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This poor excuse for a cartoon and great excuse for keeping fresh batteries in your channel changer managed to lower the bar on "reality" TV on MTV. It also boosted the fortunes of tanning bed and hair extension salons -- at the same time that it abased notions of "yute culcha" and did more to stereotype Italian Americans than all six seasons of "The Sopranos." Gov. Chris Christie was so offended by the show (and by so many non-New Jerseyans posing as same) that he vetoed a production tax credit for it. Although it's gone, "Jersey Shore," like a creature in a sci-fi movie, still has monstrous reality-show spawn gestating away somewhere in development ...<br><br>

Above: "Jersey Shore" cast members attend a panel, "Love, Loss, (Gym, Tan) and Laundry: A Farewell to the Jersey Shore," in New York on Oct. 24. <br><br>

<strong>ALSO:</strong> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-2012-endings-what-well-miss-most-20121217,0,1859915.photogallery">What we will miss -- Jersey Shore, the actual place</a>

"Jersey Shore" the TV show

( Charles Sykes / Invision / Associated Press )

This poor excuse for a cartoon and great excuse for keeping fresh batteries in your channel changer managed to lower the bar on "reality" TV on MTV. It also boosted the fortunes of tanning bed and hair extension salons -- at the same time that it abased notions of "yute culcha" and did more to stereotype Italian Americans than all six seasons of "The Sopranos." Gov. Chris Christie was so offended by the show (and by so many non-New Jerseyans posing as same) that he vetoed a production tax credit for it. Although it's gone, "Jersey Shore," like a creature in a sci-fi movie, still has monstrous reality-show spawn gestating away somewhere in development ...

Above: "Jersey Shore" cast members attend a panel, "Love, Loss, (Gym, Tan) and Laundry: A Farewell to the Jersey Shore," in New York on Oct. 24.

ALSO: What we will miss -- Jersey Shore, the actual place