Reality TV: Entertaining or a Waste of Time and Money?

[Pupik]

Originally posted by milefile
Nothing quite like hyper-moralism. Have you ever considered getting on board with the latest push for decency over the airwaves?

No, there's always another channel if I don't like what's on. TV neworks are so desparate, they're scraping the top of the barrel. I propose nothing but SpeedVision-copies: FastChannel, RacingNetwork, and GranMachismo. Think that will fly?

As far as I'm concerned, if you're watching TV at all, believing you can retain some moral high-ground is an excercise in futility.

I have no problem with people watching TV. It's just when they repeat on and on about their favorite show; as if what they saw was a real-life experience, it's scary. I prefer programming that might actually teach you something, where you come away learning something you didn't know before, or enlightens you to see another viewpoint. Or at least, a car race.

Incedentally, have any of you seen this program on PBS called Colonial House (and before that, Frontier House)? Nothing quite like observing a bunch of whiny, hyper-political, liberal PBS fans trying to prove themselves to be the most enlightened of the bunch, in period clothing.[/B]

At least no body's trying to boot them off the show, the audience can't play director with people's lives, and the reward is an "inner" reward, not some carrot on the end of a schtick. My gripe with that show is that the cameras should be more hidden. Nothing quite like a JVC logo comstantly in your face to remind you it's really 2004, not 1834.

People always ham it up for the cameras, and that what drains the reality right out of the programming.

 

[milefile]

I prefer programming that might actually teach you something, where you come away learning something you didn't know before, or enlightens you to see another viewpoint.

Me too. The Science channel, Tech TV (although a lot of that is crap, too (I suppose X Play is my equivalent of Entertainment Tonight)), History Channel, etc.

My newest most hated program is Trading Spaces. I used to watch this with my wife and it was pretty decent. You'd get ideas on how you could redecorate a room with a small budget. Then they changed hosts (Alex McCloud was hot). That was the beginning of the end. Now it seems to be all about who can come up with the most unliveable, impractical, property-value-destroying room possible. It has my vote as the most annoying show on TV.

 

[Pupik]

Originally posted by milefile
My newest most hated program is Trading Spaces.

My wife loves it. I'll watch the last 4 minutes, to see the quick transition between "before" and "after". And that's it. It's boring and unrealistic in many ways. But otherwise, it's spawned so many copycats on many other networks, that it's probably where this "reality TV" craze is headed.

Hell, I've even watched "Tuner Transformation" (since I haven't a clue how or what tunes a car other than playing Gran Turismo); that's just a make-over show for your car.

I don't care to hear guys shouting at each other in a garage. I work near one all day long, and it really couldn't be further from the truth. They're just acting up for the camera. Someone's got to show they've got the Type-A(rectum) personality, and lord it up in front of the camera.

Oh well, eventually the bubble will burst on the reality TV fad, just like any other fad that's come and gone. Either that, or The Gong Show will make another comeback.