Topic: The State of T.V: Reality Edition

[MaryJane]

I'm creating this thread to discuss the direction T.V is taking, in regards to the overused reality genre. I am also hoping that others make threads of a similar nature (might I suggest a Sci-Fi Edition for all the Trekkies and SGaters).


What got me writing this thread was that today I clicked on the SyFy channel to watch Star Trek: Enterprise (which I don't like but there was nothing on so I figured I'd give it a chance) and instead found myself watching Marcel's Quantum Kitchen. Now, as a fan of science and food, I liked the show, although I don't like Marcel and I'll probably never watch it again. However, the Fy in SyFy used to stand for fiction, and I find a science fiction channel airing reality television as egregious as the History channel "making history" with their reality shows.


Back when I was a kid, the only reality shows were Cops, and talk shows like Richard Bey, Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake. Now the things are everywhere, and I find most of them distasteful and largely scripted (like those talk shows). Not that everything thing said is scripted, but the scenes are set up and then the aspiring actors who sign up for these things then have 'real' discussions. Reality shows are now the norm, and I bet it won't be long before Cartoon Network also has a reality series on it. I think that overall, reality shows compared to scripted TV are like the cheap games on iOS compared to 3DS games; one offers a quick, mind numbing experience to fill a gap in your life, while the other can potentially offer you a memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression on your life.


There are reality shows that I like; America's Next Top Model, American Idol (only the tryouts), Survivor, Amazing Race, Bizarre Foods, No Reservations, Survivorman, Cops, and  The First 48, but the only one of those I watch on a regularly is ANTM, the others are just things I turn to when I'm bored. 


So does reality TV actually have any value, or is it just a way for studio execs to make cheap entertainment and sell commercial air time for the exact same amount as, or even more than, a scripted show?

[Stogi]

No Reservations shouldn't be on that list for the fact that it's WAY better than all that's listed with it and it's more a documentary than a conventional Reality TV show. Shows like Man vs. Wild I would consider as a documentary as well.

That said, conventional reality shows have value in the same way that toilet paper has value when hung next to a toilet.

[Morari]

Reality television is less redeeming than the general programming found nowadays. It's all basically the same and has little payoff. It's cheap and easy to make however, so studio execs love it.

I've never heard of Quantum Kitchen before. After a little searching though, it doesn't sound all that different than any number of shows that Food Network or even Discovery Channel has. That, I think, has been the biggest problem with television over the last several years in particular. Every channel is slowing becoming an exact copy of the previous one. In an attempt at mass appeal, each channel is giving up the niche that once made them unique. They have forsaken their old dedicated audience in favor of a more fickle mainstream one.

The History Channel shows little more than Biblical Apocalypse and alien abduction programming nowadays. The Travel Channel seems intent on having food shows. The Food Network is almost all reality programs now. Sci-Fi (oops, I mean "SyFy") has professional wrestling, cops, and now reality restauranteur shows. G4 absorbed and destroyed everything that made ZDTV/TechTV great, replacing it instead with another Spike TV clone.

Face it, television is dead.

[ThePerm]

one thing i hate is when channels decide to start changing their focus to become more general. Like MTV focusing not on music anymore, or Sci-Fi turning into Syfy.

The History channel gets a pass though, because American Pickers and Pawn Stars have historical content. I remember when Pawn Stars came on I was like "wtf, they've ran out of ideas, a show about people working at a pawn shop, how fucking mundane is that?", but then i actually watched it and its pretty good i think and really does fit the History Channel. There are rival pawn shows and they are far less historical based. Other then that History Channel fails where it used to succeed. The thing though is the History Channel has made documentaries on virtually everything and puts them into rotation at some point. There is only so much history to go through. I used to love it back in the day when they had the big Egyptian specials with Bob Brier.

I think Food shows works with Travel Channel..when you travel you got to eat. Also food network...they've always had just reality shows. If shows are instructional, or documentary, then their contest based. Iron Chef has been on since I started getting food network. Chopped All-Stars has been pretty interesting this season.

I've always liked Survivor.

Real World is dead to me. There was a certain point when the show went from gathering interesting people from all walks of life to gathering a bunch of people that would just bang each other and get in fights.

[Morari]

I think Food shows works with Travel Channel..when you travel you got to eat. Also food network...they've always had just reality shows. If shows are instructional, or documentary, then their contest based. Iron Chef has been on since I started getting food network. Chopped All-Stars has been pretty interesting this season.

I think that food shows could be alright on the Travel Channel. However, they seem to become more and more of a focus as time goes on. One or two would be alright, but they've seemingly become an abundance.

As far as Food Network goes, they barely even have any actual cooking shows anymore. All of that has been relegated to their Cooking Channel network. Heck, even the few competition shows that used to be worth watching have been butchered over time. Iron Chef America is a fine example of that.

[Stogi]

I remember when I use to want to be on the Real World. I would have exploited the **** out of it. Before I left to the house, I would have called anyone, everyone like Colbert trying to get sponsors. I would have worn Doritos gear, drank Dr. Pepper, and constantly done slogans.

I would have also taken the time to find all the cameras so I could gesture to them how I really feel about this crazy bitch I'm talking to.

I also would have charged anyone and everyone who wanted to come back to the house with me. In that year, I would have made a doctor's salary.

But meh...I didn't give enough of a **** to send in a tape. And now, I don't give a **** at all.

[ThePerm]

What's weird is i'm too old to be on Real World.

