If you abhor "reality" shows....

[bigsis]

This is somewhat a S/O the Parenthood thread. I loooooove great shows! I abhor these so-called reality shows. I don't want to name any specific ones, but there are many....

These shows are not good for anything----probably kill brain cells, perpetuate bad behavior, downright idiotic....I could go on and on.

From what I have experienced on the BBBoard, we have a lot of highly educated, intellectual elites here. Does anyone else want to stop these "reality" shows? We can bombard the networks with letters showing our disdain for the shows. Maybe we can make a difference?

WDYT?

[lhafer]

It depends on how you define "reality shows". Survivor, the MTV (Jersey Shore, etc) - I hate those and refuse to watch them.

Other ones like Face Off, So You Think You Can Dance, Ink Master, American Idol, etc - I LOVE these shows. They are regular people who go on a program and compete for a winning prize. But you get to see some amazing talent along the way. I'm not sure if these are defined as Reality Shows or not.

Shows are regulated by ratings. As long as they get them, the show will go on.

[mmommy]

I can't stand reality shows. I teach video production and always plead with my students to go into something other than reality TV. But, that's where the crew jobs are, since there are SO many reality shows and online accompaniments.
I'd love it if I thought a letter campaign would work, but we're being fed what (the greater) we are consuming, so they're not going to stop making it.

I combat it by not having cable and not watching much TV at all. Maybe a funny choice for someone in my profession, but its true.

[AnnieW625]

I do, but it will never work, the small what maybe 1500 people who read the BBB daily will not make a difference at all. Sad, but true. Now if the BBB was given a 2.5+ share, and about 3 million viewers per week like a good reality show like The Voice then yeah the networks would be listening. Reality shows are cheap to produce and they gaurantee ad revenue between the 18-49 crowd. As an example we all probably scoffed at the the $2Million salary that some of the cast members made for a single 12 or so episode of Jersey Shore, but it is much cheaper to produce than scripted TV, which is sad, but since the friends $1M per episode contract in the late 1990s tv salaries have never been the same.

You just have to remember that even though we Americans want quality television the main goal of the mass media is to provide buyers for products, and reality tv first and foremost does that.

Here is a good article about how The Voice really helped out two NBC freshman comedy shows:
http://cartermatt.com/45862/ratings-nbcs-go-on-the-new-normal-die-without-the-voice/

[Melaine]

I hate the ones that exploit children, like the pageant shows, but then again they are already being exploited by being in the pageants. Most of the shows you are talking about are so...just, yuck. I know that people watch them though so I don't expect they will end. I will say I do like some shows that would be categorized as reality shows (I think). I like to watch stuff like Cake Boss or what is that show that gives you a makeover....stuff like Extreme Makeover Home Edition I watch once in awhile.

I would love to know exactly how much some of these shows are scripted. My brother is in the film industry and told me he was flipping channels and saw a "reality show" about landlords and tenants (I'm not sure which one it was). He was surprised to see a friend on the show as a landlord. The friend is an actor, not a landlord. The entire premise of the show lost all validity knowing that! (Not that I am necessarily surprised...but I guess I was a little).

[megs4413]

I like reality shows...not all of them, but lots.

[amldaley]

The best way to stop these shows is for people to stop watching them.

I have never watched Honey Boo Boo and I no longer watch anything on TLC b/c of the way their line up has developed over the last couple of years. After Breaking Amish first aired, I decided I was done with them.

But there are millions of people who DO watch and where there is an audience, there is money. I just don't think a letter writing campaign will be effective.

And for all the blustering about these shows, I'll bet there are a number of intelligent women right here on the BBB who do watch them.

[maestramommy]

I combat it by not having cable and not watching much TV at all. Maybe a funny choice for someone in my profession, but its true.

Pretty much what we do.

[niccig]

I can't stand reality shows. I teach video production and always plead with my students to go into something other than reality TV. But, that's where the crew jobs are, since there are SO many reality shows and online accompaniments.


