Two Shows That Need To Be Cancelled!

[Temis the Vorta]

Sometimes I wonder if people understand the difference between documentaries and reality shows anymore. (The difference is, a true reality show is contrived while a documentary depicts things that would be occurring even if the cameras weren't rolling).

Here's a reality TV show about Teamsters (still at pilot stage). Didn't that sort of thing used to be called a documentary? Are the Teamsters going to be singing and dancing and modelling the latest fashions? Perhaps not...

Teamsters – produced by Wahlberg’s Closest to the Hole, Levinson’s Leverage and Harrison’s Transition Prods — provide a first-hand glimpse of the legendary union in the most aggressive and territorial city in America: Boston. Here, the Teamsters Local 25 battle for the rights of their 11,000 members.

Wow, that actually sounds...respectable. In this political climate, exposing Americans to our fast-diminishing tradition of organized labor is a really good thing. Good for A&E, maybe they're digging themselves out of the schlock hole they've been in for far too long.

It's the contrived bullshit aspect of reality shows that make them contemptible, not the fact that they depict actual reality. Horrible as it may be, beauty pageants for toddlers do exist and some people decide to build their lives around having as many spawn as possible. The problem is not so much that those shows exist, that huge, important swaths of American life go ignored, just because they're not sensationalistic. This A&E series is at least one step towards correcting that imbalance.

And I'm not counting game shows and competitions like the singing, dancing and fashion design shows - those encourage creativity so even tho I rarely watch them, it's okay that they exist. Game shows and documentaries are not reality shows. A lot of dissimilar stuff is being thrown into the same box here. (Of course it's the TV biz that has caused this confusion by insisting on labelling all these show types the same.)

 

[Jax]

TLC itself should be shutdown.

 

[propita]

How about cancelling every single piece of drivel that falls under the purview of "reality television". That would make my day.

As for actual television shows, "Alcatraz" and "The River" should both bite the bullet as far as I'm concerned.

-Jamman

I like the cooking shows, especially the competition ones, like Top Chef and Chopped. And Mike Holmes of Holmes on Holmes is hot--and I've learned a lot from HGTV. Those are reality shows I don't want axed. The ones more bandied about here? Cancel them and fire the people who put them on the air.

Oh, and The River's final episode is next week. It was more a mini-series anyway.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The River was intended as an ongoing series, just with a new cast and situation each year. The more recent episodes have been good, too bad they drove everybody away with formulaic crap early on (not that it debuted strong in any case).

Everything on broadcast should be cancelled except for

Grimm
Once Upon a Time
Smash
maybe Person of Interest but that's a very marginal case

 

[Caliburn24]

1) 19 Kids & Counting - My girlfriend and her mother love this show, but it's like watching a cult. Usually I'm totally on board with people having their own beliefs and sharing it, but the Duggar ideal of "God will tell us when we should stop having children" is prehistoric. There is no way each of these kids is getting the attention a kid should get, I don't care what is portrayed on the screen. They are taken into churches and other events, so their parents or cult leaders, whatever, can share how "God knows when they should stop having kids." What if these two lost their jobs (do they even work?) or the revenue from the show? How are they going to feed two children, let alone nineteen? Irresponsible is just the tip of the iceberg.

I don't watch TLC(stupid channel) or reality TV at all, but I can't help but see a certain disconnect in your argument.

You worry about the Duggars not being able to feed and cloth their kids. Yet in the same breath you want to get their show cancelled and hence not collect that revenue stream anymore? Self-fulfilling prophecy is self-fulfilling.

 

[Captain Craig]

They can cancel entire networks, starting with the STYLE Network.

Next can be CourtTV, Bravo and Oxygen Networks for starters.

 

[Skywalker]

They can cancel entire networks, starting with the STYLE Network.

Next can be CourtTV, Bravo and Oxygen Networks for starters.

