So, a needle pulling thread....?

I am getting increasingly frustrated with the appearance of the word "So" at the beginning of a sentence, and I believe I am not alone in this aversion.

It began a few years ago on American TV shows, with reality cooking shows such as "Top Chef"...

Hello Andrew, what have you made for us?

"So, I've prepared a ......"
"So what we have here is.."
"So I took a few shallots...."

Now it has spread like a plague into common usage; a literal plague.
Not literally a plague you understand (for that annoys me sooooo much, as does stretching out the vowels in a word to stress it's importance in the sentence, or the writer's sense of humour).

It all seems to have began, like a lot of nonsense, on the internet, in forums and chatrooms, discussions and dialogues, as a way of grabbing attention to a particular post or opinion. From here alas it slipped into US reality shows, like a previously unknown but eagerly embraced guest on a talkshow. Given the prolific nature of US programming and sales distribution, it made a swift hop from digital output to full on invasion of the human host. No wonder the French have L'Academie Francaise, a crusty old bastion in defence of their language.

The user of this twaddle invites the listener into their own special clique, where cliche and jargon are liberally used and abused. To not understand the use of the ill placed conjunctive, or to frown at the use of an inappropriate preposition is to exclude yourself from this club and therefore remain unfashionable.

The inevitable acceptance of this blight on the language hangs heavy with me, and I shall be resigned to a life full of interjection and correction.

So there, it's enough to make you hit your head with a sledgehammer and scream.