Do you tune in to Ray J’s show to see who “smashed the homies”? Are you easily entertained by celebrities and their crazy families? Here are some of our TV guilty pleasures that we just can’t turn away from. Frank the Entertainer in a Basement AffairRemember Frank “The Entertainer” Maresca, the toe-sucking player from VH-1’s “I Love New York.” But now he has his own show, “Frank the Entertainer, in a Basement Affair.” 31 year old Frank Maresca is a low budget bachelor who is trying to find that special girl; fall in love and move out of his parent’s basement.

After losing “I Love Money 1&2,” Frank asked VH-1 to give him his own dating show to find the right woman. VH-1 agreed but only under the condition that the show be taped at his parent’s house in NYC so they wouldn’t have to spend money renting a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

Frank’s parents agreed saying, “Are you kidding us…heck YES, we’ll do anything to get Frank out of the house!” Like really, I thought woman ran away when men still lived with their parents, not to mention in the basement. Tune in every Sunday at 8pm and watch the magic happened again. This is yet another cheesy VH1 dating show.For the Love of Ray J 2Ray J is back for a second season of “For the Love of Ray J.” Cocktail won Ray J’s heart last season, but that relationship wasn’t meant to be.

Ray J picked the best girl in the house, but unfortunately it wasn’t the best girl for him. Since the first attempt did not work, Ray wants to go through the experience again. 18 girls, one man, and one mansion only results in fighting, arguing, lying, and “Smashing the Homies.” Reality dating shows only show how desperate some people really are, and it’s hilarious.

Tune into VH-1 every Monday night at 9pm. Jersey ShoreWhat do you get when you put 8 Italian Americans in one house? A retarded MTV reality show featuring eight individuals who have given the Italian American ethnicity a bad rep. Jumping around to house music, hooking up with random people, in-house relationships, getting knocked out at bars, over the top personalities, and “The Situation.” According to Jersey Shore housemates, the only thing you need to know when living here, is to “G-T-L;” gym, tan, and laundry.

Fantasia For RealAt nineteen, Fantasia had it all– she was the third winner of American Idol, her first album went platinum, she’d broken the Billboard charts, gained four Grammy nominations, had an New York Times bestseller, and got the lead in Oprah Winfrey’s Broadway production of

“The Color Purple.” Unfortunately, she almost lost it all. Barrino now finds herself quickly approaching “I-used-to-be-famous status,” the result, “Fantasia For Real.” Like many of her C-List peers, Fantasia finds herself the star of her very own reality show.  The show follows her, and her 6 family members who she supports financially, as she tries to re-build her career.

The show highlights the stereotypical plight of a black celebrity (having to support everyone and their mother while the whole neighborhood lives under your roof). Picture

Keyshia Cole: “The Way It Is” remixed. It has the crazy, ghetto family members, the supportive male manager, and the singer with an amazing story behind her success. Will Fantasia be able to rebuild her career? Will she get her GED? Will her OLDER brothers ever grow up and stop living off of her? Do we all care enough to watch? Luckily for Fantasia, her loveable personality makes viewers want to root for her success.Let’s Talk About PepSpeaking of “I-used-to-be-famous” turned reality show celebs, “Lets Talk About Pep” is a real life show that follows Sandra “Pepa” Denton of Salt-n-Pepa, as she takes on the NYC dating world after several years of celibacy. 

First off, any show that is created because its star hasn’t had sex for four years is automatically put into question. The show also follows her three friends; Joumana Kidd, sports journalist and ex-wife of NBA star Jason Kidd, Kali Troy aka “Kittie” best known for being the voice of Cita on the BET show Cita’s world is the wild child of the group, and Jacque Reid, the news anchor from BET Nightly News, is the southern girl with old-fashioned values of relationships and sex. 

Their dynamic personalities give different perspectives of dating, sex, and relationships. The addition of these three ladies gives the show a Black “Sex & The City” vibe, making it an easy addiction for Black women everywhere.Bad Girls’ ClubThe producers of “The Real World” took away the little integrity and purpose that “The Real World” has, and made “The Bad Girls Club.”  The show brings seven “bad girls” to live together in a L.A. mansion and basically televises the combustion. Each girl is from a different part of the US, has her own personal issues, point of view, and attitude. It’s like a social experiment gone wrong. They all leave the show the same way they came in– a hot mess. But that’s if they don’t get kicked off the show early for beating someone up.

It is nothing more than seven girls fighting, arguing, partying, crying, and getting kicked out of every public establishment possible. There is absolutely no purpose to this show, yet sadly we all can’t stop watching. It’s like watching a car accident; you just can’t tear your eyes away from it. Teen Mom”16 & Pregnant” was a revolutionary show that brought the teen pregnancy issue to everyone living room. “Teen Mom” follows four of the girls from “16 & Pregnant” to answer the question, “what happens after the baby is born?” 

What started off as good concept has become an unrealistic portrayal of life as a teenage mother. All of these girls represent a small percentage of a certain type of teen mother. They’re all White and they all live with and have the support of their family. The number of Black teen mothers is way too high to not be represented. Where’s the mother who got kicked out and is raising the baby on her own?

Where’s the mother living in Section 8 housing or on welfare? Where’s the struggle? You cannot accurately portray teen motherhood without showing that aspect. The show is painting a nice picture of teen motherhood. 

Some of the most pressing issues for these mothers are grand-mothers not wanting to baby-sit so the mom can go on a date, the baby’s father going away for a month, or being forced to stay home all day while every financial need is being taken care of, watching friends go away to college, and the trials and tribulations of day care.

There is even a couple that put their child up for adoption.  I don’t understand why they are on the show.  But overall, the show presents an unrealistic portrayal of teen motherhood. 

• Jonathan VeaL & Sylvia Obell