Cancel NBC and split what decent shows they do have up between Fox (quirky sitcoms, SF/F dramas) and ABC (female-oriented programs). Nobody watches NBC anymore anyway, and it doesn't have a specific niche that the other three networks do.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I'm a big proponent of letting kids be kids and I take huge issues with them being trotted out in anything that takes away from a chance to play in the mud and be a real kid.
...
2) Toddlers & Tiara's - There's plenty of commercials in Canada about hockey parents getting out of control, but what about these mothers? We wonder why people are so obsessed with body image. These mothers brainwash their children into thinking they need to look beautiful for these pageants. What hope do these girls have to not be shallow when they grow up? Welcome to your next set of female high school bullies.

TLC should cancel both and return to Hoarding marathons and criticizing people for their weirdness, while leaving the kids out of it.

I've seen clips from this piece of crap show, these parents should be arrested for child abuse, its down right disgusting what they put these girls trough. some friends of mine who have young girls would kick your ass for doing this to your daughter(s).
I think this says it best.

 

[Unicron]

Every show whose title starts with "Real Housewives of..." as they are about as far from reality as a human could possibly get, nor have any of them actually done a bit of housework in their lives.

Clearly, such shows are filmed in other realities and just beamed here by our networks.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Sometimes I wonder if people understand the difference between documentaries and reality shows anymore. (The difference is, a true reality show is contrived while a documentary depicts things that would be occurring even if the cameras weren't rolling).

Oh, I know what the difference is, but what I'm talking about is some kind of hybrid, because yes, they do exist. They're less trashy than the three-ring circus type of reality shows, but they still have drama, and at the same time they have more of an educational content than the average reality show. In the case of Ice Pilots as an example, when the cameras aren't rolling, it's business as usual as a real airline operating in the Canadian north. They're not pure documentaries as some of the stuff is recreated for the cameras to make better storylines, so they're closer to being a reality show, but using documentary style elements and format.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Cancel NBC and split what decent shows they do have up between Fox (quirky sitcoms, SF/F dramas) and ABC (female-oriented programs).

FOX is scared of sf/f dramas now. Let's keep NBC and cancel FOX. At least NBC is actually doing some sf/f pilots for next fall.

 

[Danny99]

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/cancel-19-kids-counting/

As my brain leaked out of me as I was forced to sit through another episode, I found this online.

 

[Kestra]

So stop watching it. I'm keeping my reality TV, TLC, shows about freaks, and whatever else I feel like watching!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Petitions to get certain shows canceled are perhaps one of the silliest ideas out there.

 

[Random_Spock]

Every show whose title starts with "Real Housewives of..." as they are about as far from reality as a human could possibly get, nor have any of them actually done a bit of housework in their lives.

Plus, every show that involves angry, frustrated moms pushing their poor daughters into competitions that are solely to provide an ego boost for the teacher, coach or parent, but don't do anything for the actual child.

Agreed. Those shows are nothing but a giant black hole of crap. With everyone just arguing and whining all the time. Didn't get cable to see this kind of stuff on it...

Speaking of which... they need to cancel 'Jersey Shore', 'Kourtney and Kim take New York' and 'Keeping up with the Kardashians'...

All of those shows are just a huge waste of space and air time.

I'm a big proponent of letting kids be kids and I take huge issues with them being trotted out in anything that takes away from a chance to play in the mud and be a real kid.

The following two shows are both on TLC and both should be cancelled not only for putting kid's lives on display, but for other reasons as well.

1) 19 Kids & Counting - My girlfriend and her mother love this show, but it's like watching a cult. Usually I'm totally on board with people having their own beliefs and sharing it, but the Duggar ideal of "God will tell us when we should stop having children" is prehistoric. There is no way each of these kids is getting the attention a kid should get, I don't care what is portrayed on the screen. They are taken into churches and other events, so their parents or cult leaders, whatever, can share how "God knows when they should stop having kids." What if these two lost their jobs (do they even work?) or the revenue from the show? How are they going to feed two children, let alone nineteen? Irresponsible is just the tip of the iceberg.

2) Toddlers & Tiara's - There's plenty of commercials in Canada about hockey parents getting out of control, but what about these mothers? We wonder why people are so obsessed with body image. These mothers brainwash their children into thinking they need to look beautiful for these pageants. What hope do these girls have to not be shallow when they grow up? Welcome to your next set of female high school bullies.

