Guilt TV: The shows we hate to love

MANILA, Philippines - I absolutely love television. As opposed as I am to picking favorites in the area of media outlets, I can positively say with conviction that television takes the cake. I admit it — I am an idiot for the idiot box. As discerning as I am with my programs, I do confess that I’ve had my fair share of TV faux pas (Glee, anyone?), but it seems like the hands of everyone else on planet earth are as dirty as mine. Here’s a rundown of four television categories that we all just can’t seem to turn away from.

Koreanovelas

It’s crazy how much we’ve grown so attached to Tagalog-dubbed TV shows. In the ‘90s, we had Marimar and Rosalinda, but the 2001 Taiwanese drama series Meteor Garden created a new era of the unstoppable Asian invasion wave that still won’t subside until today.

Honorable mentions: Coffee Prince, Princess Hours and Boys Over Flowers

Celebrity Reality Shows

Leave it to those crazy celebrities who insist on keeping their lives private, only to launch TV shows starring themselves. From scenes that range from celebs picking up poop from their pooches to stirring their own pot of familial drama, it’s reality its worst — but boy, we just can’t turn our TV sets off.

Honorable mentions: Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Simple Life and Rachel Zoe Project

Competitive Reality Shows

We all love healthy competition. We love it more if it involves “real” people. That’s the promise of reality TV, anyway. From veterans like Survivor and The Bachelor, to the tear-inducing Junior Masterchef, this is where the illusion of a level playing field is just that — an illusion. It’s still TV, after all.

Honorable mentions: America’s Next Top Model, Junior Masterchef, and The Bachelorette 

MTV Shows...Period

Pregnancy, self-inflicted harm and fist-pumping are just some of the common formulas for MTV reality TV shows. Their television programs promise a hodgepodge of ridiculous themes that give meaning to the old adage, “So bad yet so good.’ Tune in to MTV and just forget the music.

Honorable mentions: 16 and Pregnant, Wild Boyz and Jersey Shore