# Good thing we have all these reality shows! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176 "2003-09-27T17:48:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/1 "2003-09-27T17:48:19Z")
As some have pointed out, it seems as though celebrities are dropping at an increasinly alarming rate. If this trend were to continue un-checked we might be completely celebrity-less as a society. Truly a frightening thought. We’re in luck though! Thankfully the TV networks and society as a whole must have seen this dark day on the horizon. In preparation for the decreasing number of celebrities the tv execs created reality TV and the country has embraced it. Sure the people on _Survivor_, _Big Brother_, _Dog Eat Dog_, _The Bachelor_ (or _The Bachelorette_), and _Fear Factor_ might be achieving their celebrity by eating insects or animal organs instead of the old fashioned way, but the important thing is that we won’t have to worry about being without celebrities for a long time. We might be trading quantity for quality, but in the long run I’m sure it will all be worth it. We are living in a golden age of celebrities. What a wonderful time to be alive. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/2 "2003-09-27T17:50:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*We might be trading quantity for quality, but in the long run I’m sure it will all be worth it. \*\* :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: That should be **quality** for **quantity**. That’s what happens when you don’t proof read before you post. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Dracul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/50afbb/32.png) [@Vlad\_Dracul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Dracul)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/3 "2003-09-27T19:11:50Z")
I still can’t accept the name: “reality” show. Oh, yes… so many in real life find themselves trapped on an island and forced to participate in strange contests for rewards and for immunity to being sent away by their fellow castaways. Wait a minute… I just had an epiphany as I was typing that! It’s SYMBOLIC! We’re ALL trapped (on a planet, in a culture, etc), and we ARE forced to participate in strange contests (jobs, social customs, etc) for rewards and for immunity to being sent to prison or made social outcasts! That’s why these shows are so popular! People instinctively recognize them as reflecting their own lives in miniature. [smiley slapping himself on forehead and saying “D’oh!”] ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/4 "2003-09-27T19:27:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vlad Dracul \* > \*\*We’re ALL trapped (on a planet, in a culture, etc), and we ARE forced to participate in strange contests (jobs, social customs, etc) for rewards and for immunity to being sent to prison or made social outcasts! > > That’s why these shows are so popular! People instinctively recognize them as reflecting their own lives in miniature.\*\* Or maybe we just like watching people eat bugs. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/5 "2003-09-27T19:47:09Z")
> [@](#): > > In preparation for the decreasing number of celebrities the tv execs created reality TV and the country has embraced it. What about Celebrity Mole? Huh? Did you even stop to think about Celebrity Mole? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/6 "2003-09-27T22:23:59Z")
That’s tellin’ 'em, **Otto**! (Sheesh! Critics of reality TV just don’t grasp the subtleties [sic] of the genre!) ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-thing-we-have-all-these-reality-shows/204176/7 "2003-09-28T00:10:20Z")
Yes, otherwise humanity might entirely lose sight of what has been guiding it for thousands of years prior to the advent of pwecious television.