Most of you know I am a regular viewer of several “ambush” reality shows, including Discovery’s Overhaulin’.

But I have to make this observation: It seems as though these are taking on a “Queen For A Day” (whether or not the show is Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) bent. This is to say: the producers seem to be gravitating toward subjects with increasingly heart-rending back-stories. Case-in-point: tonight’s Overhaulin’ trickee was a kidney donor for one of the “insiders”.

This is all well-and-good; I’m happy to see such deserving souls get rewarded for the sacrifices they have made. But, eventually, the well will run dry. As it did in the early ’60s, with Queen for a Day, so it will today. The public’s fascination with the “Queen for a Day” format will wane. And then such shows as Overhaulin’ and Queer Eye will be up a creek without a paddle.