Reality TV: Entertaining or not?

[blkrider]

I enjoy American Idol too, although it often causes me to shake my head for various reasons--the direction music has gone, the laziness of some of the contestants, etc.  It does have a good amount of emotion and drama, though, which is why I think the show is such a success.

[Steven Millan]

        Like the current on-slew of remakes that are plaguing our theaters,these grotesque,all-too-nauseaous shows are just prrof that Holloywood has run out of ideas for new and exciting TV shows(how about: Bud Bundy;Male Gigolo?! Wouldn't be such a cool series?!.

           I say let's all just wave a magic wand so that these horrible eyesores would be complete disappear and go away (for good).

[raj]

Not.

And I used to enjoy Junkyard wars before it became an all vehicle building show.

[JohnL]

I don't care for the Who Wants to be a Media Whore type shows, but I do kind of like Fear Factor. I don't see it as a reality show so much as a game show with stunts.

[Jack Corbett]

They're just labelling every TV show that resembles a sack of s**t the label "Reality" TV. Most of them are game shows.

[peter johnson]

Well, "The Great Race" really was a game show, but it took place all over the world.
I found that one show -- and only that one -- to be the one Reality show I couldn't stop watching.  It had genuine tension, real drama, real annoying characters, real nice people, fantastic scenery -- much of it in places I'd visited, so it was fun pointing at the screen:  "I know what's down that street!  No!  That's not a shortcut!!"
I tried never to miss an episode, but the team I was rooting for came in second.
I see where the worst, most whiny couple ended up on Dr. Phil!!
Can't say anything about the other ones, but I thought "Race" ruled . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[Jack Corbett]

I thought that SPAM meant "Spiced Ham"...

Oh well, that's just what I know.

[AndyC]

blkrider wrote:
> I enjoy American Idol too, although it often causes me to shake
> my head for various reasons--the direction music has gone,

Yeah, I'll tell you what's reall frustrating for me. They have shows dedicated to different genres of music, popular songwriters of the past 20 or 30 years, and all kinds of variety, because they're looking for the most versatile entertainer, and they also know that more variety in the music will attract a wider audience. But what they ultimately want is a generic star who sings the same cookie-cutter music everybody else does. Variety is not what popular music is about anymore. You can go through the whole season liking the contestant, then find you have no desire to buy their album.

Even if they have talent, the contestants get groomed and guided into being generic pop stars and "divas" (shudder) over the course of the season, which makes you wonder why they picked interesting people to begin with. Quentin Tarantino was about the best celebrity judge last season, because he noticed this. "Fantasia, you haven't been funky in weeks."

That, and I get annoyed with the ones who simply don't know how to sing anything but Hip Hop and Mariah Carey. The theme of the show could be rock, country or Billy Joel, and the songs always get mangled into a close approximation of the same crap.

I'm almost saddened to see that a few actual rockers have made it through the first couple of rounds. They'll either be tossed out soon, or worse, turned into pussies.

[Mr. Hockstatter]

MTV had a show called Battle for Ozzfest where they had heavy metal bands competing for a record deal or something.  And they all sounded exactly the same.  You could have let them each record one song for the album and anyone hearing it would have assumed it was all the same band.

[Scott]

I've brought this topic up a few times in the past and everyone seemed to hate Reality TV with a vengence. : ) I actually enjoy watching some of the shows. The Great Race, The Apprentice, the First 2 Survivors, Fear Factor, Obnoxious Fiance, Joe Shmoe, Tough Enough, The Osbournes, American Idol,  Total Extreme Challenge and the grandaddy of them all Candid Camera.

Truth or Consequences was a good show with I believe Bob Barker in the early 70's.  I also liked To Tell the Truth, Name that  Tune, The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game, and of course The Gong Show.

The Gong Show was one of my all time favorites and I also loved the show Real People.

The only time I watch American Idol are the early elimations, but I stop watching when the talent gets better. Plus the "talented" ones are boring.

[Mr. Hockstatter]

There are a couple of home improvement shows I watch.  Dude Room and Garage Takeover.  A group of carpenters show up at somebody's house and remodels a room for them.  They make it into a reality show by having the carpenters swearing at the contractor, the contractor swearing at the designer, and the designer swearing at everybody.  It's kind of funny because they're all such a bunch of lazy idiots, all trying to be big TV personalities when the cameras are on them.  In the last episode I watched the homeowners' father did abour half the carpentry while the carpenters stood around an argued.  And then they ran their truck into the homeowners car by accident.

[raj]

Now that I'm in the process of buying a house, the home remodeling shows seem more interesting.

[Yaddo 42]

I hate the prank and ambush shows. I even hated "Candid Camera" reruns as a kid. There was something annoying about Alan Funt's goofy smile and his "it's all in good fun" attitude that I didn't buy into even before I got older and became all cynical. So imagine how much I hate the truly mean-spirited shows like "Scare Tactics".

The physical abuse shows like "Fear Factor" and "Jackass" and its spinoffs are awful to me for their mix of humiliation, fratboy worthy hazing, and chest thumping arrogance. It's amazing how I could go from liking Joe Rogan on "NewsRadio" to loathing everything else he's ever done: FF, "The Man Show", his involvement in Ultimate Fighting Championship. "Viva La Bam" is probably the show of this group I hate the worst between the fakeness of the setups, the gleeful idiocy of the gang as they beat up on each other, and Magera's raging ego and his love affair with the camera.

I gave a few of the early reality shows a shot, but since most are just high concept game shows, I got bored with them and quit. "Survivor" and it's clones I don't like since the contestants don't turn on the producers or fight against the "the game" to gain advantages on the producers rather than each other. Probably because they sign agreements limting what they can do, just like the non-disclosure agreements they sign concerning the results before the shows air.

I loathe the "relationship and personal issues" shows like "Temptation Island", "The Swan" and their ilk. It's either annoying attention seekers, or people who have serious problems and need professional help rather than agreeing to be exploited for TV ratings hoping to fix their lives, their bodies, or whatever the focus of the show may be.

The home makeover shows like "Trading Spaces" and it's clones  aren't as bad but I find them dull. Just not my cup of tea.

I used to watch "The Real World" in high school and college, but quit around the Hawaii season. They have their formula down and pick the same "types" each time, so it got old.

I refuse to watch anything having to do with Donald Trump, so "The Apprentice" is out.

The closest I get to reality shows are "Mythbusters", "Junkyard Wars" (before they worked the formula over too much), and the vehicle challenge show with Henry Rollins and Cathy Rogers (wish it would come back). I'm not enough of a car or motor guy to care for the various "American Chopper"/"Pimp My Ride"/ car customizer shows. "Monster Garage" I won't watch (after a friend tried to get me to) since the whole thing is one big ego trip for Jesse James. When every bit of narration has to point out that every little thing he does is so damn cool because he's JESSE, it's time to get over yourself. Just like with my distaste for "Viva La Bam" and Donald Trump; I ain't watch those ego strokers.

[trekgeezer]

First of all remove the reality label.  You must apply the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.  The fact that people are being knowingly observed changes the way they act., so there is nothing real about it, and this doesn't take in to account the crap the producers get them to do.  

Most of the shows are stupid and repetitive.  They have all gotten to the point where they have the same personality types (a formula!).

[Scott]

Oh yea I forgot about SCARE TACTICS and I also liked the defunct FEAR. There is also VIVA LA BAM and others.

It's like watching pro wrestling, once you understand it as a show and not reality then it's more tolorable. Does everything have to be legitamate? To be entertaining. I have nothing against those who must have legitimacy in their life, but watching a show or science fiction is no different. It is just an added reality.

All Things Exist.