Next week begins the typical pre-Christmas dark times for television viewing and that, for the uneducated, means the viewing selections will be even worse than they already were. Of course if you are a fan of watching a competition about choirs, you are in luck!

As a precursor, I have to 'fess up that I am a choir failure. In fifth grade, my elementary school held choir auditions and everyone -- yes EVERYONE made their way into this mass choir. Well, everyone except me. Yes, apparently my vocal stylings were so atrocious that out of about 100 students, I was the one who stood out enough that 99 other voices could not drown out mine which I can only assume was equal to the sound of rabid cats fighting inside a steel drum.

Maybe that's why I am not a fan of the premise behind NBC's four-night live event entitled "Clash of the Choirs". Maybe it's the fact that the promos for this latest punishment of the TV-watching public attepts to pass off Nick Lachey as a musical star. Maybe it's the fact that if enough people actually tune in to this drivel that NBC will see dollar signs and spin this into some sort of limited-run series and in turn punish viewers with a weekly dose of Clash of the Choirs.

Having seen the future, I beg of you to not watch NBC's Clash of the Choirs which starts Monday evening (December 17). Please, the future depends on you.