Are you getting tired of reality tv shows?

[banquo's_bumble_puppy]

Survivor, et al... I long for the days of more traditional tv programming....

[Captain Kidd]

You need a "they were never fun" option.

[LTC8K6]

I have never watched any of them so I can't answer.

[Fram]

There are some decent ones (basically the ones where the competitors have to do something a bit challenging, like in our version of Survivor or the so-called Peking Express (having a gorgeous presenter helps in both those cases as well), and then there are the utterly ridiculous ones like Big Brother or Temptation Island, which were never anything other than an utter waste of time and some of the most boring television I have ever seen. I wouldn't mind if they would disappear...

[farmerjumperdon]

I liked Survivor from the beginning and still watch about half the episodes. All the others are either boring rehash or downright stupid. As an aside, I picked the winner 3 times so far - on the 1st night of the show.

[pumpkinpie]

The first 8 seasons of Survivor were must-see for me. I called it quits for seasons 9 and 10, though I did watch some or all of the finales. It really was a great show, but I hate being tied down to the tv too much. And I have three other must-see, non-reality shows this season, so I needed at least one night's break! (The shows are 24, Lost, and Gilmore Girls. Although I love these shows, I really look forward to the end of the season because I feel so free!)
I never watched any other reality show so seriously.
It really doesn't bother me that there are so many on. It just gives me another timeslot I know I won't watch, and I'll spend my time more productively!

[PatKelley]

You don't have a vote "never had any interest in them in the first place..."

If I want to see people in conflict, I just go home for Christmas.

[mid]

It's a HUGE genre, though, depending on how you define it. Everything from Grand Designs to Scrapheap Challenge relies on you following a bunch of 'normal people' trying to perform some sort of task, and I can't see myself getting bored of either show in the near future. On the other hand, Big Brother (either normal or 'celebrity') bored me to death the first time round, except when The Man They Call Tickle or (Holy Bleep it's) Germaine Greer are on screen.

Documentaries have been around for years; most of what gets labelled 'reality' is just particularly bad documentary.

[Lianachan]

You need a "they were never fun" option.

That was exactly what I was going to say. What particularly annoys me about these kind of shows is this: Why are they called "reality" shows? What's remotely real about them?

[papageno]

I love Scrapheap Challenge (the British one).
It is fun from an engineering point of view.

And I also enjoyed 8-[ Playing It Straight :-$ (oh, the paranoia!).

[Moose]

I got a kick out of the first The Mole airing. The weekend warrior games looked like an absolute riot to play.

I got completely faked out, too. I didn't really have a "horse" in that race, but I hadn't even entertained the possibility that she was the mole. I'm pretty hard to shock, normally, but I got blindsided by that one.

It would seem that petite redheads have a massive evolutionary advantage over me. Darwinism in action, and I don't think I'd even mind very much. *chuckle*

All other unreality shows: boring, repetitive, with lame stunts.

[Lance]

My name is Lance and I am a reality TV addict...

Can't get enough, give me more, MORE!

[Argos]

You need a "they were never fun" option.

And another one: TV?? what´s it?

[teddyv]

Watched the first "Survivor", got disgusted by the whole premise, and have never watched any reality show since.

[SeanF]

I got a kick out of the first The Mole airing. The weekend warrior games looked like an absolute riot to play.

I got completely faked out, too. I didn't really have a "horse" in that race, but I hadn't even entertained the possibility that she was the mole. I'm pretty hard to shock, normally, but I got blindsided by that one.

It would seem that petite redheads have a massive evolutionary advantage over me. Darwinism in action, and I don't think I'd even mind very much. *chuckle*

All other unreality shows: boring, repetitive, with lame stunts.
The Mole was the only reality show I really got into. I didn't start watching until near the end of the first season, though. I liked it because, unlike other reality shows, it wasn't inherently a popularity contest. Nobody got "voted off" - players got eliminated by their own lack of deductive skills - so there wasn't the usual kind of back-stabbing you see in Survivor and the ilk. Unfortunately, that may be why it didn't do as good in the ratings.

The second season, I made my determination who the Mole was by about half-way through, and I was right!

I wish they'd bring that one back . . .

[planethollywood]

Maybe we could list TV shows we enjoyed that got the chop because the TV network executives decided on the cheaper format of reality TV.....


