there are only a few that I watch these days, since I feel like most of them are either sequels to shows that were popular last season or blatant rip offs. Half the fun of reality tv is to see something new and different on televsion. Of course, the other half is to make fun of the jerks who signed up but thats a different story.
So in your opinion, whats out there now that is unique? I’ve heard good things about Mad Mad House on SciFi but that doesn’t start til March. House of Dreams is good – I especially like that we see exactly what everyone is fighting to win. That big cardboard check that most reality shows have doesn’t do much for me anymore.
I’m enjoying The Apprentice, as you might infer from the fact that I’ve started the thread the last two or three weeks. Having the eliminations done by Trump, with the leader of the losing team picking the other two people to be considered for elimination, is different. My main beef with it is that the producers (Burnett, et [presumably] al.) are having a hard time coming up with challenges that are legitimate tests of the teams’ business abilities – I still think the “manage the Hard Rock Cafe for a night” challenge was bogus.
I’m also enjoying All-Star Survivor more than any edition of that show since Africa. It turns out to be interesting to already know (and love/hate) a bunch of the personalities from Day One.
But, yeah, another edition of Bachelorette — phfft.
The minute they annouce the next edition of The Amazing Race, though, I will begin to rearrange my life in preparation for watching every second of it.
that’s true. Fox seems to go original but mostly in that they’ll sink to lower depths than other networks. cough:: of course, I’ll still watch the first episode of The Littlest Groom:: cough
I’m still a big fan of the premise of Mad Mad House. I’m looking forward to seeing how these normal (and probably pretty conservative) people interact with their Alt lifestyle judges.
There was an article in Entertainment Weekly last year about some reality show proposals that the networks passed on. The one that I remembered was a group of orphans who were competing to be adopted. I don’t know who it was that came up with the idea but when he pitched it around, he found that even reality show producers can be shocked and appalled if the idea’s sick enough.
I’m actually enjoying this one, but it seems pretty… hard to run more than two seasons of this. The problem with Fox’s reality shows is that they are either stupid or can’t be replayed well. I am counting American Idol in that, even though it is still insanely popular.
The problem is reality shows aren’t that creative to begin with. They’re pretty unintelligent TV, if by “reality tv” you mean “situational game shows” (unlike nature shows, which are obviously reality, or wheel of fortune, which has no situation but is a game). They’re mostly mundane people, and there is no story. What do you expect.
Last ratings showed 7 of the top twenty rated shows were reality shows. I’d like my fiction back, please. I enjoy this reality tv, but not as much as a good fiction show.