Reality TV: Entertaining or not?

[Menard]

As I sit here with the remote in hand surfing the channels, 5 that are coming in, I cannot get away from the reality TV programs. NBC has THE APPRENTICE and ABC is running EXTREME MAKEOVER.

 Maybe I am alone in thinking that these shows are not entertaining, or even worse in the case of SURVIVOR, cater to the lowest common denominator. There must, however, be a lot of people watching them for them to get good ratings and to continue year after year. But, I still mostly find them lacking in any entertainment value, and shows like FEAR FACTOR I find to be lacking any hint of intelligence or dignity.

But that's just my opinion and I do not consider my opinion of these shows the definition of them. Well, with the exception of FEAR FACTOR which is one of the most braindead things that has ever existed on television and that miserable a-hole of a host should have horrible things done to him. But I digress.

Does anybody watch any of the reality TV shows? Does anybody else find them boring or apathetic, or do you find them to be entertaining? Does anybody have any suggestions of what things the host of FEAR FACTOR should be forced to do on national TV? (heh..heh..heh)

And here's an interesting question: what do you think would be an interesting reality TV show?

[Mr. Hockstatter]

The only appeal Fear Factor has is that there's a lot of silicon in sports bras.  I can't imagine what people watch shows like The Apprentice for.  Of course, a guy I play golf with was watching some poker show (yes, televised poker games), and he actually thought it might be a good idea for him to enter the competition because it only cost about $70, and he had a one-in-twenty-thousand chance of winning...well, his $70 back.  Unfortunately, I'm afraid the world is filled with people like that.  Those shows are really just for people who want to get a pair of binoculars and watch what the neighbors are doing in their bedrooms.  Which turns out to be half the population.  The other half are the one's being watched.

An interesting reality show?  I think people are about half a heartbeat away from showing up at the colliseum to see the Christians get eaten by the lions.  Ah, ancient Rome.  The decadence, the decay, the...um...downfall.

[Brother Ragnarok]

An interesting reality show would be torturing the various hosts to death in creative and icky ways on the air.  I claim Donald Trump for myself.

[dudeman]

I never got the appeal with this so-called "reality" stuff. The only reality I see when I see a reality show  is the reality that it sucks and either execs can sell anything or idiots watch anything.

[DaveMunger]

Not entertaining. One good thing about them is that Survivor is as bad as can be, so whenever they try to rip it off, any variations on it are at least tiny improvements. I kind of like the idea of Fear Factor, the scary stunts as opposed to the gross-out eating things they always do. Just make a scat porn already.

An interesting reality show would be the show implied by Survivor. Also, any one of the "bunch of people in a house full of little cameras getting voted off" would be interesting if instead of the same boring malignant narcicists most of us have to deal with every day at work anyway, they had people who can actually do something a tiny bit entertaining, like stand-up comedy, juggling, or bellydancing. They shouldn't vote each other off either, the viewers should vote off the ones WE don't like.

Just had an idea for a Reality TV cable channel. I'm thinking sports, gameshows, and documentaries are *technically* reality shows, right?

[blkrider]

In that case, I suppose such channels already exist....the various Discovery channels, History Channel, etc.  

I like some of the shows.  I dislike the more game-oriented ones [though I do like the Apprentice sometimes, and enjoyed The Biggest Loser while that was going on] but do like shows like Airline.  It's like any other type of show, there are a few good ones but most aren't.  For a while I really didn't like the reality boom because it seemed to be an excuse to avoid paying writers and actors, but then I realized that I haven't watched a network comedy or drama for years.  Cable is really the place I go for original comedy or drama, so I don't really care all that much--other than a few of the reality shows I don't watch network television at all.

Personally, I like the poker tournaments.

[Ozzymandias]

The term "Reality TV" was first used when I was a kid for shows like "Real People," "That's Incredible," and "Ripley's Believe It or Not." No knock-down- drag-out competition.  Just weird trivial facts and goofy people on parade.

I remember a guy in Arkansas built a fly saucer and was on "Real People." Whoever did the interview asked the guy where the bathroom in his flying saucer was. The guy said, "You won't gone that long."

[Menard]

Ozzymandias wrote:

> The term "Reality TV" was first used when I was a kid for shows
> like "Real People," "That's Incredible," and "Ripley's Believe
> It or Not." No knock-down- drag-out competition.  Just weird
> trivial facts and goofy people on parade.


I actually enjoyed those shows. They often looked for the unusual but also had a sense of humor, especially REAL PEOPLE.

