Reality TV Worth Watching?
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 15,012
Likes: 2,299
From: Delawhere???
Originally posted by OhioRacer
Boy, I couldn't have said that better. I am proud to announce that I have not seen 1 minute of one single reality show. What a pathetic waste of resources. What scares me the most?...there are millions of people who watch this garbage and LIKE it.
Boy, I couldn't have said that better. I am proud to announce that I have not seen 1 minute of one single reality show. What a pathetic waste of resources. What scares me the most?...there are millions of people who watch this garbage and LIKE it.
I'm late in posting to this, but I whole-heartedly agree with my Ohio bud. I absolutely refuse to watch this drivel, and the fact that millions do, really concerns me. I guess it's just entertainment(?) to them.At the lunch table at work, on the day after Survivor comes on (whatever day that is), the previous night's episode is the entire subject of discussion. I just sit there and shake my head.
Another waste of electrons, time, and money are shows such as Jerry Springer. The fact that millions of people watch this trash, (and that's what it is), really signals the end of western civilization to me.
None of this can be "reality" when you have cameramen, producers, stage-hands, etc. all around you, as anarky stated.
Registered User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 4,543
Likes: 0
From: Vegas baby!!
I haven't owned a TV in years... obviously haven't been missing much. 
here's a television show that might be worth watching:
they go into a family's home and take out all their TVs, and see the family's reactions when they suddenly have so much more time to get stuff done. then watch them slowly get their lives back in order. maybe even accomplish some things that they've always told themselves they would... but for some reason "never had the time."
also, since the family is no longer being constantly hammered with commercials telling them they too can finally fit in if they just buy such-n-such, they can track how their credit card debts are paid off... maybe even with a season finale of finally having a zero balance?!
they could even encourage them to get off the couch, and get out and actually *BE* part of the real world, instead of watching it on TV. maybe even get out and exercise, rather than the vicarious excercise they get out of watching people on the Survivor series. could even put a dent in the rising rates of obesity in our over-fed (in more ways than one) western society.
yep, that'd be a show I might enjoy hearing about (still wouldn't watch it
), if I wasn't too busy already living it. 
... in all fairness however... I have to work hard to wean myself of the habit of surfing the internet A LOT, esp. s2ki... every... friggin... day. I guess I'll always have more room for personal growth. 
"a good life is a journey, not a destination."
here's a television show that might be worth watching:
they go into a family's home and take out all their TVs, and see the family's reactions when they suddenly have so much more time to get stuff done. then watch them slowly get their lives back in order. maybe even accomplish some things that they've always told themselves they would... but for some reason "never had the time."
also, since the family is no longer being constantly hammered with commercials telling them they too can finally fit in if they just buy such-n-such, they can track how their credit card debts are paid off... maybe even with a season finale of finally having a zero balance?!
they could even encourage them to get off the couch, and get out and actually *BE* part of the real world, instead of watching it on TV. maybe even get out and exercise, rather than the vicarious excercise they get out of watching people on the Survivor series. could even put a dent in the rising rates of obesity in our over-fed (in more ways than one) western society.
yep, that'd be a show I might enjoy hearing about (still wouldn't watch it
), if I wasn't too busy already living it. ... in all fairness however... I have to work hard to wean myself of the habit of surfing the internet A LOT, esp. s2ki... every... friggin... day.
I guess I'll always have more room for personal growth. "a good life is a journey, not a destination."
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 34,130
Likes: 126
From: Canton, MA
When I'm on my treadmill or lifting weights it is nice to have the TV on. I watch Survivor and I think it is interesting, but I don't care if I miss an episode. On the Discovery channel I always watch American Chopper on Monday nights. I think that show is great. Sometimes I will watch Monster Garage and Monster House too. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy can be a riot, but I don't watch that regularly.
I think "This Old House" was really the first reality show. I really liked the original, but lost interest after Bob Villa left. Norm Abrams and New Yankee Workshop is interesting, but the tools that guy uses just to build a box is just unrealistic for the typical home viewer sitting there with a hammer and a skill saw. I have a pretty good wood shop, but nothing like what he has.
So yeah, I like some reality TV. And I watch TV quite a bit.
I think "This Old House" was really the first reality show. I really liked the original, but lost interest after Bob Villa left. Norm Abrams and New Yankee Workshop is interesting, but the tools that guy uses just to build a box is just unrealistic for the typical home viewer sitting there with a hammer and a skill saw. I have a pretty good wood shop, but nothing like what he has.
So yeah, I like some reality TV. And I watch TV quite a bit.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 5,539
Likes: 0
From: Santa Monica
Reality TV is a very simple equation. You don't have to pay actors, you don't have to pay writers, you just offer a single cash prize that you'll end up paying in small installments over a long period.
Most of them are definitely far from reality. The participants and situations are manipulated for maximum ratings effect. It's truly disgusting how the producers try to maximize the misery and conflict to "spice things up". Their justifying logic is that these people (the participants) asked for it. The sad thing is... they did
As a FORMER TV writer, I may be a bit biased. (I and a few hundred of my friends have been put out of work by reality TV) The problem will turn up in a few years when there's nothing but reality shows to syndicate. I doubt those shows will hold up in reruns.
Most of them are definitely far from reality. The participants and situations are manipulated for maximum ratings effect. It's truly disgusting how the producers try to maximize the misery and conflict to "spice things up". Their justifying logic is that these people (the participants) asked for it. The sad thing is... they did
As a FORMER TV writer, I may be a bit biased. (I and a few hundred of my friends have been put out of work by reality TV) The problem will turn up in a few years when there's nothing but reality shows to syndicate. I doubt those shows will hold up in reruns.
