Vacation Robo-Post: The State of Your Reality

Good points, Robo-James.

I think reality TV has been good overall for television, because it has forced writers to become more creative and innovative in their writing - now, if a show isn't at the best of its possible quality (arguably), it won't get made because unscripted reality television can be made for less cost. Sure, a ton of these reality shows fail too, but its less of a risk from the network's perspective.

So I think you're right, in a way - some of these wacky reality ideas have contributed to scripted television (like Survivor leading to Lost), but the competition between reality TV and scripted shows have also forced scripted television to "raise its game" for fear of being frozen out of the market (not likely, sure, but for awhile there reality TV was threatening to take a large chunk of the primetime schedule away permanently).

P.S. Kristen Bell is still on Heroes. And I'm STILL very excited about this (albeit not as excited as if she had made an appearance on Lost).

I loves me some reality tv. I truly do.

In Stephen Johnson's book, Everything Bad is Good for You he talks about reality tv. And how its not dumbing down America, but how it teaches us about relationships, about how with reality tv we are seeing true emotion, instead of actors. How it teaches us in our own minds how we would react in situations like this (situations that could be applied to the work place, or social structures)and how it helps us learn the norms of society.

Now a lot of the reality tv I watch is bunk, The Hills probably isn't teaching me anything, but at the same time, it is no less intellectual than the ridiculous sitcoms that take up a half hour of our time.

A couple of points here...

Regular network series leave alot to be desired in terms of family viewing - for a family with a variety of ages - reality shows like American Idol and Amazing Race (my favs) give our family regular shows to watch together and provide some breakfast conversation the day after rehashing what happened the night before and what will happen next week. Just like "regular" network shows, some reality tv leaves much to be desired.

The other thing that "works" with reality tv. Many non-reality shows don't build on each other from week to week. You watch, enjoy or not, and then maybe tune in the next week to start a new story/plot line. That's where reality tv or series like Lost hook the viewer - you become more invested in the show and the characters/contestants.

It's weird - as much as society rants that people are not invested in each other like the "olden days", in many ways we are even more invested in our ways to stay in touch with people and others lives. Email, cell phones, facebook, myspace, and yes, reality shows give us many more opportunities to peek into each others lives and it seems that "we" like that and keep coming back for more...

I completely agree (and posted in the earlier discussion, so sorry for being redundant!) that reality TV whetted our appetite for serialized dramas with plots that build each week - they showed that We The Viewers have the ability and desire to follow ongoing storylines, and that we have great capacity to get invested in the ongoing journey of the characters. And there are some GREAT shows on lately. I have heard people say that there is a current Renaissance in TV shows now - the serialized drama, the excellent writing, the exodus of Hollywood movie folks to television studios, etc. So, in the big picture, I appreciate any effect that Reality TV has had to inspire actual quality programming.

I've never been a huge reality TV fan, but I have certainly watched enough to get hooked on a few. I have, at times, watched Survivor, Beauty and the Geek, American Idol, Flavor of Love: Charm School, Search for the Next Pussycat Doll (watched a few episodes, will never watch again, and screw them for interrupting Veronica Mars, may they rue the day). Basically, i find it really easy to get hooked on any reality TV show that I turn on, because I want to know what happens to these people. I think that a lot of the values that are portrayed in reality TV are horrendous. The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, and many others seem like meat markets where human interaction is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator and greed, vanity, and lust rule the day. Cash is King, Skin is Queen, and the rules of decent human interaction go out the window. I try really hard not to watch any of them, so I don't risk getting attached to any of the characters. Others really interest me - like Project Runway, Sheer Genius, ones where creativity and talent is involved. I am always hooked on American Idol. So, I think reality TV is a mixed bag, but I do enjoy watching a good catfight now and again!

I, too, am a fan of the creative shows - Project Runway and Top Chef are my favorites of these, which is funny, because I have no real interest in or talent for fashion or cooking in my own life. But actually, that may be part of the draw - seeing a sort of behind-the-scenes look at arts that are completely foreign to me. I'm an Amazing Race fan, too, but in general stay away from the match-making type shows - they're overly addictive, and I don't like what most of them represent. I used to watch Real World, but the cast seems to get more obnoxious every season. I watched about 15 minutes of the premiere of the current season before I couldn't stand it anymore...

