Reality TV: Good or Bad?

[Knightfall]

Okay, reality TV seems to be here to stay. (Then again...) So, the question is: Is reality TV good or bad?

Do you love reality TV shows or hate them with a passion? Are there any reality TV shows that are good that makes it worth putting up with the bad.

What's your opinion? (Keep it Eric's Grandma friendly.)

 

[Knightfall]

Whoops, I meant to make this thread a poll thread. Oh well...

 

[Mouseferatu]

Okay, reality TV seems to be here to stay. (Then again...) So, the question is: Is reality TV good or bad?

Do you love reality TV shows or hate them with a passion? Are there any reality TV shows that are good that makes it worth putting up with the bad.

What's your opinion? (Keep it Eric's Grandma friendly.)

I think that people who watch reality TV should lose their TV privileges--for ever hour they watch, they can't watch any TV for a year. And people who make reality TV should be forcefully drafted into military service.

Does that answer your question?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Bad.

On the other hand, while I hate shows like Fear Factor and wouldn't watch them, the Darwin in me likes that they exist. People voluntarily suffering to great lengths just to fuel their greed to win about a year's salary in prize money...before taxes, because they're too stupid to recognize their sense of shame? Go ahead!

 

[Kaodi]

. o O ( What would Gandhi say? )

Reality television? Sounds like a good idea!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As an Entertainment Attorney with an MBA in Sports & Entertainment Marketing, I have to say..."Yes."

Reality TV, when its good, can be VERY good- A&E's Intervention, for instance (no, I don't watch it, but I recognize its quality). "True Crime" shows are generally at least as absorbing as an average police drama.

But when its bad, it is consistently the worst thing on the airwaves. Cheaters, anyone?

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Amazing Race is the only "reality tv" show I watch.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Bad.

On the other hand, while I hate shows like Fear Factor and wouldn't watch them, the Darwin in me likes that they exist. People voluntarily suffering to great lengths just to fuel their greed to win about a year's salary in prize money...before taxes, because they're too stupid to recognize their sense of shame? Go ahead!

A Japanese TV exec once said:

"In America, your game shows reward intelligence. In Japan, our game shows punish stupidity."

Most American game shows have traditionally followed that idea. Players won by wit and guile- even if the game didn't require much brainpower, it was still the primary tool for success. Even Name That Tune and Wheel of Fortune require a bit of insight.

Fear Factor and its ilk are obviously more in the Japanese tradition.

OTOH, you're now starting to see hybridized shows. There is a show in Japan that makes you go through all kinds of "Ninja" challenges, but also requires that you solve puzzles at certain stations. Sort of American Gladiators meets Are you smarter than a 5th grader.

Great Britain (or was it Australia?) had a hybridized game show in which you used your wits to win, but if you lost, your car got crushed.

 

[Krug]

Well, it depends. There's a mix of good and bad. I do watch Project Runaway occasionally and it's quite entertaining. Stuff like Fear Factor and America's Next Top Model, though, are quite a turn-off, literally. There's definitely more misses than hits than regular tv, that's for sure.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Great Britain (or was it Australia?) had a hybridized game show in which you used your wits to win, but if you lost, your car got crushed.

If you're talking about Distraction, it was ported over to America on Comedy Central for a season or two and hosted by Jimmy Carr, and is one of my all-time favorite game shows. I miss it dearly today.