Hooked On House Hunters

"Reality shows" of every stripe have taken over evening television, with the likes of Honey Boo Boo, Real Housewives, Ice Road Truckers and the History Channel's Pickers. It's no wonder the younger generation is no longer getting hooked on the old daytime soap operas.   These not always spontaneous "slices of life" and the story lines that develop on danceoffs and singing competitions now provide enough melodrama in prime time.   Even the Weather Channel is getting in on the act with shows about life in the Arctic.   I can't say I'm too fond of most reality TV, but I've found a couple of cable shows that grab my attention on a Friday night when television can become a truly vast wasteland. Home & Garden TV has House Hunters and International House Hunters back to back.   The premise is simple enough.   A realtor shows a prospective home buyer or buyers three different properties for sale or rent.   There's no host, but an unseen woman is one of my favorite narrators.    As I watch, I learn the popularity of granite kitchen countertops.   I wonder out loud why a couple without kids needs three bathrooms.   Some folks can be so hard to please, while others seem to have no taste at all.   Like any reality show undoubtedly edited to the max, the viewer gets a guided tour of the Househunters' lives as well as the homes.   Unlike many shows, it all gets resolved in thirty minutes with the househunters happy in their newly chosen homes.   It always leaves me more anxious to put in a granite countertop.