Parking Wars
By Scout Davidson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Reality show about parking is OK for teens but not exciting.
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What's the Story?
PARKING WARS follows the exploits of parking authorities in cities like Philadelphia and Detroit as they go about ensuring that cars are following all the right rules and regulations. Ticketed drivers are caught on tape acting defiant, rude, or just plain oblivious, and viewers learn just how hard it is to hold one of America's most hated jobs.
Is It Any Good?
Parking Wars isn't exactly a terrible show, but it's hard to love a program that celebrates the folks who give out parking tickets. Viewers can either root for the drivers -- who frequently display pretty bad behavior in the face of getting a ticket (or worse, having their car towed away) -- or the ticketers and tow-truck drivers, who often act like they're outraged over why people could possibly be upset with them just for doing their jobs. Which, on the face of it, is accurate; still, it's tough to empathize with a civil servant behind bulletproof glass who crankily forces a customer to wait in line after line and then makes sarcastic cracks to the camera about what a pain those customers can be.
Although the show is somewhat tedious -- especially for adults who've experienced this kind of thing in real life -- and no one on either side really comes out smelling like a rose, teens who are just getting ready to become drivers might learn some valuable lessons about the real world from watching.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why producers decided to make a reality show about parking. Is it as interesting as other behind-the-scenes reality shows? Why or why not? Do you think it's trying to send any specific messages? Families can also discuss why cities need to enforce parking laws. Why is it important for citizens to pay attention to the rules? How is this similar to following rules at school?
TV Details
- Premiere date: January 8, 2008
- Network: A&E
- Genre: Reality TV
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Last updated: August 30, 2022
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