This post is in response to the Finish the Sentence Friday prompt from the blog Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine. Every week, Kate offers the first half of a sentence and gives bloggers the opportunity to finish the thought.This week's sentence:
When it comes to reality TV shows, I...
When it comes to reality TV shows, I have to say, "I just don't get it."
I am not saying anything against the people who watch these shows and I will not try to make the claim that I have never watched any of them. I did watch the first season of Survivor and I watched one season of American Idol. It was the year that Jordin Sparks won and Blake Lewis did an incredible rendition of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name, but I vowed never to do that again. I enjoyed it, but it was on four nights a week! It took up too much of my time.
I won't go as far as to say that they are all part of what many call trash TV (although some of them definitely are), but I really don't understand their popularity. Especially when so many of them are obviously staged. Even if we had never learned of the reshoots and intentional situations created on Survivor, some of these shows are just ridiculous.
The very idea that we are expected to believe that filming the day of a tow truck driver/repo man should be entertaining would already be insulting enough. However, the creators of Lizard Lick Towing decided to insult their potential audience even more by depicting every collection as a possible life or death situation.I am sure that most repo men have a few good stories, but these guys get into a fist fight in almost every episode. In the show, they have had their windows shot out by deer hunters, been assaulted by a naked man, and even had to fight off a ninja. That's right…A NINJA!!! You don't see that every day and I think there is a reason for it. Ninjas aren't just running around on the streets and when they are around, they like to stay in the shadows. They don't just jump in front of the camera for a nationally syndicated show.
Some shows make sense. COPS has been running since March 1989 and will be showing its 850th episode this season. Following police officers around to see what their day is like…I get it. The same for the copycat shows Alaska State Troopers and Border Wars, but do we really need a show about process servers and meter maids? I have seen both of these.
Other professions just don't need their own show. There are shows about lumberjacks, truck drivers, bounty hunters, babysitters, funeral home directors, pawn shop owners, house flippers, costume designers, bar owners, auto mechanics, lifeguards, tattoo artists, and many others. I'm just waiting to see a show about the trials and tribulations of pizza delivery drivers or office temps. To really get some ratings, someone need to do a reality show about a reality show production crew. Can you imagine the hardships they have to endure as they put up with some of these reality stars?
Sometimes a show is really well made and gets a decent audience. American Pickers has a large following without creating any crazy antics to drive ratings. Deadliest Catch has kept its integrity by just showing the lives of people in that profession without scripting. However, the most popular shows seem to be of a different genre. This is where the 'trash TV' comes in.
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| HOARDERS I have actually helped clean out houses in this condition |
These shows are everywhere and take up a huge percentage of television programming today. They even have their own channel (TruTV). They are so popular, I don't think they're going anywhere for a while. Maybe I could petition TLC to do a reality show about bloggers and make a little money.
I've watched Survivor and American Idol (I remember Blake's performance; I was disappointed when he didn't win). I even watched the latest X Factor season and I've seen Hoarders, and other such shows. I'm not saying all are bad and I even approve of some (for instance, American Idol and X Factor have launched some very talented people into amazing careers, which makes me happy for them).
ReplyDeleteThen I have to look at Jersey Shore or Honey Boo Boo or the teen pregnancy shows and just wonder why. In my opinion, none are as bad as Toddlers In Tiaras or Dance Moms though. I honestly think that those parents should be arrested for child abuse. I cannot understand the appeal to watch it. It's something that completely blows my mind.
I think some of these shows are like watching a car wreck. You are disgusted, but just can't look away. i know it is like that for me with Hoarders. Those people disgust me, but I love that show.
DeleteI very much enjoyed this post and do pretty much agree with you. By the way, I loved the end about reality shows about bloggers. Great post and thank you for linking up with us!! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think a reality show about bloggers would be very exciting, but they would save money on writers since we can do that for ourselves.
DeleteThe thing that really bugs me about reality tv shows is how unreal they are. They feel incredibly scripted to me. My kids watch a few reality shows, and I'm constantly telling them how fake they are.
ReplyDeleteI did a little research and found that most of them are scripted. There is quite a bit of ad lib, but the scenarios are set up in most cases. Especially the ones centered around following people around to see what happens. No family would agree to have cameras watch them 24 hours a day. They have a shooting schedule and plan the good stuff to happen during that time.
DeleteI still try to wrap my head around some of the "reality" crap. Most of the contest ones I enjoy but the ones that focus on following certain people or jobs around I can't do. I was watching one of the tow shows when this women burst in raising all sorts of hell. "I want my car back you BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. Beep this, Beep you What's this camera doing here..............." and all the time you see mic pack clampped to the back of her pants. Real? I think not.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Blake's version of "Time of the Season" is one of my favorite Idol preformances.
