# All Reality Shows Are Forced to be Fake **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135 "2012-01-11T05:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/61 "2012-01-11T20:56:33Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That is why I like Survivorman. It’s only him. If you see a long shot of him trekking across some inhospitable terrain it’s because he did it first to set up the camera, went back and did it again for the shot. Yup, and that’s part of the reason why there were only 23 episodes. He did everything himself and didn’t have a crew around (and the luxuries that would afford). He quit doing it because it was too taxing on his body. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/62 "2012-01-11T20:56:53Z")
They had an obviously fake moment on Pawn Stars last week. Guy brought in a Wells Fargo strongbox filled with prison ball & chains. Rick quickly pointed out they were fake. But bought the strongbox hoping it was real. Expert comes in and points out all the fake details. I caught them this time because they had a Wells Fargo strongbox in the first season. Rick pointed out all the features that made it real. Rick knows exactly what to look for. ## The show wanted Rick to buy that fake one. So the expert could “teach us” how to spot a fake. A clever bit of staging. Ever notice no matter how angry and nasty things get on Project Runway or Housewives they never really beat the shit out of each other? If you screamed insults and curses at someone in the real world there’s no way you’re not getting punched. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/63 "2012-01-12T06:04:50Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > That’s the show on TruTV I was talking about, don’t remember the name, though. Something with “Repo” in the name, I think. I think TruTV has 4 or 5 fake towing shows now. Operation Repo and Lizard Lick Towing and Bear Swamp Recovery and South Beach Tow and portions of All Worked Up. I watched Operation Repo for a time thinking it was real and was pissed off when I found out I had wasted my time watching fiction. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/64 "2012-01-12T12:36:05Z")
Adam Carolla is one of the contestants on this season’s _Celebrity Apprentice_, and he has begun to talk about it on his daily podcast. Of course he can’t give a lot of details, but I think there will be lots of information freely flowing when the program airs. For now we know that they only have Sunday off; otherwise it’s 6 days straight filming, three tasks and three boardrooms; the men got along pretty well (with the exception of Arsenio Hall having a diva moment or two and Clay Aiken having a bit of trouble keeping up somehow) while the women turned on each other immediately; Donald is a master at getting people to turn on each other in the boardroom through innuendo (and is a big man full of big air - Adam opined that he takes a hit off of his blow dryer every morning just to replenish himself). I’m very much looking forward to getting behind the scenes info on this show, since I do watch it. We got the same dish on _Dancing With The Stars_, but I don’t watch that show. [Here’s a link to the podcast - there’s a summary for each episode.](http://www.adamcarolla.com/carolla-podcast/) ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/65 "2012-01-12T13:57:59Z")
I find it hard to believe during timed challenges on cooking shows that every contestent finishes their dish exactly when the timer runs down to 0. No one is ever early or late but just finishes at the nick of time. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/66 "2012-01-12T14:20:53Z")
It never ceases to amaze me what will be produced and watched. My husband spent the better part of a day watching Parking Wars. Seriously? Filming people whose cars were towed or whose meters expired? I’d rather have seen the meeting where that idea was pitched, followed by a BAC test for all involved. I used to love the various house hunting shows on HGTV, until it became apparent that every shopper had the same script - “light and airy” and “man cave” and some inane comments about closets big enough for shoes. If it wasn’t for Jon Stewart, I’d probably fling my TV out into the yard… ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/67 "2012-01-12T14:33:02Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > I find it hard to believe during timed challenges on cooking shows that every contestent finishes their dish exactly when the timer runs down to 0. No one is ever early or late but just finishes at the nick of time. I’ve seen a ton of shows where people struggle until the last second and are told “time’s up,” and they all do the “hands-up” move to show the judges they’re not working after the buzzer. Not all of those people were **done** , though, including a few that I’ve seen where one judging plate didn’t get an essential item (occasionally being the protein item, oops). I’ve also seen times where someone finishes early on some relatively simple creation and dawdles around the kitchen, maybe offers to help a competitor, etc. Those people usually catch heat from the judges because they made something too easy or didn’t use the time constructively to make it look nicer. The worst incident was on Iron Chef America, where one challenger screwed up his time management **so** badly that he only completed a few dishes. Googling, I see it was Roberto Donna who did two out of five dishes. What makes me roll my eyes is that every onscreen vote seems to be a tiebreaker with the last judge’s vote - and usually resolved after a commercial break. This at least seems to be true on Hell’s Kitchen; I think most of the other shows avoid this by doing voting off camera. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/68 "2012-01-12T17:34:24Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > I think TruTV has 4 or 5 fake towing shows now. Operation Repo and Lizard Lick Towing and Bear Swamp Recovery and South Beach Tow and portions of All Worked Up. > > I watched Operation Repo for a time thinking it was real and was pissed off when I found out I had wasted my time watching fiction. As a cop for the last 13 years I have seen a lot of repos. The generally let us know ahead of time as a curtesy just in case we get calls of a stolen car. Nothing interesting ever happens. Towing cars just isn’t that interesting in real life. > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I’ve seen a ton of shows where people struggle until the last second and are told “time’s up,” and they all do the “hands-up” move to show the judges they’re not working after the buzzer. Not all of those people were **done** , though, including a few that I’ve seen where one judging plate didn’t get an essential item (occasionally