"Punk'd" & the so-called reality shows are mean-spirited, cruel TV Shows

[glarius]

I was flipping through the channels and landed on "Punk'd" last night. It was almost over but I saw enough of it to verify my previous opinion of it. They were scaring some poor women out of her mind by making her believe she was losing her business for some reason or other which I didn't quite get. The scare had been going on for quite some time before they finally told her she had been "punk'd."...Ashton Kutcher then came up behind her and hugged her and this was supposed to make everything all right with the world again. What has happened to entertainment on TV? In my opinion all of those so-called "reality shows" are mean-spirited and nasty. I don't watch any of them. It seems to me the networks have realized that they can put these shows on and make money without having to pay top notch writers and actors etc. for real entertainment so that's pretty well all we are getting. It's really pretty sad.

[Patiod]

1. I still like the Amazing Race

Reality Show, but no punking, no one gets "voted off", sometime the "good guys" win, sometimes the "bad guys" (ie Ugly Americans) win. You never know.

About ONCE during each season, they have to do something gross, but it's always something the locals do willingly (eat several pounds of meat in Venezeula, eat nauseatinly spicey soup in Hungary, eat a while deep dish pizza in Chicago). Don't travel abroad much, so it's eye-opening for me.

I do hate "punk'd" though

[EstimatedProphet]

2. I hate reality shows

Starting with The Real World-I look at that show, and all I see is a bunch of assholes I never want to have anythign to do with, ever. That's the way I feel about all of them.

[LaraMN]

10. I do, too. I'm not a huge tv watcher anyway, but I have no use for most

of the "reality" shows. Apparently we're in the minority nationwide, though.

[skygazer]

3. That's my main objection to them

The vast majority are all about humiliating or embarassing people on national television. I don't find that kind of "humor" funny at all.

[DrGonzoLives]

4. I can tolerate Punk'd

If only because they go after asshole celebrities anyway.

The ones that rely on embarassing normal people, yes, to an extent, are garbage, but you have to wonder why people would get on those shows to begin with, knowing what we do now.

[glarius]

5. Sorry, but I don't find entertainment in watching ANYONE being frightened

or embarrassed.

[raccoon]

16. I don't either, but I've known people like that in RL, you probably

have too.

I think such people think it puts them one-up on the frightened/embarrassed person. In RL, it's much more often embarrassed.

So much of human nature is about oneupmanship. Or is it human nature? How much of it is cultural, fostered by the US dog-eat-dog society? I don't know.

[underpants]

6. $$$$$$$$$

Name of the game

Reality shows are incredibly cheap to make. Even the ones with a $million pay off is ONE pay off for 3 months of programming. The costs of production may be higher on location (Survivor for instance) but they aren't paying a cast per episode. I think he cast of Seinfeld was making a Million per show at the end. The same with Friends too (which was the same show only not as funny).

Raymond etc.

As for the reality shows that just follow people around they usually are has been who not only will work for less ($$$$) but are willing to work a lot more (more episodes).

This all is a result of a ruling a few years ago that TV networks (this may have been in the '96 telecommunications bill that Clinton signed) anyway networks could make their own shows. Before that they had to buy shows from production companies. These companies created TV shows that you and I were used to, the formats anyway.

Now think about this. Check out how many shows on American TV started on British TV and consider that the BBC is state run TV. I am not saying we should do that but it blows a lot of the "Entrepreneurial" and "marketplace" arguments out of the water.

[glarius]

7. I'm wondering about the BBC being "state run".

I wonder if, like the CBC in Canada it is merely state funded. Here, in Canada, the CBC is completely independent of government interference. It was originally set up and funded in order to reach all corners of this vast country which was not being served by private broadcasting. Believe me, despite what the right-wingers tried to say when the Liberals were governing, that the CBC is government controlled, that is not true. The CBC have been responsible, through there investigative reporting, for causing the downfall of a couple of government ministers. I kind of think the BBC operates in the same independent way.

[underpants]

18. I'm sorry

I didn't state that correctly. I knew that they weren't stare RUN.

My bad.

Of course if that existed here the RW'ers would say it is government controlling the media. And as we know they hate Big Bird anyway.

[glarius]

21. Okay.......understood!

:)

[DBoon]

8. reality shows also tend to use non-union crews

this is a big issue with the movie industry unions

and of course the "acting talent" is non-union as well

[underpants]

19. I didn't know that

are the union contracts written assuming the normal drama or sitcom?

How do they get around that?

I did not know that.

[DBoon]

20. I think they just don't

I have a friend who is a union video editor and this rankles him

[Mojambo]

9. I used to love that Scare Tactics show

Where people set up these elaborate scare pranks on their friends and family members.

I just can't believe how many people fall for these things.

[ThomCat]

11. I rarely watch tv,

but if I do, I can't watch any of those damned reality shows for exactly that reason. They're cruel, humiliating and not entertaining at all.

[SouthoftheBorderPaul]

12. It's funny you say

"the networks have realized that they can put these shows on and make money without having to pay top notch writers."

I worked in entertainment for several years at a very large talent agency. I worked in concert booking but occasionally the top brass would invite TV and movie agents to the meetings to talk about different trends in the industry. It was my understanding from these meetings that the boom in reality TV was at least partially attributable to a strike among members of the screenwriters guild. However, the networks circumvented the dearth of writers by creating more reality TV shows. Of course, they have since taken off and become very popular.

Let's just hope that people will tire of watching Americans act like assholes to ensure more screen time.

[glarius]

15. Isure hope you are right.....There doesn't seem to be much else to watch

right now. I long for the days of the really good comedies....like "Cheers" and "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Bob Newhart Show" and "All in the Family" and "Barney Miller"....and...and...and....Well you know what I mean, comedy with wit and some subtlety in the humour. I don't find anything funny about "Desperate Housewives" or "Sex and the City". I'm not a prude but following peoples jumping in and out of bed adventures gets pretty boring. Even "Two and a Half Men" lacks the comedic subtlety of the shows I mentioned...It's sad.

[sendero]

13. It's not just "reality" shows....

... the "winners" vs "losers" attitude has infected our entire culture.

It will correct itself soon, when we are all losers :)

[HughBeaumont]

14. Movies are as well.

Look at most Ben Stiller movies. Look at Benchwarmers and Just Friends. Dumberica, growing up with a "might makes right" attitude, thinks movies involving punching bag characters and the misery they suffer are freaking hilarious. I don't think movies like Meet the Parents or There's Something About Mary are funny, their exasperating and annoying to watch. It's the same with Punk'd. Hosted by an actor that really has nothing going for him beyond his looks, it's the same "public humiliation and pranks are funny COME ON! You gotta laugh!" mentality that most kids suffer(ed) through in high school, telling you that the jerks and neanderthals really DO run America and its entertainment.

[Blue_Tires]

17. lol

a couple of weeks ago, I saw for the first time "And Now for Something Completely Different"

What I wouldn't give to see the real-life equivalent of that TV show "Blackmail"...I'm sure our friends at Fox Programming are hard at work on it right now