Reality TV is anything but Reality - just like having my picture taken doesn't make me an actor.

And now for the emoticon all star dancers........
[-X =D> \:D/ [-( :^o :-({|= ](*,) :lol:

[Swift]

I voted yes, but my real choice would have been I always thought they were stupid. As far as I'm concerned they range from stupid and boring to revolting. I think at their worst they glorify some of the worst human behavior (greed, anger, cruelty).

[jfribrg]

I voted yes, but I don't watch any of them. My not having a TV has something to do with that. However, I am tired of hearing radio ads for reality show.

[Humphrey]

2 reality shows i like(ed). Animal planets FIRSTY season of King of the Jungle. The first season of the show had people try out to become a host for a new animal planet show. Second season the f'ed it up by making it exactly like survivor. I didnt see a single full episode of second season.


And i gotta be frank, i love the Aprentace. :-)

[Chuck]

I approve of reality shows. Their existence let's me know that I can safely read a book, knowing with certainty that I'm not missing anything good on television.

[collegeguy]

Some of them are okay. The Ultimate Fighter was great and 30 Days that is coming up in June looks good, too IMHO.

[mutant]

Reality shows are just another example of why our tv is rarely turned on.
Someone found a way to make a tv show using a bunch of out of work people and spending about $50 to do it.

And yes, you do need a third option in the poll that lets us choose that they were never interesting............jmho.

[Parrothead]

I enjoyed the mole's first couple of seasons. They had a few "celebrity" mole series', which never seemed to be marketed well, I caught them when they were just about over. I like Amazing Race, just not the fact that they have been giving slots to former "reality" show winners/competitors. One slot going to a former Big Brother contestant a series or so ago and Survivor's "Rob and Amber" in the most recent series. Junkyard Wars was good for the first bit, but went downhill with changes to the format (IMO).

[Swift]

Even the term "reality" show is such new-speak. There is absolutely nothing real about them, except the fact that they don't use "real" actors but actor want-to-be's. I loved to see a real "reality" show, they could follow me around as I sit in boring meetings and get stuck in traffic. :wink: Dilbert is more realistic then any of this nonsense.

[jrkeller]

Unfortunately, you have people like my sister who only watch those shows.

About the only reality show I like is the Surreal Life on VH1.

[paulie jay]

You should have included a "No, they've ALWAYS been garbage" option. There's absolutely no reality about them - an acquaintence of mine was on the first Australian Big Brother show and she lied through her teeth about who she was and what she did for a living etc. It's just all show for the cameras. They're just "game shows".

I remember when "reality television" referred to a fly-on-the-wall-documentary

[Maksutov]

I watched a couple back when they first came on, just out of curiosity, realized they were more prime-time network junk and stopped watching.

Agree with paulie jay's "No, they've ALWAYS been garbage" option.

[mwill]

I don't want to sound like a jerk but I've ALWAYS hated reality TV. Back in the day I was complaining about how the Real World was the most pointless, pathetic, garbage on TV. If I had known it would become a network trend I would have tried to do something about it. Nothing irritates me more then some boring simpletons arguing about thier relationships on TV.

Wait Paulie Jay said it first. Oops.

I'm a TV addict though. So I have a lot of strong opinions about various shows. Turn it off and read a book? Bah! :P

[Enzp]

I don't care that they are on, but they hold zero interest for me. But then again we haven't decided what reality TV refers to exactly. To me it is a show with "civilians" competing in some fashion. I have seen maybe a minute and a half of survivor. I am amazed there have been 10 seasons of it, if you had asked me before saying that, I would have guessed maybe three of four. WHo knew?

I suppose they are included, but I enjoy shows like Iron CHef where real people ply their own actual skills. I don't care so much who wins, but I like seeing how and what they cook. I will also admit to an interest in watching the motorcycle builder shows. I get real sick of the father and son yelling at each other constantly, but they do have serious craftsmanship going on, and as someone with my own technical skills, I can appreciate that aspect.

But things like Survivor and Big Brother to me seem like a soap opera without a plot. Fear Factor? I don't care if people eat worms or not.

My wife had the Anna Nicole show on once and I had to leave the room. I could not stand to listen to her - Anna's - whining and general incoherence. The wife also loves the Surreal Life series. I find it bizarre and stupid.