And they are cheap and quick to make, so you can churn out many episodes to make money on them.

I don't watch them either, but we have friends that work on them.

[wendmatt]

Yes, I hate them and refuse to watch (agree with pps, not the actual shows like Idol etc, I don't actually watch them but don't hate them). But dumb trashy people getting paid thousands of $$$ to act dumber and trashier turns my stomach! Plus, a good friend of DHs was a set dresser and worked in production and all the reality shows cut a ton of jobs and he had to change profession.

[arivecchi]

Many of my highly educated friends watch reality shows (as do I). I have a job that involves a lot of thinking and writing and the best antidote is a completely idiotic reality show! :rotflmao:

I know that many of my friends feel the same way. I don't think it's an intelligence issue. It's a taste/preference issue and there is so much you can watch on TV these days on cable/netflix, etc., that I think everyone can find shows they can enjoy. In sum, I don't think it's a winnable battle and would probably simply support the shows that I do enjoy.

[Gracemom]

I love competition shows like Project Runway, Top Chef, and the Amazing Race. But I abhor "reality" shows like anything Housewives, Dance Moms, honey boo-boo (is that even a title?), etc. I would love to get rid of those. They seem to exist to give people someone to make fun of. Yuck.

[AnnieW625]

I can't stand reality shows. I teach video production and always plead with my students to go into something other than reality TV. But, that's where the crew jobs are, since there are SO many reality shows and online accompaniments.
I'd love it if I thought a letter campaign would work, but we're being fed what (the greater) we are consuming, so they're not going to stop making it.

I combat it by not having cable and not watching much TV at all. Maybe a funny choice for someone in my profession, but its true.

:yeahthat: I would have a much easier time finding a job in the tv industry when I graduated from college in Dec., 1999 had the reality genre been what it is today. Back then it was The Real World, and about 6 months later Survivor. And within a year of that it had all gone down hill since then;).

eta: on TLC (which stands for The Learning Channel) back then there was A Baby Story, and I think A Wedding Story.

[3isEnough]

Many of my highly educated friends watch reality shows (as do I). I have a job that involves a lot of thinking and writing and the best antidote is a completely idiotic reality show! :rotflmao:

:yeahthat: Exactly true for me as well!

[fivi2]

I am not a fan. I don't really care if others choose to watch (as in, I probably wouldn't exert myself to get them off the air), but it does bother me that many of the shows I enjoy have a hard time making it when some other shows (that I think are not good) are on the air for multiple years.

[mommylamb]

I don't watch them myself at all and think. A lot of what's out there is mind numbing. That said it is generally no skin off my nose if others watch them. It's not like I think the existence of reality TV is keeping networks from producing good, smart TV. There are lots of shows that are supposedly really good that I don't watch because I don't have time so I don't feel like reality TV is depriving me of something. I have so many things I'd like to watch and just haven't. And what's the definition of reality TV? I mean I never watch things like American idol and have zero interest, but are they really any different than jeopardy? I don't watch jeopardy a lot, but I do like it when I can catch it.

[rin]

Meh. I should admit that I've never actually watched a whole episode of any reality show. They just seem inane to me, and there are way too few hours in the day for me to want to spend them watching TV of that caliber. I guess I just don't care enough about them being out there for me to really care one way or another about whether they continue to be produced. I think that the only thing that would be effective in ousting the genre is if people stop watching them. A letter-writing campaign, IMO, won't do squat; the networks will probably just take it as an indication that they're making an impact. However, network TV is extremely sensitive to the bottom line. If people stop watching and ad revenue drops, shows will be cancelled in a heartbeat.

[wellyes]

I just heard a story somewhere about how fake and staged and setup some of them are - like Storage Wars. I won't watch anyone in the 'people suck' sub genre like Dance Moms, toddlers & tiaras, Real Housewives, anything on VH1, dumbest models, etc.

But they are not all exploitative trash. I do have a place in my heart for:
- So You Think You Can Dance, the ONLY prime time tv show about the art of dance where everyone is a pro.
- Project Runway for bringing incredible talent and some genuine characters to my screen.
- The Amazing Race for thrillingly showing us real life around the world. When I was a kid, I had absolutely no concept of modern life outside the US. Especially places like India, Egypt, subSaharan Africa, and the Mid East. I wish I'd had a show like that to open my eyes.

[TwinFoxes]

Count me out. I don't watch (unless you count Project Runway, Idol, and Top Chef type competitions) but I just don't care what other people watch. I agree with PPs who doubt the effectiveness of such a campaign. If the Family Television Council (or whatever it's called) hasn't been successful at kicking Ellen off the air, I think a BBB petition to end reality TV is more than a long shot.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I just heard a story somewhere about how fake and staged and setup some of them are - like Storage Wars. I won't watch anyone in the 'people suck' sub genre like Dance Moms, toddlers & tiaras, Real Housewives, anything on VH1, dumbest models, etc.

But they are not all exploitative trash. I do have a place in my heart for:
- So You Think You Can Dance, the ONLY prime time tv show about the art of dance where everyone is a pro.
- Project Runway for bringing incredible talent and some genuine characters to my screen.
- The Amazing Race for thrillingly showing us real life around the world. When I was a kid, I had absolutely no concept of modern life outside the US. Especially places like India, Egypt, subSaharan Africa, and the Mid East. I wish I'd had a show like that to open my eyes.:yeahthat: :)

[misshollygolightly]

Usually, DH and I have pretty discriminating tastes in entertainment. At the end of a long stressful project or semester, though, I crave those mindless, ridiculous reality shows. I watched a season's worth of Housewives after I filed my dissertation this summer :bag Anyway, one thing you *can* do to make a (small) difference is to be part of a Nielsen survey if you're given the chance! I don't think you can volunteer for it, but if you do happen to be selected to participate you can make your viewing habits/preferences known that way! We got to do it this past fall and we thought it was fun to keep our little viewing diary and know that our choices mattered!

I don't know--there may be other kinds of entertainment ratings/surveys that you can actually volunteer or request to do. Might be worth looking into if you want to make your voice heard, OP.

[mypa]

There are some good reality shows and some really bad ones. I choose to watch the good ones.

[arivecchi]

I will proudly say that I watch the good ones (Project Runway, Top Chef, etc) and the bad ones (Bret Michaels' rock of love anyone?) :ROTFLMAO:

I also LOVE to read crappy celebrity rags even though one of my double majors was French lit. :hysterical:

[AngB]

I will proudly say that I watch the good ones (Project Runway, Top Chef, etc) and the bad ones (Bret Michaels' rock of love anyone?) :ROTFLMAO:

I also LOVE to read crappy celebrity rags even though one of my double majors was French lit. :hysterical:

That was bad...but mmm. Bret Michaels. So trashy though.

I have missed the last couple seasons of Jersey Shore, but yeah...guilty. :bag

[bisous]

Well, I don't watch TV as we don't have cable. I really dislike a lot of those reality TV shows although someone (I think it was wellyes) mentioned the 3 programs that I've watched in the past and liked. Another thing I've noticed though is that I can no longer stand watching TV unless in extremely tiny increments. Commercials are just SO obnoxious now that I haven't been regularly watching them for the past five years. So honestly even if the programming improved, I might not tune in!

Instead, I've never been happier by watching what I want through Netflix and Amazon Prime. I love being able to control what comes into my home. Still, I wonder if viewers like me are actually driving "quality" programs away in some respects because we don't watch during typical hours but rather through streaming or online?

[bisous]

[QUOTE=arivecchi;3699302

I also LOVE to read crappy celebrity rags even though one of my double majors was French lit. :hysterical:[/QUOTE]

I wish I could find a way to "gift" you my mysterious unpaid subscription to US Weekly! It has been coming to my home for almost two years. I've never paid for it, never even had another magazine subscription similar! I joke with my husband that I have a mysterious benefactor that feels I need to be up on my popular culture. I wish I could give it to someone who will appreciate it. Instead it keeps coming and coming and coming...

[queenmama]

I wish I could find a way to "gift" you my mysterious unpaid subscription to US Weekly! It has been coming to my home for almost two years. I've never paid for it, never even had another magazine subscription similar! I joke with my husband that I have a mysterious benefactor that feels I need to be up on my popular culture. I wish I could give it to someone who will appreciate it. Instead it keeps coming and coming and coming...

I have the same "problem" with Entertainment Weekly! Years and years! So weird!

We watch the talent shows (the ones with real talent) and the Amazing Race with 12yo DS. I won't watch any of them that I wouldn't want him to see (scripted tv excluded), so that easily eliminates all of the trash.

Lara

[TwinFoxes]

I love being able to control what comes into my home. Still, I wonder if viewers like me are actually driving "quality" programs away in some respects because we don't watch during typical hours but rather through streaming or online?

I control what comes into my home because I have TiVo. I don't see commercials unless I want to. We rarely watch "live" tv.

Networks do track Hulu and their own network sites. But not Netfilx and Amazon which usually air things months or years later. By the time you're watching it on Netfilx the shows may have been canceled. Well, I shouldn't say they don't track them, but they don't base decisions on what to air on those sites.

[lizzywednesday]

...

eta: on TLC (which stands for The Learning Channel) back then there was A Baby Story, and I think A Wedding Story.

Actually, it once stood for "The Learning Channel" but it hasn't done since they re-branded in 1998.

[larig]

I will proudly say that I watch the good ones (Project Runway, Top Chef, etc) and the bad ones (Bret Michaels' rock of love anyone?) :ROTFLMAO:

I also LOVE to read crappy celebrity rags even though one of my double majors was French lit. :hysterical:

:yeahthat:

I also love the geeky reality shows like Henry Louis gates' finding your roots, the history detectives, and the antiques road show.

[infomama]

I can't stand them so I just don't watch them.

[lizzywednesday]

Most of them make me cringe and the others, well, I just don't "get" what the attraction is. I was without cable when the 1st season of 'The Real World' aired and hadn't had much exposure or connection to MTV before then.

I do like to watch makeover shows, like What Not to Wear and, sometimes, Say 'Yes' to the Dress, but mostly I just don't get the point of a "reality" show other than the economic fact that it's cheap to churn out.

I also enjoy Chopped on Food Network (we have a photo from this past summer of DD and I with Ted Allen, who hosts the show, at a signing for his recent cookbook) and sometimes Iron Chef America. During this last season's "Redemption" competition, I was really rooting for the chef who ultimately won, Alex Guarnaschelli, but I don't connect with anything else all that much.

[wellyes]

I do seem to remember a whole lot of crappy reality-like TV when I was a kid. The Newleywed Game, the Dating Game, Love Connection, Phil Donohue, Richard Simmons holding the hands of morbidly obese women, Battle of the Network Stars, Solid Gold. Now the ones I don't remember as well. The Pictionary one with celebrities, whatever that one was that "No whammy, no whammy!", the one that was tic-tac-toe with celebrities where they always had Jim J. Bullock. TV was not better back in the day. And sitcoms were moronic, and tv dramas were not nearly as smart and multilayered as what we have today. So, I don't think it's worse now. I do think there is a lot of junk out there, though.

[lizzywednesday]

... whatever that one was that "No whammy, no whammy!", the one that was tic-tac-toe with celebrities where they always had Jim J. Bullock. ...

Those were "Don't Press Your Luck" and "Hollywood Squares" ... and all the shows you mention are considered to be game shows, not reality TV. Newlywed Game/Dating Game might come close, but not really - I heard that the couples' responses were definitely scripted to some degree.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is: would you also consider "Price is Right" to be "reality"?

The celebrities on Hollywood Squares, for example, were mostly stand-up comedians (lots of appearances by Joan Rivers as well as J.M. J. Bullock, for example) or improv comics, so they could go off on tangents with pretty much anything ... but I think they were also given some "suggestions" for direction.

[wellyes]

Those were "Don't Press Your Luck" and "Hollywood Squares" ... and all the shows you mention are considered to be game shows, not reality TV. Newlywed Game/Dating Game might come close, but not really - I heard that the couples' responses were definitely scripted to some degree.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is: would you also consider "Price is Right" to be "reality"?

The celebrities on Hollywood Squares, for example, were mostly stand-up comedians (lots of appearances by Joan Rivers as well as J.M. J. Bullock, for example) or improv comics, so they could go off on tangents with pretty much anything ... but I think they were also given some "suggestions" for direction.

Game show, reality tv, tomato, tomahto. If those are game shows, so is American Idol and America's Got Talent and all of those.

I do not for a minute believe that those stand up comics, or the American Idol hosts for that matter, went in without some scripted material and a very strong outline of what kind of jokes and reactions are expected of them.

But no, I don't put Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune or Price is Right in exactly the same category, because there isn't the "revel in living vicariously through hot young people" aspect you get from the dating shows, or the "hey lets gawk at that drunk washed up celeb" thing either.

[karstmama]

there are a few i liked - queer eye, bbc america's changing rooms and ground force, and the nerdy ones pp mentioned on pbs. ;)

all the rest - awful. i wish they'd go away en masse. blicky.

so i vote with my time & don't watch them.

[boolady]

I will proudly say that I watch the good ones (Project Runway, Top Chef, etc) and the bad ones (Bret Michaels' rock of love anyone?) :ROTFLMAO:

I also LOVE to read crappy celebrity rags even though one of my double majors was French lit. :hysterical:

:yeahthat:

Well, French lit isn't something I'm versed in, but I spend a lot of time doing very intense reading and work at work, so in addition to the "good" reality shows I enjoy, like PR and TC, I will watch, given my mood, anything from the Kardashians to Giuliana and Bill to Jerseylicious. I don't watch TLC's stuff, which is pretty much just exploitative at this point, except the occasional Big Fat Gypsy Weddding, which is admittedly exploitative, but I just can't seem to look away from.

I also enjoy all sorts of reading-- everything from celebrity rags and "chick lit" to pretty intense non-fiction. There are just many times I need a mental break after doing a lot of heavy editing, reading and writing. It certainly has nothing to do with my level of education, and quite frankly, I think the suggestion that the "intellectual elite" is going to protect the masses from the horror of reality television is pretty, well, elitist. If I have that kind of time on my hands, I think I can find something better to do with it than bring down "The Bachelor."

[lizzywednesday]

Game show, reality tv, tomato, tomahto. If those are game shows, so is American Idol and America's Got Talent and all of those.

I do not for a minute believe that those stand up comics, or the American Idol hosts for that matter, went in without some scripted material and a very strong outline of what kind of jokes and reactions are expected of them.

But no, I don't put Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune or Price is Right in exactly the same category, because there isn't the "revel in living vicariously through hot young people" aspect you get from the dating shows, or the "hey lets gawk at that drunk washed up celeb" thing either.

Oh, they definitely script Seacrest ... and probably some of the judges' reactions are re-shot for TV on AI, etc. It would be foolish not to think they were, considering the wide audience they need to appeal to!

And I don't consider competition shows like AI, Got Talent (ugh, really? I find the commercials alone to be dreadful), etc., to be "reality" - they are absolutely game shows!

Even 'Survivor', which I watched with my brother Joe between finishing college & getting my first (and, so far, only) adult job, has a game-show-ish component. (And the producers, crew and castmembers have admitted to some "staging" of certain events in past seasons.)

[Clarity]

And for all the blustering about these shows, I'll bet there are a number of intelligent women right here on the BBB who do watch them.

:innocent: Honestly, I don't watch many at all. Just one, in fact. (Dance Moms...I know, I know. It's a horrible, horrible, horrible show.) It wouldn't be the end of the world if it was off the air though, so I'd support OP in her efforts.