Good Reality TV!?

reality tv is of course crap. (if you disagree no need to reply)

however there are some shows i wouldn't class as reality tv which is good.

and yet the only justification for defining it as anything other than reality tv
is because it's good.

top gear
myth busters
man .vs wild/survivorman (note: not survivor)


so is the above reality tv?

and what exceptions (true exceptions) besides the above exist? (not counting
documentaries, news, sports and improv.)

reality tv is crap.. wholeheartedly agreed. but at the same time.. american
idol is a guilty pleasure of mine. while i can see why it's still crap.. i
still watch it. it really doesn't make sense and i've stopped trying to
justify it.

only reality tv i watch is discovery channel stuff like mythbusters, future
weapons (guns/bombs 🙂), future car, dirty jobs, ect...
can't stand that network tv reality stuff from fox,abc,nbc,ect....

good reality tv isnt that an oxymoron

top gear is not reality television, for a start, lots of it is scripted, and
shoot in a studio. if anyone wants to try tell me it is, i have a lot more,
just don' think it's needed.
i also don't think mythbusters is a true reality show either, again they
script and often know the outcome before they do something, and often re-shoot
things if they don't get it right first time (or it doesn't come accross
correctly for the audience).

man vs. wild, i'll give you that one, a good reality show.

i will humbly admit that i do watch some "reality" shows, but i think the main
problem is labelling them as "reality" in the first place. i enjoy big brother
and occasionally survivor, and i love hell's kitchen. i don't watch a lot of
sports on tv, and these shows give me my fill of competition and strategy. i
enjoy plotting along with people making alliances and all the sneakiness and
backstabbing...lol.
it's a guilty pleasure, i know...but i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one
alive watching them 😉

i used to watch "the surreal life" rarely. and i watch "criss angel
mindfreak" (but not real "reality"). other than that it does all suck. some
gameshows are fun though, "1 vs. 100" and "power of 10".

no it's not.. i just said american idol (us version) is good. read man read =)

quote entire post =p

it can be crap and good simultaneously.

lol.. there ya go =p

no but jokes aside.. yes reality show in the strictest sense.. in my honest
opinion is horrific. the best examples i can give are all those celebrity
shows.. like the simple life.. or newlyweds.

american idol though.. while i agree that it is a reality show. there are
aspects of it that are far from that. honestly, i can do without the
pretenders in the business.. the william hungs.. or most recently the sanjaya
craze. i enjoy the real musical talent that rise from it. and they have
huge.. nay.. legendary stars who guest appear as well. so to me, the enjoyable
aspect is the performance.. the talent.

there was also a big feature on the news about this controversy and without
taking away from the seriousness of the inferrence of child abuse, the new
mexico authorities also denied any wrong-doing. the series was designed to
give the appearance of 40 kids trying to run a town without adults, but aside
from the obviously production crew, they also had on hand at all times
paramedics, child psychologists and a bevy of other adults to supervise the
kids.
i can't imagine a group of 40 kids getting together for an adventure like this
without a few burns, bruises and scrapes and the best thing for a show like
this is for all this controversy to arise right before the premiere of the
show. i obviously havn't seen the show, but since no allegations of child
abuse ever went farther than the original statement to the best of my
knowledge, i would assume it's nothing more serious than a ploy to grab
viewers, and it will most likely work. =)

hrmmm.
this is a concept i have trouble with. i just don't get this whole "something
is soooo bad, it's good/funny" notion.

to me if something is crap, then it's crap. turn it over and move on.
life's too short to watch idiots doing shit badly for entertainment purposes.
there's not exactly a shortage of fuckwits out in the world - if i suddenly
feel the need to observe some, a quick walk down the street will usually throw
up an example or two.

i guess it's much the same reason i have trouble with the "kitsch" idea.
it's not "ironic", "witty" or "post-modern" ... it's just ugly-ass crap that
any sane person would throw away.

weird *shrug*

god you should know this.

american idol made in other countries isn't called 'american' idol, so no need
to specify
'us version'.

that is all.

i'll specify what i want to specify. kthx.

absolutely true...however, one man's crap is another man's treasure...right?
case in point...the "jackass" movies make me cringe (and i consider myself
pretty liberal minded). some people think these movies are hilarious but i
don't find them even mildly entertaining. that's not to say they aren't...just
not for me.

same thing goes for reality tv shows (or any show for that matter). people
find different things amusing or entertaining. that's the great thing about a
site like this with such an active forum. you can get great feedback on shows
and get a pretty good idea if a show is something you might find entertaining.
i also think that for the most part, opinions here are respected and compared
to some other sites, there is a limited amount of flaming and sensless bashing.

one final note on reality tv...i know it's a vice for me. every year i swear i
won't start watching survivor again, but i usually do. i am however getting
selective now. i try to stick to american idol, hell's kitchen, big brother
and um....america's next top model...lol (oooops, there goes my
credibility)..lol