The Reality TV Hate Thread.

[Mio]

Ah, It came, it crept up silent, then exploded, luring people in. Then, before we know it, the networks are tied up with nothing but Reality TV. It's taken over so many good shows.




My point: If we wanted Reality, why would we be watching TV?

[Hohenzollern]

Agreed with first post. Very much so. "Reality" as applied to these terrible shows is a misnomer. The events and circumstances are contrived, many of the participants have prior on screen or entertainment experience, and to me they showcase some of the worst of human nature and what the entertainment industry has to offer.

When I want reality TV I will flick on the news, documentaries, or for real reality ...just go out.

I would love to see the hind end of those shows. Of course each to his own. I don' like 'em so I don't watch.

[Gilder]

And reality TV deprives good actors of work...

Gilder

[Chevron_nine]

Reality is just another category of TV. I'm pretty sure most people realize it's not supposed to really reflect reality. As long as the characters are not prefessional actors a show can be classified as "Reality TV".

Summer TV used to be filled with only re-runs so I don't really see how any good shows could have been cancelled to make way for Reality TV. I'd rather have new programming than repeats of the same old shows I've already seen.

I personally love a lot of the Reality shows out there, mainly the one's on CBS, like the Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, I also love The Mole. There is a whole category of reality I hate though, and that is all those dating shows ie. Joe Millionaire, For love or money etc.

If you don't like it just don't watch it. If people didn't watch Reality shows I'm pretty sure they wouldn't continue to make them.

[Gilder]

To each his/her own, C9.

Something else I'd like to see instead of repeats: Some of the Canadian series. I hear so much good about them through the STARGATE fandom.

Gilder

[Anthro Girl]

My point: If we wanted Reality, why would we be watching TV?

Yes, but Reality TV isn't real.

Aren't there subclasses of "reality tv" now? I mean, I've never watched any of those "vote the loser off" shows or competitions. Was it my imagination or was there really a show recently called Wife Swap???!!!?? However, I have watched those stupid redecorating shows like Clean Sweep which theoretically involve "real" people. Does C-SPAN count?

[Daniel Jackson]

Reallity TV is stupid. Sure, there are a few good shows like American Idol, but that's really the only good one I've seen. They're nothing more than "stupid TV" for dumb rich people with nothing better to do then act like idiots on TV via some ridiculous competition. If people want to get on TV so bad, get on a game show for goodness sakes. I'm just sick and tired of all this shock value crapolla. When I watch TV, I want one of three things - news, drama, or comedy. "Reallity TV" does not inform me of any news, it's not dramatic, and it's not funny. It's... well, a waist of time.

[Capt. Rivet]

I can't stand reality shows. You guys ever notice how the contestants on these things always look like they just stepped straight out of a magazine?

...Unfortunately the rest of my family thinks they're the best thing ever to grace TV.

[Larry]

I understand why the networks love reality tv. Cheap to produce, and it gets ratings that boggle the mind. I just say no. Have never watched one single episode of Survivor or any of it's spawn. Ok, ok, I can hear the question now, if you've never watched it, how can you say you don't like it. The concept puts me off, and now the inundation puts me off even more. I can see a show like "The Real World" on MTV. I didn't care for it, but in it's little nitch there, it was acceptable. Now we have Paris and Nicole and the Simpson sisters 24/7. Yuck.

[Anthro Girl]

I can actually say that I watched two reality shows, although they weren't competition kind. One was The Restaurant and the other was Showbiz Moms & Dads. Both of them were short-run series (on Bravo and A&E, I think).

The Restaurant I caught in reruns and only after my restaurant buddies insisted I tune in to watch the train wreck (and oh my they weren't kidding...I actually had to watch peeking through my fingers). I caught a few minutes of one episode of Showbiz Moms & Dads and programmed the DVR to tape the other five, which I slowly watched - in very small doses - over the course of another few weeks. Another train wreck...not the series, but the people. That, I believe, was the point and, based on the online buzz it was the reason everybody tuned in.

Entertaining? I guess for some. That's not the word that would first come to mind. For me, it was more of a further confirmation that we don't deserve this planet. All of it is exploitation for entertainment dollars, plain and simple. The competition reality shows are just showing the really dumb things people will do for money...the evolution of the "game show". We've evolved from quizzing people about either academic knowledge or inane trivia to giving people the "prize" of intentional public humiliation with their fifteen minutes of fame (if that long). Again, the dumb things people do for money.

The other kinds, like SBM&D take a group of people doing what they do - right or wrong or indifferent - and present them in edited format for other people to stand in judgement. For some reason, this is considered a tad bit different than documentary filmmaking. At the moment, I'm unable to compose a coherent suggestion as to why...

[Yosho]

I've never sat down to watch one, so I can't really say if I like or hate them. I've seen bits and peices of them though. Life in my house is just a exciting, weird, and interesting as any reality show could ever be, so I don't really have a need to watch them.

I'm just thankful we have Stargate to watch

Anthro Girl, whats SBM&D?? If its what I think it is then never mind....

[Anthro Girl]

I don't know what you think it is, but it's my shorthand for Show Biz Moms & Dads, a show on A&E (I think...it may have been Bravo).

[Elwe Singollo]

I think some reality shows are ok, like shows like trading spaces, but yah, maybe they do suck everynow and then . I like Fear Factor, but wait, thats not really reality, i think its more of a game show, which it is, since they are playing for money and prizes.

[Chevron 1]

I personally love a lot of the Reality shows out there, mainly the one's on CBS, like the Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor, I also love The Mole. There is a whole category of reality I hate though, and that is all those dating shows ie. Joe Millionaire, For love or money etc.

I have to admit, I like certain Reality TV shows as well, and I also agree that this upheaval has put a number of good actors out of work. But whether we like it or not, it's here to stay. I can say the same thing about sitcoms. In fact, most of the time, I prefer reality TV over sitcoms. But as I said before, I like certain shows, like The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, The Mole (pre-celebrity), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and TLC's Overhaulin'. (I also admit to watching Big Brother 5, but only because I want to know what happens next.)

[GhostPoet]

The only reality shows I ever liked is Fear Factor...it's not about some stupid lady or guy dating...it's about testing the physical and mental.

All tho Trading Spouses IS a little interesting...good study in human behavior.