posted
I just wanted to rant a minute about the reality tv craze that is STILL here in american television. At first it was ok, I actually enjoyed Survivor and way back when I remeber thinking the first couple of seasons of the real world was interesting. BUT... now I want to puke every time I see one of these new bachelor/pretend millionare/whore mongering idiots and the dummies who come out to make a specticle of themselves on national tv and fight for the affections of this bozo.
I had to sit through the bachelor the other night with my wife, who unfortunately loves this crap, and i just found it actually painful to watch. these women are saying things like "I just know I could spend the rest of my life with Bob." What person in there right mind can have fealings for a man they have spent maybe 2 actually days of time with and they know is making out with every other contestant in the show when ever he can.
I know I will probably get some crap for this because there are obviously people out there that love this kind of programming. I just wish it would fade out soon. Reality tv has had its moment in the spotlight and it is more than time that it moves on.
maybe it's just me but I would love to feel that the american people are not so shallow as to participate in this trend, whether it be as a contestant or viewer at home.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
I enjoyed American Idol. I also like Survivor and the best "reality" show, The Amazing Race. I despise Tempation Island and Paradise Hotel and most of the match making ones, but must admit watching the original Joe Millionaire. I saw the first episode of the second Joe and might check out the second episode, just to see how the guy handles playing rich.
I have never seen The Real World or any of those MTV shows. I think those are stupid.
posted
If they made reality TV even a little real, I think it'd be more enjoyable.
Show me police a chase, a cheating boyfriend failing a lie-detector test, or someone getting hit by a car any day.
My favorite reality TV to date is the clip where that little kid runs out-of-bounds along the baseline at a basketball game and gets floored by a missed full-court shot attempt.
Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
The only "reality TV" show I've ever enjoyed was "Real TV", and that's hardly "Survivor". But then, I live in a fantasy world anyway. Posts: 1041 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Because I don't watch TV I haven't seen any of these shows, and yet I had a thought that if reality tv were showing us the true reality of our lives, would it be an hour long segment of watching someone sit and watch reality tv? <laughs>
Then if the reality tv they were watching were that same sort of true reality tv, would it also be a person sitting and watching reality tv? Could we get into an infinite progression that way? That might actually be sort of interesting. <wanders off to think about Goedel, Escher, Bach... what a cool book! <laughs>>
Oh, and welcome, beatnix!
[ October 24, 2003, 09:49 AM: Message edited by: ana kata ]
Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ok, I guess i wasn't clear. Some of the more "traditional" reality tv show like, survivor, american idol, and the amazing race where there is an actual game or contest dealing with some type of talent and gamesmanship are tollerable. Although these two are getting to be a bit much in number and immitators that I just get tired of seeing them.
Its the reality shows that put people in the most unrealist situations and feed of the riduculous situations to bring out the worst in human nature that drive me nuts and show the moral fiber of much of the U.S. population to be lacking.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm surprised that some of these shows are legal (joe millionare, bachelor, etc) since I thought prostitution was illegal. That IS what these people are doing.... sleeping with this guy in HOPES of winning something, be it a million dollars or less.
It should be humiliating for the people on the shows and for those who watch it.
I also find it amusing that the station that hosts the most far-right news (FOX News) seems to also host the majority of the morally repugnant programming on TV.
Posts: 512 | Registered: Jun 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
The new one that will be coming out on fox is called something like average joe. the idea here is they take a great looking girl and dump a bunch of "average Joe's" on her. These guys are dorking and pudgy and brainy, or basically like me and i would guess many of the people who post here. You know regular people with intrests other than fashion, muscles and womanizing.
Its bad enough that in the previews you see the face of this girl when the bus unloads all these guys. You can tell she is , um, shall we say, VERY unpleased. But to make it worse it looks like they are going to unleash a bunch of studly, jock type meat heads that are going to spend their entire time tormenting these "average Joes"
It's like the network is trying to make money off many people's worst experiences from high school. How stupid and demoralizing for the regular people out there. i thought they had scraped the bottom of the barrel with Joe Millionare, but i guess I was wrong.
posted
I do not understand the RealityTV trend. I have never watched any of them - no Survivor, no American Idol, no Joe Millionaire, no Temptation Island, no RealTV, no nothing... Why anyone would enjoy watching them is beyond me. They seem, for the most part, like demented soap operas to me (I don't watch soap operas either ). I guess I must be in the minority though, given their popularity. I just hope the entire trend will end soon. How many iterations can they come up with anyway?
