Ah, the comfort of watching 'Love It or List It'

The partner who favors moving usually gets mad at Hilary, and there's often a dramatic storming-out scene.

David, too, faces his own crises. The couple always hates the first home he shows them. (His strategy is to start off with an unimpressive listing, then build to the "dream house.") The partner in favor of staying in the original house belittles David's efforts all the way up to that final showing.

Along the way, both partners usually wind up coming across as unlikable, annoying and sometimes just plain mean -- at least until the end, when everyone makes up.

Is all this conflict believable? Not really.

The unnamed and amusing proprietor of the Baltimore-based blog Doing Hard Time in Shaker Heights (dhtinshakerheights.blogspot.com) writes: "There is no way that there are this many well-to-do stupid people in Canada. We're talking C-A-N-A-D-A, our better educated, cooler (in terms of culture and outdoor temperatures) neighbor to our north. I simply refuse to believe that there are any rude people up there. But in terms of drama, this is all mapped out, er excuse me, ooot."

I wholeheartedly agree.

All this might make you ask: So if this show is so predictable, why do you like it so much?

The answer, in a word: It's comfortable.

TV has always gotten a bad rap -- and will continue to do so -- for being mindless and deadening, and goodness knows, I've offered up my share of belittling comments about it over the years. And on most evenings, I'd still rather curl up with a good book.

But there's something to be said for comfort. There comes a time when you just want to settle back into your sofa, put your mind on autopilot and watch Hilary and David re-enact a series of familiar rituals.

Perhaps that's why reality TV -- which we all know, deep down, is as planned out as a sitcom, just in a different way -- is so popular. There's something comforting about the unseen strings being pulled. The producers are in control, and we get to maintain the fiction that we're watching "real life" while settling in for a snug, comfy viewing experience.

How did Hillary Clinton describe the effect of "Love It or List It" on her?

"I find it very calming," she said.

I'm right there with our former Secretary of State. And I promise never to make fun of "Real Housewives" again.

Or at least I'll try.