I despise reality shows with the heat of one thousand suns. And yet? I am strangely attracted to this one, debuting tonight on the Tru TV network at 10 pm, Branson Famous. It’s about a singing family called the Mabes who work at the Baldknobbers Jamboree (???????????????) in Branson, MO—you know, where they do all those Las Vegas-style hillbilly shows. Anyway, their days as a popular act are apparently numbered, a new blonde ingenue is waiting in the wings, so let the familial panicky backstabbing begin! Also, instead of regular “confessionals” you see in other reality shows, these guys “sing” theirs. Again… ???????????

Check out this (perhaps unintentionally?) hilarious clip for Branson Famous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=//www.youtube.com/embed/q03iNe3g854

Bang bang, choo-choo train, let me see you shake that thang. Wm. Steven Humphrey is the editor-in-chief of the Portland Mercury and has held the job since 2000. (So don’t get any funny ideas.)