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote: I have never watched any of them - no Survivor, no American Idol, no Joe Millionaire, no Temptation Island, no RealTV, no nothing... Why anyone would enjoy watching them is beyond me.
Maybe it's beyond you because, as you said, you haven't watched any of them. I'm not defending reality tv, but I think it's pretty strange that someone who has never actually watched a reality show is so quick to say they're crap. Somebody here is judging books by their covers... Or maybe just jumping on the bandwagon.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:I'm not defending reality tv, but I think it's pretty strange that someone who has never actually watched a reality show is so quick to say they're crap. Somebody here is judging books by their covers... Or maybe just jumping on the bandwagon.
Where did I say they were crap? I said I do not understand their appeal. What is the appeal? I think it's pretty strange that you imagine I'm being judgemental when I am merely baffled as to the popularity of something I cannot understand the appeal of.
quote: Why anyone would enjoy watching them is beyond me.
Ok, so you didn't directly say that they were crap, but I took the above as a pretty good indication of what you meant. The tone seems to say, "well I wouldn't like them, so how could anyone else?" Forgive me if I was wrong.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
My wife and I got into the original Joe Millionaire, and I have to say, I think the producers did a great job of creating humor and drama from the unscripted behavior of real people. And my wife called the ending after the second episode
But beyond that, police chases and RealTV are the only good reality shows, as far as I'm concerned. I've already seen romances and betrayals and nasty people in my own life. I want to watch things blow up.
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I guess what I should have said was "Why so many people watch them is beyond me". I'm baffled because of the enormous ratings they seem to be getting (and they keep multiplying). I know that soap operas, while having very loyal followings, do not have near the numbers of the reality-tv-watching crowd. So I guess I don't understand why reality is bigger than soap operas when they seem to be the same thing to me (as portrayed by their ads).
posted
I'd have to agree that I enjoy watching actual footage of accidents and stupidity. But I guess I just don't classify that as reality tv. Because to me reality tv is a ficticious situation set up by producers to produce a exaggerated response that is entertaining and dramatic. At least this is the definition I have come up with from the examples on TV right now.
To me shows like "real tv" and "you gotta see this" just don't fit into reality television because they are too real.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like The Amazing Races because of the places they go to, and I used to like Survivor before it got old and really predictable. Other than that, I steer radicaly away from any kind of reality TV, especially the really pathetic ones. (Namely, most of them).
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
to me nothing purely fictional can compare to a blond "bombshell" gagging on a nice, juicy glob of bull testicles.
i am entertained by some reality shows (the family, joe millionaire, fear factor) because the people on them have no idea how stupid they are.
i did not willingly miss an episode of fame, america's most talented kid, or american juniors because, although i found some of the parents on the kids' shows to be somewhat exploitative, i know a thing or two about music and performance, and i love watching people do things i only dream of doing without having to buy concert tickets.
overall, i do agree that the craze has gone too far. they should just establish the reality cable channel for those who don't have anything better to do, maybe keep a few on prime time networks, and find something new for us couch potatoes. (like bring back crossing jordan.)
Posts: 1090 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't understand why everybody insists on calling American Idol a reality TV show...it's basically the new Star Search. Is it because they have the thirty second interviews? If that's what makes reality TV, I suppose Weakest Link and Battlebots are also reality TV. American Idol is more like a game show, in my opinion.
I also liked Survivor the first time through, but it is really repetetive now. I never saw Amazing Race.
And the Real World was terrible. If I wanted to see hormone-driven teenagers fighting, I could just go to my high school. But it wasn't the worst I've heard.
Recently, my sister has started watching a reality TV show on MTV...and it's about following a cheerleading squad! Not just that, but they have a male cheerleader that's looked up to! That's not real. If it was real, a male cheerleader wouldn't make it past episode two (I know my sister has watched at least three episodes) before either being completely booted from cheerleading because the girls feel uncomfortable dancing with him there, or getting tarred and feathered by other schoolmates.
Speaking of MTV, did anybody see Ill-Ustrated on VH1? CRL - Congression Report Live! I was laughing so hard at that.
posted
My highschool had three male cheer-leaders on it. They were jocks who joined the team in order to be around dozens of girls. That they could hold up the girls for their various routines made them pretty much invaluable to the team. I suspect that most schools have at least a couple guys on the team.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Sleep]](graemlins/sleep.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
). I guess I must be in the minority though, given their popularity. I just hope the entire trend will end soon. How many iterations can they come up with anyway?
