Survivor, Fear Factor, American Idol, the Millionaire dating thing...

This is probably a reaction to a general lack of interest in recent sitcoms. Despite a few like the Simpsons, Friends, - sitcoms have taken a back seat to drama shows like ER and to our new beloved Reality Shows.

I don't watch them much, but ratings are high.

Does this reveal a move away from the picturesque world that TV has blinded us by in the past? And what does this mean?

Why now? Has 9/11 turned us into a more “real” society?

Will it continue, and where do you imagine these reality shows are taking us?

jjirout

I view them as a short term flash in the pan such as "Who Wants to be A Millionaire". The novelty of them will wear off and programing will shift again.

Survivor & Big Brother i can live with but not The Bacholar or Bacholarette



I say no because this is probably just a fad that will soon quickly die out because it was fine with Survivor but it gets "old hat" very quickly

First of all, I'm not a really big fan of these, so called, "reality" shows. the situations appear to be way too controlled to be "real" in any way. I don't feel that sitcom TV has "blinded" us. . .because I don't feel that my eyes are any more opened for having seen "Survivor".
However, I do feel that this recent surge in "reality shows" is a reflection of the desensitizing of our nation. Some things I see on "Real TV" are just one step above seeing something from "Faces of Death". How long will it take before the accidents on "Real TV", the tears of the outcasts and scheming of the contestants on "Survivor" any of those "Bacholar" shows or Big Brother, the cruel criticism on "American Idol", the grotesque meals on "Fear Factor become too soft. . .and our collective need to see more pain, more suffering, more injustice grows. I don't think it was any accident that the movie Gladiator did as well in the theaters as it did.

-Kisov

I suspect they're more of a fad than anything and will eventually dissipate, leaving our culture a bit worse for the wear. I actually prefer the "reality" of the likes of The Anna Nicole Show or The Osbournes to the Survivor type programs (though I must admit that I sat through a couple of episodes of The Mole when I happened upon it).


That's kind of a frightening thought, K. I'll have to give that a bit more thought.

Let us not forget that there are other kinds of "reality" shows, too - think of the enormous number of court oriented shows? Or the "Is your boy friend a transvestite" type "talk" shows. All of these (in common with the Joe Millionaire type) seem to depend on the thrill of seeing "real" people humiliated etc etc.

I wish I could say that they are just a trend but fear that the profit margins are just too good for the networks to resist.

As someone with some experience in media rest assured these shows are cheap, cheap, cheap to produce. The unfortunate thing is the ever dwindling opportunities (despite an ever growing number of markets) for creative and expressive artists/writers etc. etc.

Of course, Kisov's point is well taken. Can we be long away from televised executions? "Terrorists on Trial"

With the appalling packaging of News as if they were enterainment series ("Showdown with Saddam") I sometimes wonder if we haven't already crossed that line both morally and psychologically and that all that remains to be ironed out are residuals to the state for providing access to the "detainees" and the death chambers. ("Hey, if executions are meant to be a deterent then we have an obligation to show it to people so they can be detered, right??")

Presto, we're back in the middle ages. Just imagine the ratings!!!

While I don't normally watch reality shows, Padraig brought up a good point: Reality shows have been on the air for years. The newest wave are just of a different subject matter.

I don't see an end to this genre of television any time soon, but it will certainly fall out of prime time after a while. FOX probably has something bigger, better, and more mind-numbing on the horizon...

Mike

I agree that no one's eyes are really opened by these reality shows - but it seems to be as though shows in general are striving to appear more "real" than they had been "ideal". We have gone from the Brady Bunch, Wonder Women, and Fact of Life to Seinfeld, the Simpsons, and Boston Public - shifting from romanticism to realism.

And much of our realism has been seeped in irony. We have been sitting back and chuckling at the absurdity of life - i.e. Friends, Seinfeld, the Simpsons - for years, and now we have "reality shows"?

What happened to wit?

This may be a fad, but fads are still cashing in on a trend. Is the trend a need for more authentic involvement? A need to identify with real people? Or simply a twisted desire to watch the grotesque and the violent?

jjirout

the only decent "reality" tv show is real tv.

I think most of them are extremly stupid. survivor? please, these are a bunch yuppies that have nothing better to do then to win a million bucks. I want to see these punks blindfolded, and taken into the middle of nowhere(say within 50-100 miles of a small mountain town for example)with a knife, some water in reusable bottles, something to use as a pan (like a WW2 helmet) and some clothes in a small pack, and maybe a little bit of food (like some granola bars, some oatmeal, etc..) make those people actually survive! drop them off in different locations, maybe allow one team member, and the first into town wins. (put gps tracking units on them so you can find the "losers")

I have only followed two of them so far: joe millionare and boot camp.

I cannot get into these Reality programs. They either just gross me out or I think when I am watching this is it worth the money? I have never followed one to the end. I am aware that on survivor that other people on the show vote each other off. Maybe it would be more interesting if they let the viewing audience vote them off. Give me the old sitcoms or Dramas. I am too old for this

Reality shows are stoopid. Boring and ridiculous. But the have ratings!

Lowest common denominator is probably at play here - as with the talk show circuit.

Is a thinking audience that terribly outnumbered?

jjirout

I think the stong will survive. Reality shows cannot be compared to "who wants to be a millionaire" it only lasted a couple seasons. "Survivor" as well as "The Real World" have gone through many seasons. I think the flurry of shows will slow down but I do feel that the genre will survive. It's not fair to call them stupid, many people would say news shows are stupid along with shows like the simpsons and seinfeld, shows that are considered the best ever.

Oh and I enjoy reality shows. Where else can you get people being truthful and ruthless...

I believe we are getting a little closed minded as a society when it come to reality T.V.,Shows like Survivor and Celebrity Survivor are all kind of hazy, granted they get great ratings but who really thinks that the casts and producers are going to let anything major happen to any of them? As far as shows like Married By America, Who in the world would want to be married to someone you have never met? Bachlor and Bachlorette? If those folks cant get a date in there respective areas, the singles scene is really getting tough,last time i checked both sexes would love to go out with any of those people. Maybe its time to have a singles show for fat and old or ugly people, Now there would be a reality show

Fisherman I got a good laugh at your response. Your right! Like the commericials for all those health clubs. I would like just once to see a obese person in that commercial. Now that would be reality!!!

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