Don't bite the hand that feeds you

Several weeks ago I was channel surfing and stopped dead in my tracks when I stumbled upon Lifetime's hidden camera series "Prank My Mom."

What's it about? Adult children playing elaborate jokes on their unsuspecting mothers. Here's what Common Sense Media has to say about it:

Each episode features a daughter or son who wants to play a successful prank on her/his mom as a way of getting her riled up, paying her back for a previous trick she played on her/him, or simply showing how much s/he loves her. Hidden cameras follow as the pranksters, with the help of actors, find themselves in some odd, embarrassing, and over-the-top situations. Meanwhile, the selfless moms unknowingly do everything they can to help their kids, even if it means sacrificing some of their their dignity in the process. When the truth behind the lunacy is revealed to the moms, they are presented with flowers, hugs, and laughs.

Showing how much s/he loves her. Aykm? As if we don't have it bad enough already. I'm sorry, but no amount of affection or flowers would make me find these pranks humorous, especially if my dignity was at stake. 

From examiner.com:

From shock, tears and laughter, to panic and near nervous breakdowns, everyone is in on the joke... except the moms. Once they have reached their breaking points, the actors let the moms in on the secret: that they've been pranked.

After being home with sick children for two months (and gone way beyond my breaking point), knowing about this reality trash really irks me. I have absolutely no interest in watching PMM. According to reviews though a lot of people are LOL. Comments posted on tumblr.com: 

"Prank my Mom is beyond f***king hilarious. I can’t even lol if I did this my mom would kick my a** on national television."

 "i want to prank my mom but i feel like she’d have a heart attack in most of these situations omg."  

"my mom’s talking about how this one show called “Prank My Mom” or whatever is sooo hilarious but if I ever did anything like that to her she would slap me so hard I’d never feel my face again omg."

Smart kids. I'm guessing the senseless adult children on PMM are too young to remember Mommy Dearest.

I love that Common Sense Media includes family discussion questions with their reviews. Here's a good one: "What makes people agree to be on a show like this?" Great question. Does anyone have a good answer? Anyone?