TVSquad

In terms of compelling celebrity reality shows, Denise Richards thought she had a great story to tell. Her life seemed very complicated, what with her fights with ex-husband Charlie Sheen and their legal wrangling over their children, it seemed like a compelling product.

Umm...no, it wasn't.

Today, E! pulled the plug on Denise Richards It's Complicated, her attempt to keep up with the Kardashians and outdo the Hogans. The bottom line with Denise's show was that it really wasn't that complicated. It was dull.

Her family appeared as her supporting players, including her father who -- like his children -- is still mourning the loss of his wife, Denise's mom. Those moments in the show were sad, but a little went a long way.

Denise's getting in the middle of the employment issues with her assistants was hardly great TV, nor was watching Denise driving in Beverly Hills. And, yes, the ratings were declining week after week.

Okay, I admit it. I like reality TV. Or maybe I should say unscripted TV. These days the parsing of the term "reality" has become as much a discussion as the genre itself. And don't kill me for calling it a genre. It is. It's here to stay. As long as producers can come up with ideas that make money and networks give them air time, reality/non-fiction/unscripted television is going to continue to proliferate the tube.

It's not with any great pride that I admit I'm hooked on reality shows -- some reality shows. My favorites include the high quality, classy shows, like The Amazing Race and Top Chef and Project Runway, as well as trashy ones, i.e. The Real Housewives of Orange County (and New York), Hell's Kitchen and Bridezillas. I like some of the competition-oriented shows, but that doesn't stop me from gazing in astonishment at the train wreck docu-series like Hey Paula and Being Bobby Brown. In fact, when I hear Kathy Griffin riffing on those shows -- her imitation of Whitney screaming "Bobby!" is classic -- I want to cry out, "Yes, yes, I watch that one, too."