"Kendra" Intro

Full disclosure: I watch lots of trashy television. And I have a pretty high tolerance for crappy editing, cheesy theme songs, low-budget sets -- you name it.

Perhaps a month or so ago, the E! Channel debuted one of its summer television shows, "Kendra." As a huge fan of "The Girls Next Door" -- the reality show that followed Hugh Hefner and his trio of girlfriends, Holly, Bridget and Kendra -- I immediately set my DVR. Though I was always a Bridget girl (she found time to balance elaborate party planning and extension school at UCLA for broadcast journalism!), I agree that the smart money is on Kendra for a spin-off. She's energetic, young and completely uninhibited.

The premise of the show is this: Kendra is now out of the mansion and living with her boyfriend, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett. I've only seen the first two episodes, but so far she: bought a lovely brick home in the Los Angeles area, installed a stripper pole in the living room, threw a raucous housewarming party, visited Baskett's family in New Mexico and participated in a charity basketball game. Pretty typical stuff, if you watched "The Girls Next Door."

Here's what the problem is: the intro. I know I've griped about the "American Idol" intro before, with its low-budg' graphics and synthed theme song (especially for a show that's all about singing and musical talent). But this may be worse. It's campy, but not good campy. You get the impression that Kendra and others at E! actually thought this would be a respectable intro. Sure, she hams it up, as usual, but there's something about it that takes itself more seriously than you'd think. When I was mulling this over with Sylvia the other day, she also made an excellent observation: whether E! and Kendra intended to, it's kind of like a crappy homage to the television intros of the late 80s and 90s.

Sylvia: It's just, like, such a person-points-at-the-boxed-picture-to-the-left intro. Like, "Look! We're interacting with the graphics!"

Or maybe it's the intro song, which couldn't have taken more than 18 seconds to compose but is performed with such enthusiasm and pomp that I feel kind of bad for poking fun. Sample lyrics:

It's just another chapter in life

Bought a new house

After tonight

No butlers and no maids

You gotta do you own thing your way

Go Kendra

Go Kendra

Go Kendra

Go Kendra

You on your own now

See for yourself: