Is This Reality? Really?

Just when you think that it can’t get any weirder, it does.

Reality TV. The only thing that’s not real is…EVERYTHING.

Thanks to my daughter Christina, who suggested this blog topic after hearing about the new show “Bridalplasty” on E! Television. More on this gem in a bit….

Since the advent of television, “reality” shows have been a part of the mix. Alan Funt’s “Candid Camera” may have been the first, debuting in 1948. Real people caught unawares in unusual and/or comic situations were the fodder for nonstop laughter. Game shows are certainly a form of reality TV—and they’ve been here from the start, too.

Fast-forward to the 90’s and MTV’s “Real World”—where a camera is placed in a house of young people to catch their (almost) every move—only this time, the participants are fully aware that everything is being recorded. Still, it was a watershed moment in TV.

Then along came “Survivor” in 2000—and the ratings went through the roof. Contrived circumstances, but willing participants competing under stressful conditions made for compelling human interactions—with no scriptwriters to hire or pay residuals to. Hmmm-maybe there’s a common theme emerging here.

After “Survivor”, the granddaddy of them all (so far), “American Idol”, which has topped the ratings for six consecutive years. Yes, Simon is gone, as is Ellen Degeneres and Paula Abdul (still), but even a nosedive in audience could still place “Idol” in the #1 position this season. It was ahead by that much.

With every new show, it seems the bar gets raised on the setup, the situation, the players, the objective and the outcome. And with every revision, “reality” takes a punch in the gut.

The Amazing Race (let’s do a worldwide scavenger hunt!)
The Runway Project (models clawing to the top)
Fear Factor (took disgusting to a new level each week)
Wife Swap (no comment)
The Bachelor(and Bachelorette)
Temptation Island (I was tempted to throw up)
Dancing With The Stars ( didn’t know Bristol Palin was a “star”, did you?)

And then there are the celebrity-based shows:

The Anna Nicole Show
Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica
The Osbournes
Hogan Knows Best
Tommy Lee Goes To College

Besides leading to the dissolution of the families involved, these shows seemed geared towards an audience whose own lives are so boring that watching these “role models” qualifies as entertainment.

It gets worse—and the problem is that some of these shows suck you in. I walked into the room while members of my family were engrossed in something called “Cake Boss”. Premise for this show are the trials and tribulations of a New Jersey bakeshop presided over by a overbearing Italian baker who feuds with family and co-workers throughout, while somehow coming up with astonishing cake creations. We see the concept of the cake (without Rice Krispies, the Cake Boss would be relying on mere batter like the rest of us), its construction—and the final product. All of this makes us hungry of course, so repeated trips to the fridge during this show are a must. At the show’s conclusion, we discover that we have consumed a disgusting amount of food—and that there’s a half hour of our lives that we’ll never get back.

“Hoarders” may be worse. Here, we are actually deriving our ENTERTAINMENT from watching people with horrible psychological disorders go through their anguish in front of the ever-rolling cameras. Their homes a revolting pile of filth and rotting garbage, these poor souls are apparently unable to part with ANYTHING. So, they collect it—and we are subsequently delighted to witness their misery. Makes our houses look spotless by comparison, I guess.

“Bridalplasty” may make them all seem like “Leave It To Beaver” or “Father Knows Best”, however. Check out the premise of this new show:

1) Each week, a group of women compete in activities like writing wedding vows and planning honeymoons. The winner gets to choose a plastic surgery procedure from her “wish list”. She is given the procedure immediately-with results shown at the beginning of the next week’s episode.

2) One by one, competitors are voted off the show.


3) The last bride standing receives a “dream wedding”, where she will reveal for the first time before the groom, her family and friends—the result of her EXTREME plastic surgery procedures. Yes, the bride will stroll down the aisle wearing a veil that gets lifted at the altar.

E! has all but predicted that shock and awe will ensue, hinting at the likelihood that the bride may end up looking like Alf.

Even Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at this show---along with his comic prediction of what could be next:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6nyPCwWpRs

Talk to any TV station General Manager and they’ll tell you that the pipeline for syndication is running bone dry—thanks to “reality TV”. The reruns that populate the early fringe before local news and afterwards before prime time have been traditionally filled with situation comedies. Reality shows—while selling very well in DVD form-rarely make good reruns. As such, we can expect more game shows and “Judge Judy”-type low budget first run reality shows to occupy that real estate in the future.
Luckily for me, I am not a big TV guy. I never watched “Survivor”—or most of the reality shows in the past decade.

Sports and some selected drama programs are what I’ll view---heck, I spend most of my time with radio anyway.
If my assessment of reality TV has offended you, my apologies…it must have struck a nerve with some of you…otherwise, who ARE all these people watching this stuff? The TV executives will tell you that “all of America” is tuned in. That may be so, but frankly, most people I talk with have the same view as I.

Most reality TV is….time better spent doing almost ANYTHING else.

If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com