I come to bury reallity TV not to praise it.
The truth is, that since the father of all reality television: Survivor, has come onto the scene, we have been bombarded with a flurry of inane attempts to replicate the game that introduced us to a bevy of greedy back stabbbers.
Take the ever boring Big Brother (remember that one) an hour of back stabbing and inane intrigue. Like we don’t get enough of that in real life?
Even though there are many types of these monstrosities, there are a basic life line behind them.
They all appeal to the human sense of “god I’m glad that isn’t me.”Actually I wish that was me, I would do much better.
“This is so scripted I bet I could guess what will happen”(but Ill keep watching just to make sure) or the “oh that’s gross” (but I cant stop staring). These are the immortal three.
These are at the backbone of why we watch. Occasionally we fall prey to a compelling story of the eternal struggle, that is “to eat cow rectum or not to eat cow rectum.” The continual eye grabbing car wreck that makes people keep watching beyond the hair raising stunts and stomach wrenching.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying plopping in front of your TV and watching 20 fair looking women fight, lie, deceive, and sell their soul for a chance at an ogre in clothes with the amount of class that would insult a hick, isn’t entertaining.
And to top it all off, he had no problem lying to these women at least none that would keep him from breaking down and saying the truth.
Only the network that would pit midgets vs. elephants and would hold gluttony Championships, could be responsible of leaving the most important decision between two people that is to get married in the hands of a public that cant seem to chose their own partners for life.
Married by America seems to be a disaster waiting to happen. But you’d never know they are also the ones who once again bring us American Idol.
The show that keeps on giving the good, the bad, and the worse, and it’s the one who introduced the masses to the power that is an 800
number and a lot of free time.
With an obviously scripted plot to turn Simon Cowell into America’s red headed step child (whom everyone beats up on), the show lacks luster after youve cut out the riftraft and get to the final 10.
Even though Cowell makes it so easy to hate him, the bottom line is that the sum of a truth telling devil, a lying angel( Abdul), and a conscientious objector(Jackson), does not make a hearty panel of judges. At least for TV.
Their behind the desk abilities to asses and enhance talent is undeniable at least for the devil and objector.
ABC has decided that they will go with people you recognize for their shows so they will stick celebrities in the out back and sit back while America “saves” them.
Come on. Who relates with people that will sadly have to return to limousines and millions. A good laugh, a “take that princess,” here and a “lets see how tough you are now pretty boy, ” there is all they have to hope for.
There are a plethora of shows on TV in the reality TV genre and it would be very difficult and tedious to discus them all. In a way, that’s the problem.
Because TV has always been about bludgeoning to death what works, its hard to blame a fox, a mouse, a peacock, and an eye that is CBS and the ring master of the x generation that is MTV of throwing their collective darts and hoping to hit more often than miss.
So as we continue to watch the Disney mouse pull out moles from a hat and the fox continue to dazzle us with those ingenious paring and un paring shows like Temptation island the peacock will undoubtingly carry on putting people to the test with limit pushing shows like Fear Factor and Dog eat Dog.
But the eye is ever vigilant attempting to stay within reach of the others with Big Brother and survivor after survivor.
Because you can never have too much of a good thing, can you?
