When will reality TV bashers go away....I'm ranting, I'm tired of...

[LynneSin]

folks treating me like some idiot because there happens to be a few 'Reality TV' shows that I actually enjoy watching. Believe me, I was a fan of the original 'Reality TV' show: MTv's Real World (and their 14th season is starting this Tuesday night in San Diego).

Hey, I'm a pretty intelligent gal here. I'm politically atune, well read, well educated and damn good looking to boot. It just so happens that I like to take my thinking cap off every once in awhile and enjoy shows like Survivor or Real World (I'm not into those 'find love or the next superstar on TV' shows - but that's my cup of tea).

Here's and astounding concept for those of you who hate reality TV - TURN THE TV OFF and stop badmouthing those of us who actually enjoy some of these shows

(gets off her soapbox)

LynneSin
fan of Real World and Survivor

[Mercurius]

1. I know how you feel.

I, too, am a reasonably smart, politically active, and fairly decent looking girl that likes reality TV. Okay - so shoot me because I get sick of watching CSPAN occasionally.

[LynneSin]

3. Technically I consider C-Span reality TV

Actually a cross between reality TV and a soap opera, especially when watching the senate in session

[Archae]

2. I do watch a few myself.

COPS, and "funny or amazing home video" -types.
Those I like.

Some of the ideas though were just too asinine for words.

Follow Rosanne around all day.
Stick two spoiled rich brats on a farm.

And the sex-and-cheating-obsessed Fox network shows.

Phooey.

[LynneSin]

4. I'll confess, I watched one season of Fox's Temptation Island

But only because they had it in the same area of Costa Rica where I vacationed one year. They actually showed places that I had visited while on vacation and it was kinda neat to see them again on TV. Even my mother watched to see some of the places I had visited.

[ablbodyed]

5. The ONLY one I watch is.....

The Amazing Race. and I really enjoyed it, could hardly wait each week. I've avoided the others though. :)

[Deja Q]

6. Scripted nonsense seems better. Besides,

(okay, there are certain "reality" shows I can almost respect, but let me dis the genre first!)

I find it interesting that, in 1971, "All in the Family" got 50 million viewers with its wit and daringness to look at social issues (and to note that "Boston Public" and "West Wing" would have gotten far better ratings back then too)... Compare that delightfully thought provoking show to "Survivor", which also got 50 million viewers in 2001 and does NOTHING, says NOTHING, and harbors and rewards human trash. Human trash such as a cerain "RH" from the first year alone (he's another example of a very ugly human being...)? It's basically a "Stupid People Tricks" show, though David Lettermen won't say it because he, like "Survivor", is owned by CBS.

What's worse, "South Park" having Cartman eating reindeer testicles, or "Fear Factor" having humans eating reindeer testicles and raw squid covered with ants crawling on it? Again, one is scripted nonsense and the other is "Stupid Human Tricks" that degrades every single one of us, period.

And it is NOT reality of any sort. It's CONTRIVED. People do not live on islands and eat bugs and dirt and perfom silly stunts and then do closed-ballot tests to kick people off the island. People do not eat gross things in order to win a tiny sum of money ($20k is not much, it can barely get you a Saturn SL2 and those cars are utter crap...). Most people (God, I hope) don't do cruel things to one another just to get ahead, and it's a shame to see those bastards win. Most people (again, I hope) do not lie about their financial status in order to find a wife, and why the F is money that much of an issue?

Bachellor/ette shows; both of which use only perfect looking people. Although "Joe Average" on NBC is almost what could pass as being real reality tv.

Okay, "American Idol", while being blisteringly cruel to the people they knew in advance are talentless hacks, actually does some good by helping the winners try to get their 7 minutes in a disgusting, cut-throat industry that isn't worth supporting. (Also a pity the music industry is such a 'paint by numbers' with a bland mysic style and trite/overused vocal type...)

Sorry to rant.

[LynneSin]

8. But that's the beauty of reality TV

I know that if I'm ever stranded on a deserted island that it will be nothing like the TV show Survivor. And without a doubt I will not be eating the boiled balls of any four-legged creature roaming this earth.

I just enjoy watching human nature. It's seeing what people do when they're in a situation where they're stuck doing these things that I find interesting. It's the reason why every once in awhile I'll actually turn on Howard STern and listen to his show. Because there are people out there dumb enough to do anything feasible for their 15 minutes of fame. And sometimes I like to take 30-60 minutes out of my week to get a good laugh watching (or listening) to these folks do it.

We all have our guilty pleasures

Go figure

[GURUving]

15. I agree completely

Watching football is not so much fun when every five minutes I have to see an advertisement for another lying sack of shit contrived piece of disgusting crap show. What's this one? Marry the farting slob and fuck up your family's mental health?

edit: Nothing personal to those who are hooked on these things. I just feel blessed not to waste my time on them. I have other worthless pasttimes - football, DU. :)

[bambo53]

7. Interesting topic,

My 50 something fiancee and my 50 something self are in the process of moving in together at my farm. We're both retiring.