TLC should cancel both and return to Hoarding marathons and criticizing people for their weirdness, while leaving the kids out of it.

Agreed on both of these. I don't even watch 19 and Counting and I'm annoyed by it. I respect the fact that the Duggars believe the way that they do, but not everyone subscribes to it. Everyone lives their own lives, their own way.

As for Toddler's and Tiara's... don't watch this one either. But from what I've heard about it, it sounds like an absolute waste of time, and some of the stuff that happens on it when it comes down to the people that teach the children how to get ready for pagents (sp?), is just crazy. Some of the women on it seem downright crazy O_o. If I had a kid, I'd never send my kid to that place, at all.

 

[doubleohfive]

Sorry, Luck fans...

 

[cardinal biggles]

I don't watch TLC(stupid channel) or reality TV at all, but I can't help but see a certain disconnect in your argument.

You worry about the Duggars not being able to feed and cloth their kids. Yet in the same breath you want to get their show cancelled and hence not collect that revenue stream anymore? Self-fulfilling prophecy is self-fulfilling.

If the only way they can afford to feed and clothe their nineteen kids is by trotting them all out on a reality TV freak show, then there's something wrong with that family (and this country for watching, and thereby encouraging them to keep up the freak show).

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I don't watch TLC(stupid channel) or reality TV at all, but I can't help but see a certain disconnect in your argument.

You worry about the Duggars not being able to feed and cloth their kids. Yet in the same breath you want to get their show cancelled and hence not collect that revenue stream anymore? Self-fulfilling prophecy is self-fulfilling.

If the only way they can afford to feed and clothe their nineteen kids is by trotting them all out on a reality TV freak show, then there's something wrong with that family (and this country for watching, and thereby encouraging them to keep up the freak show).

They live very frugally and are both real estate agents, as far as I know.

 

[23skidoo]

Petitions to get certain shows canceled are perhaps one of the silliest ideas out there.

I'm afraid I have to agree. Personally I'd love to see the US government pass a law outlawing reality shows from network TV. Network TV show be wall-to-wall SF and quirky dramas with the occasional New Girl-like sitcom tossed into the mix. Oh and with at least a couple hours a week dedicated to rebroadcasting classics like The Avengers.

Obviously that ain't gonna happen.

And I can imagine how upset I'd be to see online petitions demanding the cancellation of, say, Once Upon a Time or Doctor Who. Or some folks would be if, say, Terra Nova was cancelled because of a petition.

Fact is there are only two reliable ways to get a show cancelled (well, other than having horses die on the set, apparently) and that is to not watch it or for enough sponsors to pull out that it fails.

19 and Counting (a show I've never heard of until now) would not be on the air if no one was watching it and advertisers weren't supporting it. So if you want to start a petition to encourage people - or to be precise the 1000 or so Nielsen households - not to watch it (and yes I'm aware it's probably considered "illegal" - assuming Nielsen is powerful enough to pass its own laws - to try and sway their votes), fine. If you want to start a letter-writing campaign to get sponsors to pull out, then give it a shot - seems to be having an impact with Rush Limbaugh's radio show, and the PTC seems to consider this one of its greatest weapons in its efforts to Barneyize American television.

But if people still want to watch shows like American Idol or Toddlers & Tiaras or 19 and Counting, then that's their problem. Last I looked no one's passed a law saying you have to watch such-and-such a show and even if you're in one of the 2 communities left in North America with only one TV channel, odds are you have Internet or DVDs to kill time during those 60 minutes that don't appeal to you personally.

Alex

 

[Captain Shaw]

The River was intended as an ongoing series, just with a new cast and situation each year. The more recent episodes have been good, too bad they drove everybody away with formulaic crap early on (not that it debuted strong in any case).

Everything on broadcast should be cancelled except for

Grimm
Once Upon a Time
Smash
maybe Person of Interest but that's a very marginal case

Don't forget castle.