Reality TV needs to end

Title says it all. There is nothing more detrimental to the value of all video art than reality TV. There is no story or plot, there is no real meaning behind it, and it only propagates our drama and gossip obsessed culture in the US.

I really can't understand its appeal. I mean, people watch Jersey Shore because it's "so hilariously bad" as one of my friends put it. But what began as a joke is slowly turning into a cultural norm where a "good" show consists of following rich people around and watching them get drunk and hook up with other people. It's really the low point of almost all of television in terms of artistic and cultural value.

Any thoughts?

Agreed. Expecially Big Brother.


... especially big brother...

Originally Posted by Lord of Lost Socks

Agreed. Expecially Big Brother.


... especially big brother...

Big Brother is . I hate the ing series. We are having the eleventh season here in Brazil. I watched 2 seasons (one out of curiosity, the second one to make sure I didnt like it) and that was enough for me.

Big Brother ends forever after the current one. It's terrible but another thing is that it goes on for so damn long.

I never watched any of these "shows". I think them to be absolutely pathetic like talk shows.

You don't need actors, plot, money spent on filming locations, maybe even less that was spent on old school serie like Onedin Saga.
And in turn you get loads of money for what? Showing everybodies or exhausted celebrities to drink, play away the time or swear. That's "reality"? Reality is on the streets.
Reality shows are television's attempt to crawl around on all fours in the for money...

Reality TV=pathetic crap I can't STAND a minute of such programs

I haven't run into a good reality tv show.

They should have never been in the first place...

True, I was curious when big brother arrived to my country but it got old really fast, even though they made like 4 seasons. Same with the Idols show, those are only entertaining in the early castings.
Then there are the MTV reality shows... those are just horrid. Actually revolting.

Originally Posted by Hattori

Then there are the MTV reality shows... those are just horrid. Actually revolting.

I've only just removed them from my mind. Cheers.

They're all terrible, and a large reason why I do not watch major network TV. Perhaps I'm just a TV snob, but I don't understand the appeal of The Bachelor, Jersey Shore, American Idol and that crap with Donald Trump. The best show on any of the major networks, hands down, is 30 Rock. So... 1 out of about 70+ programmed shows appeal to me.

It's sad when amazing shows, such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, have such low ratings in comparison, especially since they're superior programming.

Without reality TV there would be no Space Cadets. That was one of the funniest programs I ever saw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_C...vision_hoax%29

Originally Posted by irelandeb

Without reality TV there would be no Space Cadets. That was one of the funniest programs I ever saw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_C...vision_hoax%29

I think we can sacrifice one TV show for generally better TV programs.
And the worst part is that people think it's real too! I mean, the finale of the Hills? Apparently people were surprised that the show was fake the whole time...Those poor pathetic sheeple ...

Also shows like Flavor of Love, the one with that rockstar, the one with that one girl, and the one with Tila Tequila, all need to end too. They're a blight upon our society and culture.
Come to think of it, I think the world would generally be improved if most of VH1 and all of MTV were axed.

There are countries that still have the Big Brother show?

I agree though, reality shows are dull and should be removed from tv. Here in the Netherlands every nobody seems to get a reality show. Even a former belgian soccer player has his own boring show including poorly raised grand children and spoiled children.

talent shows are getting very old too, I really dont care about that anymore. they should do something new.

And then theres also the 34952340 versions of CSI.

I agree with this mostly; however I do like Gene Simmons' reality show.

Jersey Shore is awesome because of how hilariously awful it is. Only reality show I ever watched.

But what they should do is get the cast of Jersey Shore and make them do something like survivor were they must survive out in the wild for one week. I'd pay to see that.

Originally Posted by Inhuman One

There are countries that still have the Big Brother show?

Yes
In Finland there's a new season on wednesday..... I alraedy forsee not only Big Brother, but Big Brother Chat, Big Brother Extra, Big Brother on the ing news... etc.

Reality Tv already ended long time ago, just someone forget to tell it.

Gigantic waste of time. Half of it is scripted anyway!

Most of them arent even "real"

Tons of scripting, a lot more than you would think.

Yes, reality shows are bad enough as they are. However the worst is when a "Western" show is organized in a different cultural context. It was absolutely horrible when some of these were run Eastern Europe where the participants tried really hard to imitate the original "expected" behavior... And of course it has cultivated its own tabloid papers and fake news about these phony "celebs".
It is particularly sad that some moron participants get a high profile in the corporate news media.