MLK: The Assassination Tapes re-creates a tragic event

Can House of Lies convince TV viewers to keep coming back to see vile characters rip off other vile characters? I have a feeling that particular con won’t work on the American public.

The Amandas (7pm Monday, Style)
This new reality series features “professional organizer” Amanda LeBlanc and her army of organizer-underlings, whom she creepily dubs “the Amandas” after herself.

The woman is a stickler for order — although “stickler” vastly understates it. “Dictator” or “psychopath” might be more accurate. She and her Amanda-bots descend on a normal family and begin color-coding their clothes. She goes ballistic if the spoon in the sugar bowl is not a designated “sugar spoon.” She even seeks to control what her clients wear in a grand plan to bend the world to her cracked vision of neatness. “Society has become too lax about its dress code,” she declares.

Watching this series makes me want to mess stuff up, striking a blow against the tyranny of Amanda LeBlanc. That’s why I will not end this paragraph with a period, but with @#$%*@0726532   

Take that, Amandas!

Top Shot (9pm Tuesday, History)
In the new season of History’s gun-shooting competition, marksmen compete for $100,000 and a professional contract. The contestants range from world champions to high school custodians, and the tension is extreme as they take aim at a variety of targets. The production plays up the drama with deafening music and running commentary from host Colby Donaldson of Survivor, who strikes a series of macho poses on the shooting range. The contestants’ relief is palpable when they hit a bull’s eye, as is their frustration when they don’t. The winner of Top Shot, one realizes, must have nerves of steel.

I’d normally attempt a critical assessment right here, but I’ve decided to skip it in this case. I’m afraid of missing the mark.