That's the Biz, Sweetheart!
Ken Ringle tells us how he really feels: Anna Nicole Smith, your 15 minutes are up

There are those who compare the present state of American popular culture to the Caligula era in ancient Rome. In that context, "The Anna Nicole Show" on cable television's E! channel is like a trip to the vomitorium. Why would anyone choose to spend time watching an overweight, underbrained woman discourse on puppy flatulence and masturbation while being shown a succession of forgettable houses in Los Angeles and attending a party with tattooed models in thongs?

Only two reasons suggest themselves: to feel superior (and if "The Anna Nicole Show" makes you feel good, get help immediately), or for a depressing peek at the future. Friedrich Nietzsche once declared that if we stare at a monster long enough, we become the monster. The 30-minute length of "The Anna Nicole Show," starring Anna Nicole Smith, amounts to almost legally actionable monstervision. Tune in only if you long to develop the psyche of a Pop-Tart.

More goodness by following the link. But justice may be delayed according to Fox:

But the week's ratings coup took place on cable Sunday night, with the premiere on E! Entertainment of The Anna Nicole Show -- an episodic documentary of Anna Nicole Smith, the zaftig former Playboy playmate and Guess? jeans model now best known for her legal fight over her 90-year-old late husband's multimillion-dollar estate.

The first show took the week's top spot on basic cable, with a household rating of 4.1, and was the highest-rated program in the E! channel's history.

My guess is that the attraction is much like that which draws people to freak shows. That and the "models" in thongs.