The Wiener's Circle Reality Show Is More Enjoyable Than The Restaurant
By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 21, 2012 9:40PM
Last night we watched the premiere of the new reality show filmed at notorious Lincoln Park hot dog stand The Wiener's Circle, and we enjoyed it more than we expected. It turns out, the premise of the show is actually less offensive than the premise of the restaurant.
In the interest of full disclosure, I've never been to Wiener's Circle. The concept doesn't appeal to me. I don't enjoy being yelled at. I don't enjoy yelling at people. I do enjoy profanity, but this hot dog stand is just not something that interests me. Neither am I a fan of reality television. I spend my whole day with the news and reality and the idiots who populate it. At the end of the day, I want to escape from reality and stay there. Needless to say, combining those two items isn't appealing.
We know we're not alone in rolling our eyes at the concept. The Reader today posted a story this morning called "Things I Hate: Wiener's Circle." That sadly was written by someone who wasn't tuning in last night. I fear we were the only ones watching TruTV, the channel that also brings you "reality" trash like Hardcore Pawn Stars and something called Bear Swamp Recovery.
The Wiener's Circle wasn't like The Real Housewives of... Guzzling Wine or Whatever, and it didn't even exploit racial/ethnic stereotypes to the extent of Jersey Shore. There is little character development, and that's probably for the best. It's more like cash cab quizzes but the contestants are drunk. The customers also do stupid shit to win free meals or t-shirts... which also gives it a less sexy Girls Gone Wild characteristic. In fact, the first episode started off with one of the ladies asking two men if either had a shaved ball sack. One raised his hand, then showed her his balls in exchange for a free t-shirt.
That scene is an anomaly, though. There are just as many bleeped-out expletives as you'd expect, but aside from that, it's pretty tame. It's actually just funny. Instead of laughing at the staff like the drunk idiots, the show is about the manager Poochie and co. laughing at the drunk idiots that wander in late at night. It's like watching the amusing falling-over drunks on Clark Street without having to dodge piles of puke.
Unfortunately there wasn't a video of our favorite game on the website. That is "Wiener Swords." Two people put hot dogs in their mouths and waggle them like they're sword-fighting. Whoever holds onto their dog the longest wins. The game below is pretty funny, too, though. It's called "Johnny reads the classics." Johnny is the fry cook who is pretty quiet most of the time. Enjoy.