I remember something I said several years back, at the start of this reality boost. It’s a vocal statement that has never left me:”Reality TV is just a fad. It’ll never last!”
Boy, was I wrong! I have been eating my words ever since, which is something I seem to do alot.
The irony is that it’s much worse now then it was then. The reality shows from ten years ago have since brought on more reality shows as a consequence. For example, Survivor begat the Amazing Race and Temptation Island, which probably could be called the horny version of Survivor.
Soon, shows like The Bachelor and Who Wants To Marry A Millioniarre started showing up and since then we have dealt with Bachelorettes and celebrity hook up shows from the likes of Flavor Flav and Brett Michaels. Seriously VH1. wasn’t the various years of The Surreal Life punishment enough?
Of course, the celebrity reality shows, the most sleazy of all reality tv, grew and grew. Thanks to The Osbournes, we got shows about Gene Simmon’s and Hulk Hogan’s families, much less a show about Jessica Simpson’s short marriage. And let’s not forget Paris Hilton’s The Simple Life. Actually, let’s TRY to forget that!
If I’m forgetting anything, it might be because watching one or two episodes of The Newlyweds rotted a few of my brain cells a few years back.
And now we have celebrity dance shows. What next? Celebrity Bowling? Oh wait, thats been done before!
Seriously, why should I care if these people can dance? I already know that some celebrities can dance. (Click here for proof!)
In fact, the biggest flaw in these shows. Or, at least, the biggest reason i can’t get into them is a simple question: Why should I care?
Why should I care if Donald Trump is picking a new apprentrice? He is just going to pick another one next year. How else would there be a second season? And how many apprentices can one have? Why should I care if paris Hilton can’t milk a cow? I already know she can’t do anything.
And why should I care about a farmer who is trying to pick a wif? It’s not going to work out. Most of these people there are there for their fifteen minutes and when it’s all over they are just going to realize that it was only fifteen minutes!
Reality shows have been around for a long time. It’s nothing new. The Real World did it long before Big Brother. But then again, I never cared for The Real World either.
Of course, these shows are actually accumulating viewership, or else executives would have pulled the plug years back and sleezed to the next fad. So I may very well be int he minority here, but I don’t care. I still find most reality shows sleazy. Ok, maybe not as sleazy as The Jerry Springer Show!
Reality isn’t bad. It’s in bulk that makes it soggy. One or two or even three or four of these shows wou;dn’t bother me. But there are a lot more than that. So here I am!
Comments
Reality TV is the TV equivalent of people who do stupid lip sinking videos on YouTube. There’s way too much of it, it’s tough to watch and the fact that the person in front of the camera isn’t a professional, doesn’t make it any better to watch.
Josh, isnt your very last post about Top Chef, a reality show, and how much you like it?
NM, that was Elizabeth. I agree, most reality shows suck. Too much drama. This is actually why Idol is one of the better ones. They dont get into the drama with the top contestents. Its just singing, and the winners are actually really good and succesful.
Jon, quick catch *laugh* I’m actually quite amused by the contrast of these two posts being together.
For the most part, I agree with everything said here. While I admit I get sucked in by the train wreck factor, for the most part my only exceptions are Project Runway and Top Chef. I couldn’t even get into Top Design and Shear Genius, which are generally the exact same formula.
But one of the things that bothers me most about all of the competitive reality shows is that they act like they really will crown the next great American designer, Top Model, hot dancer, etc. I don’t think a single one of these shows has actually produced a real commodity in their field. Instead, they produce this weird subset of “reality tv celebrities.”
American Idol even shows that most of the time losing is better than winning. The most successful contestants so far, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood aside, have been the ones that lost.
But I have to admit, that the wealth of reality television has one positive outcome. There’s more to amuse on The Soup each week.
I agree with Jon. American Idol is probably the best “reality show” out there. Don’t get me wrong it has it flaws but nothing like, Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, Shot of Tela (whatever its called), I love New York…..these shows probably get on my nerves the most. Just cause its all fucking bullshit. How they say, “yeah i thought i found love the first time around” WTF ever…….fucking gay shit
i hate reality tv so much…ive completely stopped watching vh1
I think that American Idol is fine in a vacuum. The problem is people mistake somebody who wins a singing contest with ‘being the best singers.’
I remember after the first American Idol everybody was freaking out and saying “Oh my gooddddd Kelly Clarkson is the best singer in America!!!” When reality she won a contest that in no way shape or form accurately reflects the talent in America- nor could it.
Another thing is people mistake singers as artists/musicians/performers and other roles that don’t fit. Sure they can sing well but a lot of them don’t play instruments, can’t hold a stage and would be dwarfed in talent when placed next to real musicians. Singers are part of a whole (a band) not the end all and be all of music.
I stopped watching MTV and VH1 a long time ago, sometime after they stopped showing music videos. The closest thing I get to a reality show is The Office, which pretends to be a reality show. Other than that, the shows I’ve watched in the past year have just been TV shows. Psych, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Chuck, Life, Pushing Daisies, Burn Notice, Journeyman. Reality TV will only go away if we don’t watch. I’m doing my part, what about you?