# I Will Watch a Reality Show **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 21, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803 "2001-03-21T02:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/1 "2001-03-21T02:20:30Z")
I have never watched _Survivor_. I have never seen _Big Brother_, nor have I sat through _The Mole_, _Road Rules_ or even _The Real World_. No, I have never seen a “reality” show in its entirety. I have watched several minutes of some of them, however. But that is all about to change. You see, next week, our friends at Fox are going to start airing _their_ reality show. So what makes this so different from all the other shows? And why do I want to watch it? Allow me to explain. You see, the people who participate on these so-called “reality” shows are the lowest, most vile form of human being. They are people who are so stupid, so amazingly incompetent, that they could never actually survive in anything that passes for reality. So they sign up for these “reality” shows so that they might get a taste, while having insurance policies and medical staff (oh, and lots of editing staff) to watch over them. But why television? Because these same people are so starved for self-significance that they must acquire the “approval” of the outside world to feel good about themselves. But approval is not what they get; no, they get “we like watching you make an asshole of yourself.” But that’s good enough. Needless to say, I am not impressed with these people. They are the same insipid dweebs who spent their time in high school giggling because they’re too stupid to understand that five plus five does, indeed, equal ten. They’re the same moronic bastards who got off making fun of the intelligent kids who worked hard while their daddies are out buying them college admissions. You see, that’s why I’m interested in Fox’s new show, _Boot Camp_. These poor bastards signed up for a “reality” show, except they had no idea what they were signing up for. You see, all the producers told them was that it wwas a game show that would last a few weeks, and there would be a Large Cash Prize in the end. They signed up for (fake) Marine boot camp. That’s right. These sorry sons and daughters of bitches and morons will spend the next few weeks being vehemetly dehumanized and insulted by four genuine Marine drill sergeants. They will do calesthenics for hours on end, run miles up hill, do more aerobic acrobatics, all the while waking up at rediculous hours in the moring and getting precious little sleep. And the whole time, they’re going to be constantly insulted in full brutal, wonderful drill sergeant fashion. I can’t fucking wait! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/2 "2001-03-21T02:27:54Z")
What about the DIs who signed up for this piece of shit? Robin ---
**Author:** ![Xploder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a183cd/32.png) [@Xploder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xploder)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/3 "2001-03-21T02:30:07Z")
I’m gonna have to watch that one. I also have NEVER watched a “reality” tv show but I did go through both Army and Navy Boot Camp. It should be pretty interesting to see how this show actually compares with reality. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/4 "2001-03-21T02:36:28Z")
Technically, were they scammed into signing up? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/5 "2001-03-21T02:40:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msrobyn \* > What about the DIs who signed up for this piece of shit? > > Robin What about them? They knew exactly what was going on the whole time. It’s the poor bastards who signed up to win money that didn’t know they were going to boot camp. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Guinastasia_ > Technically, were they scammed into signing up? As far as I know, the recruiters said, “this is a reality game show with a Big Cash Prize, but we won’t tell you what it is. If we pick you, you get to be on TV and you could win the prize.” My _guess_ is that they will wait for people to quit, and the person who stays the longest will get the prize. ---
**Author:** ![headshok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/6 "2001-03-21T03:05:10Z")
Yeah, _Boot Camp_ looks like it might be interesting. One of the commercials I saw showed one of the DIs ripping up some poor guy’s balloon animal (?!?!) with his teeth and screaming at him to get out of his face. Come on, FOX, pander to me! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/7 "2001-03-21T03:20:22Z")
Actually, I saw something somewhere (why, yes, I _am_ good at citing!) about this show that said they do a _Survivor_-like council at the end of every episode where they vote each other off. Which makes me wonder what motivation they would have to choose one person over another, but hey. I guess we’ll find out. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/8 "2001-03-21T03:30:03Z")
OK, I just went and poked around their website a little bit. Here’s how it works: in each episode, the group chooses a leader to train them for their mission. If the mission is successful, the leader gets Amnesty (not, repeat NOT, Immunity - this is very different from _Survivor_ :rolleyes: ). If the mission is unsuccessful, the leader, and everyone else, gets jack squat. Now the Big Twist That Makes This Different From _Survivor_ is that when someone gets voted off, they choose one other person to go with them. Anyone they want, except for a leader with Amnesty. Eh. Mildly interesting twist, IMHO. Not really earthshaking. Then, at the end, the last two compete for everyone else’s dogtags. The tags from the first people are won by physical challenges, but the last 6 people to go get to choose who gets their tags. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/9 "2001-03-21T06:52:32Z")