[blkrider]

I like the shows that are more documentary-style, like Airline or the various shows about casinos.  I like The Apprentice because a lot of the competition involves interacting with the public and it's a little more unpredictable.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I dislike most reality shows, but The Apprentice is one that I follow every week.  As Blkrider said, it's more unpredictable than other reality shows.  And, it's not as vouyeristic as other reality shows such as Survivor and the like.  Most of the show is focused around the task and then the boardroom.  You never really see what they are doing otherwise.  

Fear Factor isn't that bad either.  It's pretty much just mindless entertainment, which is good once in a while.  The reality shows that I truly hate though are the home makeover shows.  I despise Trading Spaces and While You Were Out.  Trash!

The same isn't true about car makeover shows though.  Overhaulin' on TLC is entertaining as hell.

But, like I said, The Apprentice is about the only reality show that I make a point of watching.

[AndyC]

Never watched reality shows. Love documentaries, build-offs, etc. Did watch Trading Spaces, until they wore the idea out and it got dull, but I'd call that a home improvement show, and I can watch those all day if they're good. Used to be a huge Junkyard Wars fan, before they ran out of ideas, changed the hosts and started to suck.

But stuff like Survivor, Fear Factor or The Apprentice, I can happily say, have never made me curious enough to even take a look.

I do, however, have one guilty pleasure - American Idol. It started last year for me. Our boarder was watching, and I started to watch the first couple of episodes because the bad auditions were funny as hell (damn you William Hung). And there is a certain satisfaction to watching Simon Cowell deflate overgrown egos. But then I got hooked and watched the whole season. It's happening again this year. I suppose a talent show is a bit more traditional than most reality TV, but close enough to be uncomfortable. And it's downright tragic to watch how, through the course of the season, anybody distinctive and interesting is either voted out or gradually groomed into a generic pop star, singing the same crap the music industry keeps giving us. I hate a lot of what this show stands for, yet I can't stop watching.

I'd like to see the same show, only aimed at finding the next big thing, not the same old garbage.



Post Edited (02-11-05 07:55)

[odinn7]

I like Fear Factor only for 2 reasons...the first reason being the breasts. The second reason being that I kind of enjoy (in a sick sort of way) seeing people sell themselves out like that for a chance at a measly 50 grand. Sure, 50 grand is nothing to sneeze at but to be exploited and eat the crap that they eat just for that? The world is full of idiots. I also used to watch Survivor but have long since giev up on that. I can only take those whining, sniveling, back-stabbers for so long before I get aggravated.

[Ellie]

I like the shows on PBS like "Frontier House"..I think it falls under reality show. I also liked "1900's House" thats where I found out that SPAM means specially pressed american meat. YUM.

[ulthar]

I kinda like American Idol, too.  I did not watch the first two seasons, though.  I like that it is actually entertaining - in the 'good old days' there was a lot of singing on tv.  My daughter likes the singing, too.

My wife likes Fear Factor, but I absolutely hate it.  Yeah, the nearly nekkid chicks have some appeal, but the attitudes just kill it for me.  Actually, the premise is pretty cool, kinda like the old game shows like "Truth or Consequences" but with modernized stunts.  Except for the eating; that's just dumb, gross, and in some cases, cannot be good for you (hey, if it is even real, which I sometimes doubt - I just cannot imagine people eating horse rectums for the CHANCE to win some money).

My wife pointed out the other week that most of the 'contestants' on FF seem to be like bartenders, students, personal trainers, and the like (with few exceptions).  In other words, people with jobs with no real responsibility that ties them to their work.  I think most of them are model/actor wannabees that do it to get on tv and hopefully get noticed.

Yeah, right, like a dumb appearance on FF (or insert other reality show here) is going to land you a $20,000,000 movie contract.  Keep thinking that.

Other "favorites" (reality shows I hated):

Meet My Folks (should have been called Pimp My Daughter)
The Bachelor/Bachelorette (get married for money? who says true romance is dead)
Average Joe (watched the first one, actually, cuz my wife was into it, but the outcome was totally predictable)  Sad how they built up all this 'it's on the inside that counts' just to blow it all on superficial takes the day.  Excellent message for young people, eh?

And, I just cannot bring myself to watch shows with names like "Trading Spouses" or "Wife Swap" no matter what they are really about.

And lastly, who can forget The Simple Life.  Never seen it, never will watch it.  I am not at all entertained by airhead sluts acting stupid and thinking it is funny or cute.

What ever happened to tv at least TRYING to be UPLIFTING, instead of creating the illusion that the lowest common denomenator is a worthy goal? Which brings me back to American Idol. After the initial auditions, most of it is about tallented people working hard to get what they want.  And some of them can really, really sing.



Post Edited (02-11-05 15:02)

[BeyondTheGrave]

The only reality show  I used to watch was the first couple of seasons of "Real World" before the whole reality tv took off. Besides that I never had a interest in reality tv.



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