She's addicted to so called "reality shows," and I'm addicted to C-SPAN and DU. And news in general.

She calls my "hobby" a waste of negative energy, and I call her "hobby" an escapist delusion.

Happily, we're both right...:)

[hlthe2b]

9. Different strokes for different folks....

:7

Whatever rocks your boat, I say....

[jonnyblitz]

10. I never missed an episode of the first 4 seasons of "The Real

World". Especially the San Francisco season with Pedro Zamora. It never occurs to me to watch any of them now because I am usually online all the time if I have idol time and the tv is in the other room. When I am in front of the tv its cable news or CSPAN and occasionally IFC. I can't believe people would give you a hard time over this. Who cares what you watch. :shrug:

[LynneSin]

12. I have computers in both rooms that I have TV's

so even when I'm posting I probably have something on the telly!!!

[jonnyblitz]

26. come to think of it.

I have never had a tv where the computer is anywhere I have lived since computers have been around. I never thought of that...

Oh yeah, another reality show I did watch but didn't catch it much this season is "The Osbournes". I guess that lowers my IQ a bit. That show cracked me up.

anyways screw what other people think.

[Skittles]

11. I'm not going away

why the f*** should I go away? It is sickening to see what passes for entertainment these days, and I can that say if I f***ing want. Here is MY question: WHEN IS THIS G.D. "REALITY" FAD GOING TO PASS ?????

[LynneSin]

13. you have a valid point Skittles....

"It is sickening to see what passes for entertainment these days" because that covers about 98% of Television including Reality TV, scripted TV shows and all of FOX, CNN & MSNBC news.

:shrug:

[Skittles]

19. be sure not to miss MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS FIANCEE

:puke:

[KTM]

23. yeah, those "reality shows" are the worst...

What a load of crap they are, sickening, and such... I'd much rather have some intelligient programming, like, say, "Everybody Loves Raymond" or "Whoopi" or "JAG" or "Yes, Dear"... you know, something intelligient

/sarcasm off

Sheesh

[Dookus]

14. I'm with ya Lynn...

while I don't watch any of the "reality" shows, I do have my own tastes that don't necessarily meet the requirements of the culture-snobs.

Don't pay 'em any attention. If they need to diss other people's tv viewing habits for them to feel superior, it's better to just nod politely, pat 'em on the head, walk away and feel sorry for them.

[neebob]

16. Let 'em bash!

I confess to a sick fascination with Paris and Nicole in the heartland, or maybe it's the heartland people who fascinate me. Either way, I'm hooked. I also fell victim to the beauty queen/cheerleader and the "average" Joes. I swear, they must have told those guys to make complete fools of themselves.

I also watched the first season of Survivor and a few episodes of beautiful women humiliating themselves for various pretty boys who were obviously gay. So who am I to begrudge you your umpteenth Real World and Survivor.

[citizen snips]

17. my family watches a lot of reality TV except me.

Most of reality TV is fake and set up. It is very obvious that Survivor is fake. I mean all these people who play in Survivor are actors.

[Skittles]

20. unbelievably phony

I can't believe people believe such utter tripe

[Philostopher]

18. You have a point, Lynne

When I was in high school and college, I used to watch one of the soaps. I think they're largely empty and value-free, and yet I enjoyed the time I spent watching them, back when I had the time and was home when they were on. While we don't watch reality shows around here, Mr. Nownow was hooked on the 'battling robots' genre for a while, they used to show one of those on Comedy Central. He's a bit of a gearhead, and a very intelligent one at that, so he did enjoy watching the robots shred each other. I can't see that those shows offer anything more enlightening than 'reality' shows, and I occasionally turned around from the computer to watch with him and could see the appeal, though it didn't do as much for me as it did for him. There are some vapid shows that just 'work' on some level, however little of any intrinsic value they have to offer.

[NicoleM]

21. Word.

I like Survivor. Anybody who thinks I'm an idiot because I like Survivor is an idiot. HA!

Also, I occasionally find myself watching those ridiculous Real World/Road Rules challenge shows. Don't ask me why, I don't watch Road Rules and I haven't watched much of the last several seasons of RW.

I think the dating shows are boring and Fear Factor is gross. I deal with that by NOT WATCHING THEM. It's so easy.

[jpgray]

22. Reality TV is enjoyable as hell

But to me it feels like junk food. I can sit down to Fear Factor or whatever, secure in my knowledge that it is appealing to the lowest common denominator, and yet I will sit slack-jawed and entertained until it ends. Same thing with ET, or any celeb gossip news--they are addictive, but I know in my head I will not remember those hours spent in front of the tube. But damn they suck you in like nothing else! :)

edit: I said "demoninator". Funniest sounding typo EVER.

