# Prognosticate: What will replace reality shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237 "2004-10-20T16:33:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/21 "2004-10-21T02:24:32Z")
Maybe things will go full circle and we’ll get shows like “49th street in New York City at 5 PM” and “Boats entering San Francisco Bay” ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/22 "2004-10-21T03:37:49Z")
Rugby shows will replace reality shows. Mark me. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/23 "2004-10-21T04:25:39Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I wonder if the vote-based shows like American Idol will ever impact a drama. Sort of a “choose your own adventure” take on the drama. “If you’d like Jim to propose to Ellen, dial 888-999-0000. If you’d like Jim to ditch Ellen and join the Cirque du Soleil, dial 888-999-0001.” Wonder no more, as this exact thing just happened this very week! On Sunday’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent, viewers were told to go to [NBC.com](http://NBC.com) and choose whether a recurring villain lived or died. You could then go to the website and view both endings. (In case anyone was wondering, they chose: that she lived. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/24 "2004-10-21T14:35:28Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I agree that fully CGI shows are coming soon. We’ll probably see one in primetime within a few years. This will lend itself to such genres as action, sci-fi, and other types of shows that can be difficult or expensive to film with real people. They’re actually already here. UPN showed the first, Game Over, in the Spring. It was lame and died a quick and deserving death. Now there’s Father of the Pride on NBC before Scrubs. It was interesting, but not something I’d go out of my way to see. Personally I’d really like to see action/drama shows catch on. With 24, Alias, Teh Shield and others, when it’s done right, it’s fantastic. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/25 "2004-10-21T15:16:24Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > There was at least one attempt, though it didn’t last long. [Mister Sterling](http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-9289/) Oh God, you’re right. That was aweful. Typical Friday night crap. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/26 "2004-10-21T15:51:56Z")
> [@capacitor](#): > > Rugby shows will replace reality shows. Mark me. Rugby? Pitosh! It’s Snooker that will be coming to the 2005-2006 Fall schedule. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/27 "2004-10-23T17:36:16Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > Rugby? Pitosh! > > It’s Snooker that will be coming to the 2005-2006 Fall schedule. Being that there’s already poker on TV, neither of these suggestions seems the least bit farfetched to me. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237/28 "2004-10-23T17:58:02Z")
I think as digital media starts to take hold, mass-media entertainment is going to become more interactive. As it is, people can vote folks out of some reality shows. What if the audience had more control? What if you could pick endings, or choose actions at key junctures and watch various plots unfold? Of course, the interactivity will be fairly modest at first, but eventually, we may enter the age of custom-made plots, and even story arcs, especially if CGI allows creators the kind of actionable flexibility in TV shows we now can find in, say, first-person-shooters, or virtual life games like The Sims. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prognosticate-what-will-replace-reality-shows/270237.md?page=1)