[Stogi]

Crazy. This whole time I thought you were younger than me.

[ShyGuy]

99% of reality television involving contests or scripts is terrible. I like No Reservations, Dirty Jobs, and... Man vs. Food I guess.

[ThePerm]

i havent seen Dirty Jobs in a while...thats a good show

[BlackNMild2k1]

I liked Face Off on SyFy, but I'm not sure if it still comes on or not.

[MaryJane]

A lot of reality TV is the same, and you're forced to choose out of the similarity the best one. Certainly clear winners emerge, like No Reservations, and the more documentary sided ones, but there is very little that separate Pawn Stars from Hardcore Pawn imo. Survivorman is way better than Man vs. Wild (and even though I like Man vs. Food, I wish it had a different name) because of the authenticity, and you can go on and on about which out of every genre and naming battle is better, but would their really be better TV on if reality TV shows weren't so widespread?

I had very little reason to watch the Travel channel pre-Anthony Bourdain, and I still don't watch The Food Network, but I'm sure their ratings have increased significantly. And I fully agree with The Perm that networks are sacrificing their individuality in a race for ratings, and it sucks the biggest one. I like finding science fiction on my Sci-Fi channel, and historical fact on the History Channel. There are so many intricacies to history that the History Channel could explore, as well as new archaeological finds. Hell I would even prefer shows about alternate history than a reality show.

For channels like Travel, Food, Discovery, etc. reality shows make perfect sense, and even in local primetime, a few reality shows here and there is a good thing, but can we get out of the swamp of conformity and similarity and get some truly original programming. The last time I checked, the creativity well has not dried up, and actually some of the set-ups for these reality TV shows might have made decent scripted shows. Could you imagine Celebrity Apprentice as a scripted comedy? That would be absolutely hilarious. I do think we have benefited somewhat from the reality show explosion, but can't we curtail it now?

[ThePerm]

Face Off was pretty decent, theres another season in the works. Another contest show I liked was Work of Art:Next Great Artist, which I almost applied for the second season, but I didn't have the means to go to LA for the audition. I hope the next season airs, and there's another season which I can apply too. Watching that show was so weird, it was just like being in art school.

[Stogi]

I've watched both Survivor Man and Man vs. Wild, and while I can see why people hate on both, I think it comes down to personal preference.

For instance, I like Man vs. Wild way more than Survivor man. Why? Because it is so much more interesting and fun. Bear makes me wish I was there with him, jumping off of waterfalls, climbing through ice caverns, and sky diving to remote islands. I want to someday do those things. Which is why I don't like Survivor man. While I respect him for being real, I feel like I will never be in his situation or even want to be in his situation.

[ShyGuy]

I've watched both Survivor Man and Man vs. Wild, and while I can see why people hate on both, I think it comes down to personal preference.

For instance, I like Man vs. Wild way more than Survivor man. Why? Because it is so much more interesting and fun. Bear makes me wish I was there with him, drinking urine, jumping off of waterfalls, climbing through ice caverns, and sky diving to remote islands. I want to someday do those things. Which is why I don't like Survivor man. While I respect him for being real, I feel like I will never be in his situation or even want to be in his situation.

fixed for lulz.

[ShyGuy]

I think you can tell the few good reality shows have a strong premise that is compelling enough in its own right and the bad ones get worse and more contrived with each season.

[Toruresu]

Honestly, SyFy can die and I wouldn't care anymore. When Heroes got canceled I actually hoped SyFy would pick it up, it never happened. SG-1, Atlantis, Enterprise, all these great Sci-Fi shows, canceled for space soaps. I was one of those people that couldn't get into Battlestar Galactica, and then they use the same formula for SG Universe. I tried, I kinda liked it. Then they hooked me and boom, canceled.

[NWR_insanolord]

I haven't watched SyFy since the Battlestar Galactica finale. I wouldn't care if the network died if it weren't developing a BSG prequel set during the first Cylon War, which I'm very interested in.

[ThePerm]

its always a good thing to care about your core audience.

[ShyGuy]

Wasn't the first BattleStar in the 70's supposed to be the first Cylon war?

[MaryJane]

HEY! Open a Sci-Fi Edition thread to discuss the movements of BSG, and SG.  :


What I've never understood is why SyFy never created shows out of the millions of sci-fi books out there. There are so many ideas out there, and if they actually stuck to what they were good at, they could have cornered the nerd crowd years ago. Instead, we're reduced to reality shows, and wrestling .

Worst of all, it is reality shows that caused this obscene level of conformity. Other channels saw how much CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX were making off of their reality series, and wanted a piece of the pie.

[BlackNMild2k1]

More like those channels saw how much MTV was making off of The Real World and decided to jump in while the idea was still hot. It was almost free money with non-actors getting paid sightly more than a regular job and only a few writers there to help direct/influence drama but not specifically write it.

[Morari]

What I've never understood is why SyFy never created shows out of the millions of sci-fi books out there. There are so many ideas out there, and if they actually stuck to what they were good at, they could have cornered the nerd crowd years ago. Instead, we're reduced to reality shows, and wrestling .

They were too busy wasting money on those unwatchable "Sci-Fi Original" films. Besides, their attempt to adapt the first three Dune novels into a pair of mine-series failed. It may have been technically accurate in many ways, but it wasn't nearly as interesting as David Lynch's vision.

[Stogi]

That's because David Lynch is amazing.

[oohhboy]