So put me down for wanting a "don't care, don't watch" option for the most part..

[DroneFour]

1. People do not act the way they normally do when there is a camera crew breathing down their neck.
2. "Reality" TV shows have been around long enough so that anyone who wants to be on one knows that they have to play a role to get some face time. Jock, drunk, psycho... It's worse than high school.
3. Producers create "reality" shows. Producers who only care about ratings and money.
4. Therefore, I've had enough. But I do have an idea of my own. It involves a trip to Mars.

[mid]

It's true that they're an excellent demonstration of Heisenberg - the act of observing inherently changes the observed.

As we've mentioned, no-one is quite sure what "Reality" TV is. It isn't quite as generic as Documentary, though the heading has well and truly swallowed what used to just be called 'fly-on-the-wall documentary'. It doesn't have to involve random members of the public, as so many of the competitive shows have run 'Celebrity' versions without major changes.

Which of the following would you deem Reality, for instance:

Project Greenlight, Junkyard Wars/Scrapheap Challenge, Survivor, Celebrity Survivor, The Apprentice.

Sometimes, it seems the journos just use it to mean "Just about everything that isn't fictional".

[tyrie2001]

You need a "they were never fun" option.

That was exactly what I was going to say. What particularly annoys me about these kind of shows is this: Why are they called "reality" shows? What's remotely real about them?

I think I'll have to agree with that

[pumpkinpie]

You need a "they were never fun" option.

That was exactly what I was going to say. What particularly annoys me about these kind of shows is this: Why are they called "reality" shows? What's remotely real about them?

I think I'll have to agree with that

I agree too--there's not much real about them. Even the show that started it all over 10 years ago, MTV's "The Real World," isn't the real world at all. Put 7 people in a house and tape what goes on--well it's kind of like Schroedinger's Cat. The fact that you're taping them changes their behaviors! People wouldn't act like that if they weren't being taped.

I notice that is the biggest complaint from most people in this post that dislike reality tv--that it's nothing like reality. Would your opinion change any if the genre was called something else, and isn't trying to push a fake "reality?" I tend to think of them as unscripted dramas, and the things like Fear Factor, the Bachelors, and The Amazing Race should be in the category of game show. Survivor, too, for that matter. If there's a prize involved, call it a game show! What we know of as game shows are unscripted too, so why don't we call them reality?

[Captain Kidd]

But the thing is, they are scripted.

There's a big to-do going on between the writers' guild and the Reality TV (RTV) producers because the RTV producers won't hire guild writers.

If they did,
a) they'd have to pay them more and RTV budgets are extremely lean and
b) they'd have to put their name and title into the credits revealing that, to an extent, RTV is scripted.

I felt sorry for the non-guild writers for a couple minutes when they were saying that the non-guild writers were only being paid 1/3 to 1/2 what guild members get paid and how hard that was to live off of. Then they threw out some numbers and I realized that even being non-guild, they're getting close to $100k/year. So my sympathy for the “starving writers who are being paid sooooo little” went out the window along with even more on the little respect I have for Hollywood.

This was an NPR radio report so I don't have a link for a source.

[pumpkinpie]

But the thing is, they are scripted.


Ok, so they aren't "Reality" and they aren't "Unscripted." Can anyone come up with a fitting name for this genre?

[Moose]

But the thing is, they are scripted.


Ok, so they aren't "Reality" and they aren't "Unscripted." Can anyone come up with a fitting name for this genre?

*chuckle* Not without getting banned.

[mid]

*chuckle* Not without getting banned.

In which case, I think we have our definition. "Reality TV" is television we don't like that purports to involve actual people. If we do like it, then all of a sudden it's a gameshow/documentary/whatever.

[Darasen]

Does Celebrity DeatMatch count a Reality TV ?