[neebob]

25. I can't watch Fear Factor

because I have a serious retching problem. I can't look at anything disgusting or even think about it too much because it invariably makes me retch. I frequently find myself looking away from AFV, even. Moldy refrigerator science projects, cleaning the cat box, even just swishing (not gargling) mouthwash makes me retch. Other people think it's funny. I wasn't always like this, but it's gotten really bad the last few years. All the gross stuff on TV impacts my life in a negative way.

[CanuckAmok]

24. I don't care about the content...nothing's worse than

"Full House".

My objection is the way reality (read: cheap to produce) TV is killing the TV production industry, of which I'm a part.

[BiggJawn]

27. That's OK, Lynne...I actually like "Jerry Springer"...

Everyone's entitled to likinga little mindless drek, I guess....

but I think you miss the point of most the derision. whether one watches or not is the issue, what I take exception with are people who tell you that they have no "brain" for politics, Civics, world affairs, etc. but then in the next breath can recite the CV of EVERY person EVER "kicked off the Island"...

Or the ones who come in on Friday morning and gush "Did you watch last night? Wasn't it COOL?????" and then give you a Homer Simpson look when you say "No, I was busy reading this month's "American Prospect"..."

But I DO like to watch the sexual habits of White Trash America that I see on "Jerry Springer"...:7

[Bridget Burke]

28. I hate Reality TV--except for the shows I like!

The Survivor, Real World type shows leave me cold. However, I'm a great fan of BBCAmerica, including Changing Rooms, What Not To Wear, Life Laundry, etc. They've got US spinoffs, some of which are OK. All these shows can be classified as Reality TV.

Watch what you like & don't watch what you don't like. I realize the situation is different for people who don't have full control of the remote--but my cats generally don't care.

[Alenne]

29. I find it hard to get upset about this

I think posting utter tripe in the thousands is equivalent to watching utter tripe. Everybody has something they do that is a complete waste of time.

[jimbo fett]

30. I don't think people who watch reality TV are bad.

I just think there's too many reality TV shows. One or two is fine. We all need cotton candy in our lives but when people make a steady diet of reality TV I think it rots their brain. (Sorry for mixing metaphors).

[HuckleB]

31. Well, I tend to see a middle ground on this.

Fun is fun, I grant you. But one also sees a lot of Huxley's "Brave New World" in today's "Reality" TV binge. I also go back to Edward R. Murrow's concerns about the use of television, and note the nightmare that he worried about pales compared to what has happened.

And I hope we can all agree that "Reality" TV has gotten to the point of ridiculousness, sorry to say.

[101 Proof]

32. Amen to you...

however, I prefer to live my life than watching others live there's.

[Nailzberg]

33. Why I hate Reality TV - food on the table.

I worked in film and television production for several years. It was always my dream as a kid to be in the position to make programs ad movies that were as informative as they were entertaining. I chased that dream by graduating from one of the better Mass Communication programs in the country. I furthered that education by my heavy non-fiction reading, numerous expensive seminars, and continuing education.
Since Reality Television took over the airwaves, it has become impossible for me to find good work. The paychecks are half as much other programming paid. And the production time is much shorter. So where a sitcom might film for 22 weeks, a season of reality TV is filmed in a week, and cut up to last the entire season.

The networks love reality TV, and it's never going away, for the simple reason of money. Cheap to make. No writers. No actors. A minimal crew working for less money. So what if these shows do not draw as many viewers. They don't need the viewers.

I don't care about the entertainment value. I do not knock people for watching it. I, myself, enjoy watching these schmucks make fools of themselves for their 15 minutes of fame.

I finally got out of television and moved to political communications. I'm not starving anymore, and I got out of the parental basement that Reality TV forced me into. But I'll always be upset that it slammed to doors on hundreds of writers and actors who just wanted to create something meaningful with their talents.


Damn, I had no idea I was that fired up about this. Glad it's off my chest now.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

34. They have pills for things like this, LunneSin....

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. My dog made me type this.

(All in fun. I like Star Trek, so you aren't the only one with likes that can be poked at)

:toast:

[WWW]

35. Reality TV is extremely educational

I let my kids watch Surviror and Big Brother beginning in junior high school. They are now both in High School. I wish I could have paid the producers a salary for the amount of information my kids garnered from these two shows.

Neither has ever had an issue with any clique in school. They are friends, with the Jocks, the Nerds, the Goths, the Druggies and the Bad Boys and Girls. Excuse me for boasting, but they probably are both "the most popular kids" in their classes. Both have told me that they know how to "fly under the radar" when any group is pitting themselves against the other and come out with being a friend to both sides.

I knew these shows would teach them a lesson in human dynamics, something extremely important in adult life. Both attributed this lesson learned to watching a reality show.

[Piperay]

36. I like em too

I don't see as they are any worse than some of the sitcoms and that kind of crap. At least there aren't a bunch of overpaid "actors" on them.