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VH1 has brought a new element back to reality TV. While other networks like MTV and Fox focus on dramatic or even suspenseful situations to sell their reality programming, VH1 proves that everybody loves a good comedy.
And how could you not? I defy you to look at the clock hanging around Flavor Flav's neck and not chuckle, or watch Bret Michaels search through a gaggle of ex-strippers to find a new mommy for his children without cracking a smile.
After years of shows like "The Surreal Life" and "Hogan Knows Best," VH1 decided it was time to mix comedy with a touch of inspiration.
Everyone, set your DVRs to record "The Pick Up Artist," because I simply cannot get enough of it.
If you've seen the movie "Hitch" starring Will Smith, you probably have a good sense of what a pick-up artist is.
Mystery and his two sidekicks, Matador and J-Dogg, assist a group of young men (and one 45-year-old virgin), who are virtually allergic to women, and teach them the skills they need to interact with the opposite sex.
Now, as many people out there who have a concept of what what a pick-up artist is, there are likely just as many who don't have an idea of what a pick-up artist is not.
A pick-up artist is not someone who teaches men how to lure women into bed.
Bedroom play might be a side-effect of a man's new found charm and charisma, but the whole concept is about so much more.
When the show began, these young men walked in as boys who did not believe in themselves and had as much confidence as a high school freshman on the first day of school.
But slowly over time, Mystery and his crew molded these individuals into people who felt they could take on the world. They had new looks, new attitudes, and thanks to the pick-up artists, new skills with the ladies.
Still, a show about 12 guys effortlessly picking up girls would not make a good TV show, now would it?
These guys fail ... a lot. Girls laugh at them, look at them like they're from another planet and turn the other way from their horrible attempts to talk to them at a bar or club.
But as painful as it is to watch these poor kids suck so bad at talking to girls, that's almost part of the satisfaction of seeing them succeed in the end. To see them rediscover themselves and bring out characteristics women wanted in them all along but could never see.
Any male reading this story knows how savage it can be at a bar when you want to approach a girl you don't know. Even if you think you're somewhat of a pick-up artist yourself, there's still that tiny feeling in the bottom of your stomach before entering the unknown.
Even the mastermind Mystery admits that he builds up a little fear sometimes. At least that's what he told his students to make them feel better.
Take that tiny bit of fear and turn it into a world of hurt for these frightened men diving head-first into a pool of estrogen. The residents of Tokyo would laugh at Godzilla before these guys kept a steady heartbeat inside a club.
The regular reality TV skeptic will tell you that VH1 is exploiting the fears of the innocent people to make a buck, and I'm not going to argue with any of that. But still, I keep on rooting for those little tykes.
Why? Because we've all been there. Whether it was in fifth grade or senior year at prom, we've all been stuck in a moment when we thought we were invisible to every girl around us.
All that is about to change for one lucky winner under the direction of Mystery and his team. He'll be transforming these dudes from zeros to heroes, losers to luck.
I'm picturing a few of these guys on "Maury" during the "look at me now" segment of the show, dissing their old high school girlfriends for dumping them years ago.
They'll still look the same, I'm sure, but with a heck of a lot more confidence.
Thank you, Mystery, for being a hero.
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