The Hate on Reality TV

[SturmDolch]

Reality shows have a reputation that they are only watched by idiots and couch-moms. I am quite sure I'm not an idiot, and almost certain I am not a couch-mom, yet I really like two of these shows.

Now, I can understand the hate for shows like "Big Brother: People Sitting in a House in Sexual Frustration" and that Jon and Kate show that was in the news once. But like any genre, I feel there is some good in it.

Survivor:

This is the one that started the whole reality show craze and the move away from sitcoms to the cheap. I watch this. I could care less about the challenges. What I like is the politics, and how people get so involved in this. They really are trying to survive. I like watching the asshats who make and break alliances every 5 minutes, and I love watching those same self-righteous pricks cry when they eventually get voted out. It's great, and there's some interesting personalities on board. Except for Jeff Probst. I swear he's a robot preprogrammed with 5 phrases (e.g. "Immunity is now back up for grabs!", "_____, you are the ____th person voted out of Survivor ___", etc.)

The Amazing Race:

I watch this one to see the countries they go to. The race element adds some excitement and action to the show. And the host can be pretty funny.

America's Got Talent:

Yeah, I only watch this one to see the failures that come onto the show and the British guy tear them a new one.


What about you? Do you watch any reality TV? Am I a nimrod with the IQ of 4 for enjoying these shows? Do you simply not care?




Edit: First line removed due to people not being able to comprehend jokes and my obvious lack of the writing expertise required to post "a smiley or winky face".

 

[delet]

I hate reality TV, especially that whole "____ Of Love" craze. Ugh.

I've slowly moved completely away from TV in general though so I only watch Comedy Central and maybe a few other channels every now and then.

 

[Sky Captanio]

As I was reading the Family Guy thread, and stroking my chin and smirking to myself in my knowledge that I am intellectually superior for not watching it,

And modest too, eh?

I can't stand reality TV. "Day six in the house. Some of the housemates are in the kitchen. Still nothing has happened."

 

[Apackof12Ninjas]

Reality TV is the biggest act of hypocrisy on TV. ITS NOT REALITY. Its produced faked and spoon-fed bullshit given to the idiotic mass's that eat it one bite at a time.


With rare exception such as Deadliest catch which is more of a documentary anyways.

 

[Sky Captanio]

Reality TV is the biggest act of hypocrisy on TV. ITS NOT REALITY. Its produced faked and spoon-fed bullshit given to the idiotic mass's that eat it one bite at a time.


With rare exception such as Deadliest catch which is more of a documentary anyways.

Yeah but "Produced faked and spoon-fed bullshit TV" doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

[Xojins]

You might want to rethink your "intellectual superiority" if you watch those "reality" TV shows because:

Reality TV is the biggest act of hypocrisy on TV. ITS NOT REALITY. Its produced faked and spoon-fed bullshit given to the idiotic mass's that eat it one bite at a time.


With rare exception such as Deadliest catch which is more of a documentary anyways.

Daniel Tosh did a great joke about Survivor: started out by saying the show is seeing if Americans can survive in a place where people already live, and then giving a million dollars to one of them. So true, made me lol.

 

[Jackalb]

I can't stand reality TV. "Day six in the house. Some of the housemates are in the kitchen. Still nothing has happened."

This.

Although I did watch bits of the last series as I was just curious as to what Vinnie Jones was like.

Never voted though. Ever.

 

[Treefingers]

Am I a nimrod with the IQ of 4 for enjoying these shows?

Yes.

 

[Sky Captanio]

Am I a nimrod with the IQ of 4 for enjoying these shows?

Yes.

See? One word can be funny!

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

I hate Reality TV. Doesn't that defeat the entire point of tv? It's just bland, uninteresting, and so horribly fake that it's sometimes hard to call it reality.

The only reality tv I like is watching the auditions for American Idol because it's fun watching nutjobs who think they can sing. Simon's snarkiness towards them adds to the effect. After the auditions are over, I stop caring. But of course, Simon's leaving the show so now I'll have hardly any reason to watch it.

And don't even get me started on the blasphemous horror that is Cartoon Network Reality. YOU'RE GOD DAMNED CARTOON NETWORK, YOU WERE A BELOVED CHANNEL TO MY ENTIRE GENERATION BACK WHEN YOU WERE STILL GOOD!!! NOW YOU'RE GIVING TODAY'S KIDS THE SAME SHIT THAT'S REPRESENTS TERRIBLE TELEVISION TODAY, KIDS DESERVE BETTER!!! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU SINK THIS LOW!!!) Uh...sorry, I can't hold back a rant like that. It just really pisses me off even though I don't watch the channel anymore.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

I am quite sure I'm not an idiot ... But like any genre, I feel there is some good in it.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you just contradicted yourself! KIDDING

Seriously, I think there was potential in the format for maybe one or two good, meaningful programs, but also an overwhelming capacity for mindless garbage and what we ended up with was the latter. In my mind, no dearth of good examples can atone for the evils of VH1's Celebreality. It. Must. Die.

On the other hand, the only reality shows I've liked consistently were The Osbournes and Run's House, although with the families in on the production of the show it's debatable whether or not they qualify as pure reality TV or just as sit-coms. Still, I can't imagine how MTV managed to get it so right with those shows, while VH1 keeps turning out turd after turd after turd. My dad watches Tool Academy, and it makes me want to lick the paint off the wall. Why? Dunno. But I hate it.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Reality shows basically destroyed quality TV since the reality hook is now implemented in about 60 % of all TV shows.

And yes, I fucking hate it.

 

[MCGT]

Anyone seen 'What Katie Did Next', my sister has it on all the time.

It's the most obviously manufactured piece of crap ever made for the dumbest of the dumb, and Katie Price may very well be my most despised person in the whole of the human race.

 

[Binerexis]

I get enough reality by just generally living as it is.

When I go to the pub, I have a good time with my friends. When I'm watching someone else go to a pub or bar having a good time, I feel like I'm stalking them and wasting my time. I'd much rather spend my TV watching time watching something like House or any other show where they come out and say "Yes, it has a script" as opposed to trying to make it 'real'.

 

[AvsJoe]

Other than Cake Boss and Last Comic Standing, I have not watched a reality show episode since the final episode of the first season of Survivor. I can't say that I hate the genre, but I hate the fact that reality is almost everywhere now since it's so cheap and easy to produce. But without reality television, the awesome "The Joe Schmo Show" and "Series 7: The Contenders" would never have been made so it's a tradeoff.

 

[Aerodyamic]

I try to watch as little TV as possible, but I have consistently found that the premises involved in ANY reality show to be a great reason to never watch them. I don't know that anyone else watching them is particularly an indication of THEIR intelligence, but I know I don't want to feel my IQ dropping like a brick down a well, sitting paralyzed by the sheer stupidity of those shows.

 

[Flames66]

I don't hate them, I just don't find them interesting enough to watch.

 

[LWS666]

i hate reality television, i only watch the x-factor at the start to laugh at people who can't sing.

 

[TheLazyKnight]

I avoid all reality shows. I mainly just watch Daily Show and Colbert Report and the Travel Channel.

 

[SturmDolch]

Interesting how people thought I was serious in my first line, the stroking my chin part... I'm not even sure if it qualifies as gullible or just imperceptive, but congratulations on being able to take it to such a degree.

Now, the responses are mostly talking about shows I forgot about. The Reality TV about just people being people. Which is what I don't like either, i.e. my Big Brother example in the OP. They do seem fake.

I find that watching people compete under pressure in Survivor and Amazing Race makes it sort of a social experiment. How well can these people adapt to new surroundings and to what lengths will they go to stay in them?