“Extreme”-ly Engrossing Television

Wanna make 30 minutes just vanish from your life? Try this: on Tuesday nights at 9, hit TLC and watch "Extreme Couponing." I was just running the channels and landed on this new reality show. Next thing you know, it was a half-hour later. I don't think I moved.

Now, I've always been one to keep the reality show viewing at a minimum. It's not deliberate. I just have never ventured too far past "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." But now I have a new one. "Extreme Couponing" is endlessly fascinating. And, by the way, TLC runs back-to-back episodes so you get a full hour, which is awesome! But the men and women on this show are, well, mesmerizing in the way that they use these systems that they have developed to save themselves, literally, tens of thousands of dollars on their grocery bills. For example, one lady on last night's show had a pre-coupon tab of something like $646. She ended up paying around $7. Are you serious? Well, let me tell ya, these folks are. Five hours in the store. Two hours in the check-out line. But they are saving big bucks. "Extreme Couponing" is actually the perfect reality show for these economically uncertain times. We may not all be able to go to the extremes that these meticulous people do. But if we ever need to, TLC is showing us how.