DeleteAs far as American Idol is concerned, I think I picked the right season to watch. They guy was awesome.
DeleteThe scripting is unbelievable. Some of the shows are so over the tip and the acting is so bad, I don't know how they expect us to believe it.
Hoarders. I'm hooked on hoarders. The rest just makes me question why I'm paying for cable.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but I love Hoarders. Those people are disgusting and I want to choke everyone of them. The show causes me stress, but I love it.
DeleteI'm not a big fan of reality shows, though I used to watch Deadliest Catch. But then Captain Elliott annoyed me too much, so I had to stop. Their spin-off, After the Catch, does interview some of the camera crew and producers, which can be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI only caught a few episodes. It seemed to be one of the decent ones, but I never really got into it.
DeleteWoooooow. That still shot from Hoarders about made me gag. I've never even HEARD of half these shows. Think I'll stick with Netflix.
ReplyDeleteYou must not have found them in your Netflix guide yet. I have only watched Hoarders on Netflix. With the exception of the newest shows, most of them are on there.
DeleteAnd that still shot is nothing compared to the stuff on that show. My picture was just a large pile of trash. They showcase the filth, rot, mold, feces and mildew that usually goes along with that stuff and the people who see no problem with living in ti.
DeleteWatched some American Idol. I used to LOVE Fear Factor...not so much reality as extreme game show, though. I do enjoy The Amazing Race, but I don't set a schedule around any TV show.
ReplyDeleteThey used to do a stand-up comic show called Last Comic Standing during the summers, and that was always fun.
I enjoy the game shows. They did catch some flack a few years ago when it was discovered that some of the things on screen were reshot for the camera and often the prizes are never awarded.
DeleteI loved Last Comic Standing. Very funny show. Best season was season 1 when Dat Phan beat out Ralphie May. Loved it.
I stopped paying for cable 8 months ago. No regrets.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you. I am a Netflix guy now.
DeleteI lovde Hoarders! It is so fascinating. I love certain reality shows, obviously we all know I love the Bachelor (which is definitely partially scripted!) but others I can't tolerate, like Honey Boo boo and Jersey Shore. For me, some of these shows are a bit of escapism, but I couldn't fill my whole tv viewing experience with them!
ReplyDeleteOne I loved that I think is off now was Dirty Jobs. That was complete reality. I love Mike Rowe, and it was so interesting to see the odd jobs that people do.
Dirty Jobs is off the air now. That was one of the better ones and did not need scripting due to the nature of the show.
DeleteMan, if they had a bloggers reality tv show of me it would be boring. It would be me sitting at my computer whining about my stats and then interviews with me where I overshare about my jealousy of other bloggers and the emotional roller coaster I experience every week when my blog expectations aren't mess. OMG - that show would be great!
ReplyDeleteI like Hoarders - the few times I've seen it. I was shocked by it. I always thought my mom hoarded. After seeing that I realized she doesn't. Like Kianwi, I like Dirty Jobs too. That show was great! And Mike Rowe was hilarious.
I don't believe a show about bloggers would be interesting unless there were scripts to follow and make it better. Many of the episodes could be about us going out to have adventures to give us something to write about. We could find all kinds of trouble that had nothing to do with blogging, but would create lots of drama for the camera. Later, we could actually blog about it and our blogs would explode with growth from all of our new TV fans.
DeleteI might be on to something.
~snicker~ TLC can no longer air shows where you might actually learn something so a show about bloggers would be a nope, thanks anyway. i will say that i love pawn stars because even if some of their conversations seem scripted to me, they have cool stuff and you learn a little history here and there. In general, the only thing that shrivels the collective soul of humanity more than just plain old regular REALITY TV is what they play exclusively on channels meant to be for and/or about women. The Bad Girls Club and Snapped is not indicative of what i would like our next generation to aspire to as a gender...hmmm...maybe they'll end up doing a show about people who Snapped because of the Bad Girls...
ReplyDeleteThose of the types of shows that I believe are the worst. They are ones that capitalize on the dysfunction of socially retarded egomaniacs. I can't stand to watch those people and it almost angers me that a network would give them screen time.
DeleteThose repo shows make my brain hurt. The scripting on many shows makes them unwatchable. I like more docu-reality stuff like intervention, though hoarders is too depressing. The last one I watched they dug out two cat skeletons, and that's when I had to say enough
ReplyDeleteI can do the documentary ones easier also. Those and the game show types, but even those are rare. I like King of the Nerds, but cannot stomach any of the dating ones.
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