Reality Programs are like Mini-Vans, no one wants to admit they are involved with one.
I'm not sure of the reason for the embarrassment of either. The Mini-Van is the most useful and versatile vehicle ever made and the Reality Shows have value because there are real people showing real emotion under real stress. Massive editing notwithstanding.
Most "fictional" TV is pretty crappy.
I don't watch every reality show out there but of the one's I have here are my favorites:
1) Big Brother The absolute best of the breed by a country mile. Not only is this show "performed" in real time, but the participants have to endure over two months together, never being able to be escape than 20 meters from another.
2) Hell's Kitchen Gordon Ramsey is by far and away the most interesting personality on TV today. This one is put out by Fox but if you wait till the Food Channel version, you get the bleep free profanity laced Ramsey Tirade version. It's hilarious.
3) Rock Star This summer production which has run for two years now is outstanding! Unlike "American Idol" you get to see real talent. Most of the singers are amazing and the judges actually are experts in the field, rock stars themselves. This is a really slick production, very well done.
4) Canadian Idol I like this one better than the American counterpart because I like the 4 judge system rather than three and I like the Canadian judges better than the Randy/Paula/Simon crew. I think the talent is as good or better.
5) American Idol
It's fun to compare people and its great to see talent recognised. I can usually spot the ultimate winners pretty early on. They'd do well to get rid of Paula though.
6) The Amazing Race this one is pretty intense but because they "Race" about four or five times a year, its value as a show is diminished. It's interesting to see the different areas of the world. It's fun to see the couples fight and one wonders how oneself would react under all the stress.
7) Survivor The bloom has long gone from this rose. The big problem here is locations. They might as well do this one in a studio or the back lot of some Hollywood site. I am really getting weary of seeing some generic Tropical Island that could be anywhere between Cancer and Capricorn. The best shows were the Australian and African shows. How about going up North to the Arctic or some Swiss Alp setting. Anywhere but the same old beach.
8) The Apprentice In a word: Pathetic. If these people are the cream of the crop, God help us all. This show has become so lame I don't expect to see another version.
Whatever happened to The Mole, I only saw one real version (they did have a Celebrity Version) and I thought it was really well done.
