When the LA Ink started off, it helped a great deal. It blasted away the stereo type of the dingy, drug infested tattoo shop. (These shops aren't just a myth in fact many of the shops in Oregon have seedy elements. Criminal artists, IV drug users, and perverts.) Even so, it showed NOT ALL tattooers are thug-druggies. It demonstrated tattooing as a craft for the uninitiated and the curious.
Although the show has always had some degree of "drama", for instance Corey Miller's epic battle with a vasectomy decision, the show's main focus was the tattooing. Unfortunately, as the years go by, the focus switches to the half-baked drama.
Now the show spins around a pre-fabricated story-line, complete with scenes you'd never see in a "documentary". In one episode Kat had a cacellation. She phones her back-up clients. There is a shot of the clients just walking down the street. They pretend to be surprised by the unexpected call. Obviously that shit had to be scripted. I doubt the LA Ink film crew shot everyone walking around in LA that day. You can't even see people move their mouths when they talk. Each scene or piece of "dialogue" is random footage with a choppy voice-over; the mismatched audio blurbs and phony scenarios have turned to the show into a very boring soap opera. Soap Operas at least have master mind criminals, spirit possessions, and steamy love affairs. Frankly I don't want any details about Kat's love life.
The carnal sin the show has committed is cutting back on the actual tattoo work in favour of focusing on minor conflicts which are blown entirely out of proportion in the hopes of achieving interesting television. The end result is one less viewer.
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