Tune in to the joy of TV's guilty pleasures

Pro bowling
Bowling has no complicated rules, no snotty superstars, no bench-clearing brawls. A four-year-old can understand the point of the game: Knock down the pins. Pro bowlers can actually make some big bucks at their sport, but most of them still end up looking like your doofusy science teacher who never bought new clothes after 1977. Sometimes ESPN even airs the Skills Challenge, a wonderfully goofy trick-shot event that I’m still not sure isn’t all done with mirrors and CGI. Want to join me and tune in? Bowling isn’t glamorous, it’s not hip, and your snacks shouldn’t be, either. Crack open a Bud, fill a bowl with Funyons and settle into the couch. Sttt-eeee-rike!    —G.F.C.

Stomach-turning food shows
I'd like to say that I watch my two favorite Travel Channel programs to educate myself on world geography and exotic cultures. I'd like to say that, but it would be a lie. Most shows on the cable station aren't much more than travelogues, or extended commercials. But the draw of Tony Bourdain's “No Reservations” and Andrew Zimmern's “Bizarre Foods” is definitely the ick factor. Who can resist watching these two grown men eat live worms or putrid raw pork? Bourdain’s snarkiness is always fun, but Zimmern’s honest and very descriptive reaction when he eats something that disagrees with him is what really makes his show special. It’s also interesting to see what edibles challenge them; durian fruit has bested Zimmern on two different episodes, Bourdain was amazed to find Spam dishes that were edible.    —Denise Ono

Japanese TV shows on DVD
One humid night on vacation in rural Japan, I happened to catch an episode of "Attention Please!", a show about a rocker chick, Misaki Yoko, who decides to become a Japan Airlines flight attendant. The episode ended when she saved the day by singing "Happy Birthday" to her entire plane — twice. (Don't ask.) Once I was back in the States, I sought out the show's entire season on DVD with English subtitles (thank you, eBay) and now I'm hooked. I went on to buy full seasons of Japanese shows I'd never seen before, including "The Queen's Classroom," about a severe grade-school teacher and the kids she terrorizes. Ordinary things in these programs seem so novel when compared to an American lifestyle, from the schoolkids (obedient!) to the makeup lessons undergone by the flight attendants (scarily intense!). Now if I could only get the discs to include the original Japanese commercials. That psychedelic trip down Willy Wonka's chocolate river's got nothin' on these ads.  —G.F.C.

‘Greek’

Ron Tom / ©2007 ABC FAMILY "Greek" takes viewers back to the hallowed halls of college for an education in guilty pleasures.

Never seen ABC Family’s “Greek”? Think “Dawson’s Creek” minus the whining and faux-intellectual speak. This dramedy tells the story of Casey and Rusty Cartwright, a brother and sister navigating their way through college. Older sis Casey is the popular sorority girl who is torn between preppy Evan and slacker Cappie. Rusty is a former high-school nerd who decides to remake himself by joining Cappie’s beer-guzzling fraternity. Unlike a lot of teen shows, this one focuses more on the comedy than the drama, with side characters and zany plots, such as the time the charming Cappie tried to cheer Rusty up by taking him to the all-you-can-eat buffet at the local strip bar. More froth, less angst. But if you ask me if I watch it, don't expect a confession. I'm hooked, but I'm ashamed.   —Paige Newman

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