I guess, essentially, I think reality tv is better when there's more than a "let's put all these different people together and watch the conflict" premise, when there's some sort of skill-based competition involved. Inevitably, those have their moments of personal conflict, too, but it's not the main event.

I think there have been some good Reality TV developments this year, but on cable.

Bravo has a lot of solid Reality TV that actually focuses on very specific people or industries. Flipping Out is a decent show, as well as Welcome to the Parker. Then there's also Top Chef, which is in its third season, and just as good as ever.

Also, VH1 even has a couple half decent shows with Rock of Love, The Pick-Up Artist, and Scott Baio is 45 and Single. They have very cheesy sounding premises, but they are actually surprisingly good and not as exploitive as you would expect. In Rock of Love, Brett Michaels is genuinely looking for a relationship and he takes everything pretty seriously, plus he's a genuinely nice guy. The Pick-Up Artist is actually pretty uplifting because it is actually showing nice guys how to have more self-confidence. And the Scott Baio show is actually pretty introspective and really is about looking into this man's troubled psyche.

I'm going to dissent here. IMHO, reality television hypes interpersonal conflicts -- and gives tacit approval to inappropriate behavior pursuant to those conflicts. Psychological/emotional abuse and intimidation is at the heart of much of reality television, and if often a key to "success" --- and because it is "reality" the message is that what was once considered "abusive" behavior has become not merely acceptable, but desirable traits.

In "fictional" drama, while there are protagonists who are "abusive" (Tony Soprano, Patty Hewes) there is always a cost associated with that abusive behavior (sometimes direct, sometimes karmic). In reality TV, the abusive person often succeeds and becomes the "winner" -- and then disappears from the show to live happily (and one assumes, abusively) ever after.

I'm a day late on this, but I have to join p_luk in dissent. I'll admit there are a few interesting and informative reality shows, mostly on cable. But in large part the genre is based on two principles: People will humiliate themselves for fame or money, and people love to watch people humiliate themselves for fame or money. For every Survivor that requires savvy and strategy to win, there are ten Fear Factors. What insight into real human emotion am I going to gain from watching someone eat horse testicles? Most of the characters, er, contestants in these shows are straight out of central casting, so it's not like we're getting a realistic cross-section of the American people.

And I don't buy into the theory that reality TV is responsible for revitalizing television. I do think there are more quality drama series on TV than ever before, but I think that's a result of the influence of HBO and later FX and Showtime. Is reality TV responsible for Deadwood, The Wire or The Sopranos, and Oz before them? Did we need a villain like Richard Hatch before we could stomach a Tommy Gavin or Vic Mackey? And are the most popular series on network TV all serials with realistic characters and relationships? Nope, it's mostly the same tired genres that were popular well before reality TV. Last year's top 20 scripted series, according to the 2006-07 Nielsen wrap, were: CSI, Grey's Anatomy, House, Desperate Housewives, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, Lost, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, Cold Case, Heroes, Criminal Minds, CSI: New York, Shark, 24, Rules of Engagement, Law & Order: SVU, ER, King of Queens, and Ugly Betty. All but four of those series (Desperate Housewives, Lost, Heroes and Ugly Betty) are either police/law procedurals, medical dramas or traditional multicamera sitcoms. If viewers really wanted the serial formats, verite storytelling and human emotions attributed to reality shows, then Friday Night Lights would be a top show instead of a low-rated critical darling. But it's not the supposed "true emotion" of reality shows that appeals to people, it's the opportunity to watch people at their worst and judge them accordingly. Reality TV isn't good for us and it isn't good for the rest of television.

All TV is good. Whether it is reality, scripted, or a documentary. I just like to sit back and let the show take my mind into another world. I get to engage with people when I am watching TV. It is really hard to do these things in reall life because you could be perceived as awkward or creppy. But by watching TV shows, I become the fly on the wall.

can anyone rite some good points about it ?