wanna go on a reality TV show?

[Temis the Vorta]

Check here to see if you qualify.

I have no interest in being on a reality TV show myself, just curious if others would do it.

 

[Nobody]

I know my media criticism professor would chide me for not acknowledging that their is a positive aspect of reality TV -- as everything has to have some redeeming value even if it's "the show finished on time" -- but I can't find one for reality shows. I have yet to see one that isn't shallow (See the casting call for MTV on your link) or a variant on Queen for a Day. The genre escapes me as useful and I generally avoid it. So I guess I'm saying no, I wouldn't want to be on one. I also suppose my positive aspect of reality TV is that the shows finish on time.



-nobody

 

[AstroSmurf]

Well no matter how you break it down, reality tv is not really reality. If they wanted a show that is truthful and honest, these producers wouldn't hire editors to create "stories" from the footage they shot. It would be twenty-four episodes of people actually living instead of posing. You would have Gretchen spending an hour putting on her make-up while Craig tried to load the dishwasher or Wendy untangling socks while Jesse slept on the coach with the tv on. (And don't even get me started on "The Hills" which is nothing but badly written faux-reality.) But I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that these producers are actively tempting people with the idea of fame and fortune just so they can exploit their lives, problems and pain, all for a fat paycheck and a ratings share. It is just seems wrong to me. I would even go so far as to compare it to the gladiator arenas of ancient Rome, but with FCC approval.

As for being on one of these "shows", you couldn't pay me enough to have my personality and reputation placed into the hands of someone who is only looking to make me into a caricature or stereotype. Besides, fame, fifteen minutes or fifteen years, is not all it is cracked up to be. (But looking through the list, I might be willing to go on "Trading Spaces" but not to redecorate someone's house. I would pick up the nearest 2x4 and knock the crap out of Paige, Doug and Hildi. The decorators deserve it for cutting a path of decorating destruction across the US while Paige is just annoying.)

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I know my media criticism professor would chide me for not acknowledging that their is a positive aspect of reality TV -- as everything has to have some redeeming value even if it's "the show finished on time" -- but I can't find one for reality shows.

There are some redeeming qualities.

Talent shows like AI and Dancing with the Stars - at least they hinge in theory on the talent and effort of contestants rather than lucky guesses (that suitcase show) or crass stupidity (the lie detector show). I've tried to watch the talent show types, but they are too slow. Too much yakking, too much backstory, too much farting around. I just want to watch singing and dancing, no judges, no voting, no stupid fake tension about who will be voted off.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is tolerable because it not only focuses on the effort and talent of the homebuilders/designers, best of all, there's no BS phony competition. A deserving family gets a nice new home, the end. I often just watch the last 15-20 minutes just to see how the house turned out. I don't much care how they build it, tho.

The one about the fat people losing weight also contributes something good to the world. I've never tried watching it. I don't care about the process of people losing weight, but it's good that they're trying (and probably inspiring some viewers to do the same).

 

[Joy]

I'm actually kinda interested in Discovery Health's show. I could stand to lose 80 lbs. And since it's from Discovery, I trust that it'll be less exploitative than other reality shows.

Joy

 

[Gil T.Azell]

this stipulation eliminates me from 99.999% of all of them.

.....and legal residents of the U. S.

so no I wouldn't want to go on one.
though I would have been a great candidate for Beauty and the Geek.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Speaking of the citizenship stipulation, remember that proposed reality show aimed at illegal aliens trying to become citizens by marrying a US citizen? I guess that one was too crass even for the networks. Or maybe the legal ramifications scared them off, yeah that's probably it.

And is there any nation on Earth that does not participate in the reality TV plague? I've read that in most countries, the locally produced TV shows are largely reality (the mind boggles at the horror).