> [@](#): > > I Will Watch a Reality Show ah yes, I heard about the re-airing of Fox’s moon hoax show. [sub]sorry[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/10 "2001-03-21T16:34:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > You see, the people who participate on these so-called “reality” shows are the lowest, most vile form of human being. They are people who are so stupid, so amazingly incompetent, that they could never actually survive in anything that passes for reality. So they sign up for these “reality” shows so that they might get a taste, while having insurance policies and medical staff (oh, and lots of editing staff) to watch over them. But why television? Because these same people are so starved for self-significance that they must acquire the “approval” of the outside world to feel good about themselves. But approval is not what they get; no, they get “we like watching you make an asshole of yourself.” But that’s good enough. > > Needless to say, I am not impressed with these people. They are the same insipid dweebs who spent their time in high school giggling because they’re too stupid to understand that five plus five does, indeed, equal ten. They’re the same moronic bastards who got off making fun of the intelligent kids who worked hard while their daddies are out buying them college admissions. I sense bitterness. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/11 "2001-03-21T22:33:07Z")
Freido say: > [@](#): > > …I have never seen a “reality” show in its entirety. I have watched several minutes of some of them, however. From these several action-packed minutes of observation of edited videotape, Friedo is able make the following sweeping evaluation of the participants: > [@](#): > > You see, the people who participate on these so-called “reality” shows are the lowest, most vile form of human being. Whew, glad we got that sorted out. Yo, man, could you spend a couple minutes evaluating that Arab-Isreali conflict? It’s been giving us fits here. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/12 "2001-03-22T00:20:22Z")
Reality is a crutch for people who can’t handle science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/13 "2001-03-22T00:45:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rocket88 \* > \*\* > Whew, glad we got that sorted out. Yo, man, could you spend a couple minutes evaluating that Arab-Isreali conflict? It’s been giving us fits here. \*\* Hehehehehe… I tend to agree with friedo, but that was a good one, no question. stoid ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/14 "2001-03-22T04:30:24Z")
Huh. I can assure you that no-one on _either_ side of the Arab-Israeli conflict has been brutally slaughtering pigs. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/15 "2001-03-22T04:32:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rocket88 \* > Whew, glad we got that sorted out. Yo, man, could you spend a couple minutes evaluating that Arab-Isreali conflict? It’s been giving us fits here. Sure! Just take all the Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and put them in the Austalian Outback and… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/16 "2001-03-22T05:19:42Z")
Methinks they will keep the pretty girl on the longest. You know, the one with the short hair? I saw a clip where they were all squatting and they showed a close-up of her abs trembling. They’ll keep her on until it’s between her and the most able-bodied man. Then the man will win. But there will be many close-ups of the pretty body before. ---
**Author:** ![MysterEcks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MysterEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysterEcks)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/17 "2001-03-22T05:38:27Z")
**friedo** said: > [@](#): > > You see, the people who participate on these so-called “reality” shows are the lowest, most vile form of human being. You must not be familiar with the Pennsylvania General Assembly. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/18 "2001-03-22T11:35:49Z")
I heartily agree with you. I spent ten minutes watching the first _survivor_ show before I realized that gossip and backstabbing amongst adults is NOT entertainment. It’s just boring and stupid. However, I’d love to know what makes you think that THIS particular “reality” show is going to involve any more “reality” than any of the others. It’s obviously very contrived and scripted. Someone mentioned the thing where the marine chews up a balloon. This is entertainment, not reality. If this was a real boot camp scenario, do you think some guy would be standing around making balloon animals? Why would anyone bring balloons to boot camp? This is at least as bogus as all that other nonsense. The more they try to impress me with the show’s supposed reality, the more repulsed I become. -L ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2001, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-a-reality-show/58803/19 "2001-03-22T17:14:15Z")
Next fall on ABC is [“The Runner”](http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010321/re/leisure_realityshows_dc_1.html), in which a contestant will be trying to make his way across the country while everyone else in America will be trying to catch him. I do hope they’re planning to pay royalties to Stephen King. Maybe they can dig up Richard Dawson and get him to host it. (He is dead, right?) Dr. J