ENTERTAINMENT: Bristol-Levi Reunion Reeks of Reality TV

So we're choking a little on the too-cute, made-for-celeb-mags story of the Bristol Palin-Levi Johnston reunion. But maybe it’s not her mother behind it all—maybe it’s those crazy kids themselves. After experiencing the high of topping Google Trends in 2008, maybe they were suffering from withdrawal of all that attention, posits Alexandra Petri in the Washington Post. In the wake of awkward TV appearances and even more awkward Playgirl shoots, they had basically "failed at reality television." They just had to get a headline fix.

“I hope they realize that being successful in marriage is much harder than being a successful reality star,” Petri continues. “If it weren’t, all those Bachelor contestants would be approaching their tenth anniversaries right now. And they didn’t have Sarah Palin to deal with.” Though Petri is using reality TV as a symbol for what ails them, some believe a reality show is literally what’s behind the reunion—click here for more on that.