being the protein item, oops). > > I’ve also seen times where someone finishes early on some relatively simple creation and dawdles around the kitchen, maybe offers to help a competitor, etc. Those people usually catch heat from the judges because they made something too easy or didn’t use the time constructively to make it look nicer. > > The worst incident was on Iron Chef America, where one challenger screwed up his time management **so** badly that he only completed a few dishes. Googling, I see it was Roberto Donna who did two out of five dishes. > > What makes me roll my eyes is that every onscreen vote seems to be a tiebreaker with the last judge’s vote - and usually resolved after a commercial break. This at least seems to be true on Hell’s Kitchen; I think most of the other shows avoid this by doing voting off camera. Iron Chef America does cheat. They have to finish all their dishes in the time allotted. But that is not what they feed the judges. Its just to show that they can do it. They go back and cook each dish again so it will be fresh when served. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/69 "2012-01-12T17:37:49Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > If it wasn’t for Jon Stewart, I’d probably fling my TV out into the yard… You can watch him online, so fling away! ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/70 "2012-01-12T18:52:51Z")
I’m sure a lot of the pawn shop ones are staged, but my mother was an antique dealer for over forty years, and she got to know a whole lot of history about a lot of things. If that is what you do, day in and day out, and you’re really into history, I think you could be knowledgeable about a whole lotta stuff. I must admit, I like watching the Storage Wars ones because in my childhood we did go to a lot of auctions, and you can easily get “bid fever” because you just never know what’s in that box of junk. I spent a lot of hours digging around and finding ‘treasures’ in the stuff my mom bought. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/71 "2012-01-12T19:46:28Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > It never ceases to amaze me what will be produced and watched. My husband spent the better part of a day watching Parking Wars. Seriously? Filming people whose cars were towed or whose meters expired? I’d rather have seen the meeting where that idea was pitched, followed by a BAC test for all involved. I don’t mind that from time to time…it does at least seem more “real” than other reality shows. I like hearing all the excuses people come up with for why _they_ are special little snowflakes and don’t deserve to get a ticket, and then not feeling sorry for them when they do. Or when people are trying to get their towed car back, and are _shocked_ that they need to show a valid license, AND registration, AND proof of insurance. Basically, it showcases some of the dregs of humanity, and I feel better about myself after watching it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/72 "2012-01-12T19:56:35Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Iron Chef America does cheat. They have to finish all their dishes in the time allotted. But that is not what they feed the judges. Its just to show that they can do it. They go back and cook each dish again so it will be fresh when served. Yes, they do. They also tell the chefs (the defending chef isn’t chosen the day of filming) ahead of time a selection of (IIRC) four possible secret ingredients, and the chefs thus have some time to think of menus for each and even practice. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/73 "2012-01-12T20:15:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Iron Chef America does cheat. They have to finish all their dishes in the time allotted. But that is not what they feed the judges. Its just to show that they can do it. They go back and cook each dish again so it will be fresh when served. Ah, I’d vaguely wondered about that - it never really looked like they made four meals’ worth of food. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/74 "2012-01-12T20:23:14Z")
It’s worth noting that on the original Iron Chef it looks like they do make 4 plates worth of food for each dish. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135/75 "2012-01-12T23:54:05Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’ve really hated the tendency of every single reality show to be Springerfied (as in Jerry Springer). Every idea or concept for a show eventually devolves into having the people overdramatically get into it with eachother in a manner fit for an episode of The Jerry Springer Show. > A documentary style show on the inner business workings of a tattoo parlor and what type of people get tattoos? Nah, lets have a couple of employees threaten to throw down cause one got dissed… > I’m waiting for something like this to evetually happen on shows I like. One of these days two opposing teams are going to threaten to throw down cause one got dissed on Pumpkin Chunkin. Yeah, it’s totally frustrating. I tried to watch a show about two brothers who built custom designed motorized vehicles for police, military, etc. They had a cool minitank for SWAT to use in drug busts, they had a dune buggy type vehicle built for a mining venture they were building a second unit but making 6 inches lower and a couple other mods, they had a tread belt type vehicle for some futuristic movie they couldn’t tell us the name. (By the way, I’m still waiting to see if I recognize that in a movie. Still haven’t.) I watched about 4 of these shows before I had to give it up. It couldn’t be about the challenge of actually building these remarkable vehicles with little budget and less time. No, it had to be about the brothers’ clash of personality and going off in a storming huff, the guy who should be a talented team leader who goofs off when not being supervised, blah blah blah. Then there was the show about building Galileo’s war machines. They create designs from artistic drawings, and build them out of reasonably time period appropriate materials (though using modern machinery). Then test them out. So of course it focuses on the guy who decides to do precision cutting on a large beam with a chainsaw. His motto appeared to be “Sort of measure once, Cut with as wild and uncontrolled mechanism as possible.” The recreations were interesting, but I learned to fast forward through the build process. I’m so glad Mythbusters doesn’t do that. Even when Adam and Jamie get into a disagreement, the show may show them annoyed but then moves on to focus on the actual build issues or myth concerns, not try to egg them into a hissy fit on camera. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-reality-shows-are-forced-to-be-fake/609135.md?page=3)