Monday, October 09, 2006

They've Got Big Hearts Damnit!

I know I've all but forgotten this "blog" exists, but there is something I need to just get out there and into the ether...

I watch (and enjoy) "Little People, Big World."

Many people probably don't even know what the show is, so allow me a moment to fill you in. It's a reality show about midgets, but it's also so much more. The parents are little people with four children who range in size. They have a young son who is normal height (and being 9, he's just grown past his parents), a daughter who is already towering over them, and a set of 16 year old twins, who believe it or not are mixed in size. One is little, one is not.

I found this show lurking on the DVR of some friends about a month ago. I had no idea what it was, but they sure had a lot of episodes on there, and I was pretty messed up, not looking to move and wanting to be entertained. After the initial shock and hilarity that TLC was airing a program about midgets, I settled in with the show and watched. Boy was I surprised. Not only is the show very well done - a finely crafted documentary about the suburban life in Oregon - but it's a whole lot more than, "We've put midgets on TV and you'll watch it because midgets are funny."

The parents on the show are probably as nice and supportive as Mike and Carol Brady on their best days. The kids are pretty bratty most of the time, but clearly love each other and their folks. In short, they are a model family and much better role models for America than ninety percent of the other crap that's on TV. It's entirely wholesome and sweet as saccharine and just some damned good TV. The fact that they're little people was the impetus for me to watch it, but I've stuck around for their genial dispositions and honest-to-god love for one another.

If America could act more like the Roloffs (that's the family's name, by the way) and less like the foolish celebrities we seemingly idolize (including such famous koo-koo bananas as Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, Tom Cruise, and a seemingly endless list of inane overgrown children whom we follow every waking second) we'd be a lot better off as a country. Until then, though, check out "Little People, Big World." It'll make you think twice about dwarve-tossing at the local pub.