know them personally or anything about them. But as far as the show goes, I am annoyed by them because I don’t like people who get reality TV shows for doing absolutely nothing. Sure, having sextuplets may be a noteworthy story… perhaps a spot on the Today show or Good Morning America. But a TV series? Hell to the neezy. Even more annoying is the fact that the Gosselins’ sextuplet birth was not an act of God. It was the result of fertility treatments.
 
Now, I have no problem with people taking fertility treatments. But, if you have sextuplets as a result, you should not be allowed to get a reality TV series based on that alone. It’s undeserving. Having sextuplets when you’re loaded up with fertility drugs is like breaking the homerun record when you’re juiced up on steroids…it’s a tainted accomplishment. And, if Barry Bonds can’t get into the hall of fame, then the Gosselins should not have a TV show. It’s not like they were interesting people or they had anything that would make me want to watch them before the show. They simply had some kids and shopped around a show, and suddenly Discovery Health and TLC were all over them.

From the TLC website:

With sextuplets and a pair of twins, the Gosselins are hardly your typical American family. Jon and Kate are the ambitious parents of this adorable bunch and they are battling all odds to make sure their brood has a normal, happy childhood. We follow them as they tackle seemingly ordinary life events like pumpkin picking and birthday parties that become extraordinary when you have two sets of energetic multiples.

What in the blue, holy hell? The Gosselins are “battling all odds”? What odds? Would that be the countless free products they receive as a result of product placement on the show, or would it be the free or deeply discounted vacations they get as a result of the show? Perhaps it’s figuring out how to spend the $50,000 to $75,000 they get per episode. Battling odds is a single parent with five kids struggling to make ends meet, not trying to find a housekeeper that meets your standards, or hiring a nanny.

Sure, having sextuplets is demanding. It can get crazy caring for two kids, let alone eight. Maybe I would have more sympathy if they were really struggling. But they’re not. Now, I have never seen the show, but I’m fairly certain that there was never a “where will the Gosselins next meal come from?” episode. Nor was there a “the Gosselins don’t have heat this week because they couldn’t afford to pay the bill” episode. Heck, the divorce may be realest thing this family’s ever faced. And that just might be why I dislike them so much.