[Melusine]

Always garbage. Watch the Iron Man, Ultra Man or a blind man or quadripeligic climb Mount everest instead. Those are *reality* events that don't need to claim "Reality." I think, too, they have a mean streak underneath them all, besides being fake and heavily produced, and full of nitwits who think they're so amusing. I can't wait until they go away and something interesting takes their place. http://img.lop.com/images/glp/images/smilies/whip.gif
edit space

[Gillianren]

getting? getting? bwa ha ha ha ha ha!

and CBS just cancelled my favorite show, too. their head said something like, "we think more young people will respond to talking to ghosts than talking to God." grrrrrrr.

okay, here's my quick definition of "reality TV" and why it leaves out Iron Chef, etc. "reality TV" is the act of putting allegedly real people into unreal situations (see, for example, "the probability that an intern works w/Donald Trump") for the entertainment of the masses and usually a large cash prize. the worst example of this, to me, is the egregious Real Gilligan's Island, or whatever TBS calls it. that's putting allegedly real people into an unreal situation and making them pretend to be characters on a bad TV show from decades ago!

now, Iron Chef is kind of unreal, yes, but the concept of a cooking competition is not new; it is not contrived for the sake of the show. the rules are, and the "chairman" on both versions are actors (Chairman Kaga was in the Japanese version of Jesus Christ Superstar!), and the Junkyard Wars/Scrapheap Challenge sort of thing, while unreal, is another relying on your own strengths. besides, in neither case are the competitors living in an unreal situation.

[dita]

I think for the most (not all) reality shows are GARBAGE MIND POLLUTING series that slowly rott the brain and take away our sensibilities. At times I am forced to watch the Bachelor...OMG...I cant believe woman actually act like this just to get a man! Who does this in real life?? :o Really...give me a break...UGH...NO MORE REALITY SHOWS!

[Superluminal]

There's really no such thing as a reality show. Once people realize they are in front of a camera, they act totally different.

[devil's advocate]

Does Celebrity DeatMatch count a Reality TV ?
Its more realistic than most of the stuff out there. As far as I'm concerned, reallity sucks, and not just the T.V. shows...

Only kidding. There's nothing realistic about these shows. The closest I'll get is sports. Sign me up for the "Always bad" option.

[mutant]

But the thing is, they are scripted.


Ok, so they aren't "Reality" and they aren't "Unscripted." Can anyone come up with a fitting name for this genre?


"Idiots 'R' Us"?

[Swift]

Does Celebrity DeatMatch count a Reality TV ?
Its more realistic than most of the stuff out there. As far as I'm concerned, reallity sucks, and not just the T.V. shows...

Only kidding. There's nothing realistic about these shows. The closest I'll get is sports. Sign me up for the "Always bad" option.
Reality is for those people who can't handle (fill in blank: science fiction, drugs, etc.). :wink:

[Maksutov]

For all of you who voted "Yes. They were fun at first...but...its's becoming a case of oversaturation...", here's some really wonderful news, courtesy of Yahoo! TV and your customer-responsive networks:

http://img163.echo.cx/img163/5116/realityunreal2xs.th.jpg (http://img163.echo.cx/my.php?image=realityunreal2xs.jpg)

Here's a link to the article. (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/tv/top/summerrealtiy/*http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20050526/111714792000.html)

Ugh! #-o

[The Shade]

I've had to endure one episode of Survivor once, but only because my fiancée and I were visiting friends and they wanted to watch it. I must say that this was truly felt like one of the longest hours of my life.

The only thing I watch that comes close to so-called reality TV is MXC. "Get it on!"

[Chief Engineer Scott]

I think the only one I watched, and then only a couple of episodes was a celebrity big brother back in the U.K, the main points of interest were, one of the competitors escaped (yep, climbed the wall at the back and went off home), when he persuaded to return (probably something on the contract) he ended up the winner. Other than that, when the subject is brought up at work, my stock reply is "I have a life thank you."
:D

[AndrewGPaul]

For all of you who voted "Yes. They were fun at first...but...its's becoming a case of oversaturation...", here's some really wonderful news, courtesy of Yahoo! TV and your customer-responsive networks:
Here's a link to the article. (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/tv/top/summerrealtiy/*http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20050526/111714792000.html)

Ugh! #-o

""I Want to Be a Hilton." Fox still has Paris, but NBC has matriarch Kathy Hilton guiding 14 young contestants through the New York society scene. Whoever emerges as the winner of Hilton's contests gets to live the live of a rich person for a year. Debuts June 21."

How about, Paris gets disowned in favour of the winner? That'd be something to see :)

[mickal555]

The only ones I liked were "the mole" "treasure island" and the 1st season of surviver. I hate the singing ones like Australian idol- the fact that we then got american idol at prime time made my blood boil.

[HAVOC451]

What? No option for "I've never watched a reality show"?