Please Fix The Format Next Time Around

I'll admit up front that I watched all six episodes of D.C. Cupcakes. I was excited to see that a small bakery business in the District would have its own show, like other bakeries in other cities. I couldn't wait to see the trials of starting a business, of meeting the crush of customers, of handling staffing, of making the monthly bottom line.

Instead we got the most scripted "reality" show I've ever seen. With a couple scene exceptions, everything seemed to be set up and "performed" with a loose script. The show seemed to be a slight parody of the reality baking shows that came before it.

Color me disappointed.

To my chagrin, TLC has signed the girls on to another season. I wasn't quite sure why the network would possibly do that until I read this:

About 1.1 million people watched the debut at 10 p.m. on July 16; the second week the audience grew a tick, and by last Friday, 1.5 million were watching the first-season finale in which a local fireman asked for baking lessons -- really? -- which somehow led to a sister vs. sister bake-off at the firehouse.

I guess people like their reality shows the way they like their cupcakes ... saccharine, fluffy, and with a load of icing on top.

If they want to continue down the path on which they've started, then play the parody up and stop being so coy. Otherwise, show us the real drama ... the drama of trying to survive as a small business owner.