Reality TV

[Guest Sturgis]

Television networks are learning a harsh lesson in reality -- too many reality shows are a turn-off for viewers.

As broadcasters increasingly binge on unscripted shows starring ordinary folks willing to do almost anything for cash, romance or 15 minutes of fame, the burgeoning genre of reality TV appears to be wearing a bit thin with U.S. audiences.

 

At the very least, networks are seeing that the appeal of reality shows has its limits.

"You had a few really good reality programs ... and now they turn them out like they were bad two-hour movies," veteran TV producer Bernie Brillstein told Reuters on Monday. "And they're not so cheap to make anymore."

Inspired by the success of such blue-chip franchises as "Survivor" and "American Idol," the networks have increasingly loaded up on unscripted knockoffs as inexpensive prime-time alternatives, especially as comedies have declined in ratings.

"It's a Band-Aid," Brillstein said. He and other industry executives said the mainstreaming of reality shows has led them to suffer the same high casualty rates as conventional sitcoms and dramas.

"With quantity comes failure," Fox TV reality chief Mike Darnell was quoted as saying in Daily Variety. "It becomes a combination of mediocre shows or shows that are so similar to other shows, they don't stick out."

Nowhere has this become more apparent lately than at Fox, which currently devotes about 60 percent of its prime-time schedule to reality shows -- more than any other network.

After taking a dive with its much-ballyhooed boxing show, "The Next Great Champ," Fox TV stumbled with two more reality launches this month -- "My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss" and Sir Richard Branson's "The Rebel Billionaire."

 

HIGH HOPES FOR "IDOL"

Fox is still counting on a strong performance from the forthcoming fourth installment of its hit talent show "American Idol," which premieres in January.

 

Over at NBC, a hurriedly produced second edition of "Last Comic Standing" was laughed right off the network -- its finale ended up airing on cable's Comedy Central -- and "$25 Million-Dollar Hoax" debuted to mediocre numbers last week.

Earlier this season, ABC's "The Benefactor," starring the billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, proved such a ratings flop that the network wrapped it up more quickly than planned, condensing the last four episodes into two.

Even some of TV's reality stalwarts are showing some slippage. ABC's courtship contest "The Bachelor" has lost about a third of its audience compared with last season; NBC's Donald Trump show "The Apprentice" is down 18 percent in total viewers from the same point in its first run last winter and the NBC stunt show "Fear Factor" is down 15 percent from last season.

However, audiences have hardly turned their backs on reality shows altogether. "The Apprentice," CBS's "Survivor: Vanuatu" and ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" all rank in the top 10 in ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49, the group most prized by advertisers.

In fact, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," has actually seen its overall audience soar 44 percent this season (to 16 million viewers) -- an apparent beneficiary of a trend that has seen viewers drawn more to uplifting, wish-fulfillment shows than to edgier competitions and practical-joke concepts.

In the end, however, the biggest limit to the commercial success of reality TV may be its limited shelf life in an industry whose business model hinges on the ability of producers to eventually sell their shows as reruns.

"Part of our business is to get (a show) to last so you can syndicate it," Brillstein said. "You can't syndicate this dreck."

 

credit: InsidePulse

[Special K 0]

Good, maybe they can realize that with good writing, people will flock to shows. People are clearly starved for quality TV shows. Witness the success of FX, whose shows do, true, aim to tittilate, but are by and large well-written.

 

The reason sitcoms are doing poorly is obviously because of the lack of quality writing. What's even on anymore that's any good at all? Raymond, Scrubs and Arrested Development? All the sitcoms I see advertised by ABC during MNF look frankly gag-inducing.

[starvenger 0]

"With quantity comes failure," Fox TV reality chief Mike Darnell was quoted as saying in Daily Variety. "It becomes a combination of mediocre shows or shows that are so similar to other shows, they don't stick out."

This is pretty much the core of the problem. The networks are too quick to bandwagon onto the concept and milk it dry. Which is pretty impressive considering how vast the reality TV landscape is.

 

Anyways, I think that reality TV has produced some damn fine shows (Amazing Race, MiSTX and (non-celeb) Mole come to mind) but the networks have to use some more fucking common sense when greenlighting new shows. Then again, Father of the Pride and Center of the Universe are still around stinking up my screen, so I guess the idiocy is universal with TV Genres...

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I dont really see how popular American Idol can be since none of the people who have won it have truly become anything more than flash in the pan stars for about 20 minutes..

 

Amazing Race has some staying power because its almost like a game show, in fact Id rather group it with the game shows than reality shows..

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Man, half of the reality shows out there are game shows, just fancied up a little bit.

 

I also don't get how people like some of these shows - it's like they tune in just because a specific character pisses them off. The shit?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I also don't get how people like some of these shows - it's like they tune in just because a specific character pisses them off. The shit?

 

Its because of the competitive nature of them. Much the same reason why people watch sports.

 

The other reason is because people like TV and most of the 'comedies' are even more pathetic. Really, network television is so awful 90% of the time they are lucky to get the ratings they get.

[Guest P!NK.]

In fact, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," has actually seen its overall audience soar 44 percent this season (to 16 million viewers) -- an apparent beneficiary of a trend that has seen viewers drawn more to uplifting, wish-fulfillment shows than to edgier competitions and practical-joke concepts.

 

Not surprising - the same deal's happening on TLC, with all of its home improvement shows.

 

I don't really care about the message, per se, as much as I care about the entertainment factor. In fact, outside of TLC's programming, "The Apprentice" and "The Biggest Loser", the entire genre is the drizzling shits, in my opinion.

[starvenger 0]

Not surprising - the same deal's happening on TLC, with all of its home improvement shows.

I still don't like Clean Sweep, since the homeowners don't really have to do much. At least on the other ones there's a homeowner doing something.

 

I don't really care about the message, per se, as much as I care about the entertainment factor.  In fact, outside of TLC's programming, "The Apprentice" and "The Biggest Loser", the entire genre is the drizzling shits, in my opinion.

I still don't see the appeal of "The Biggest Loser" (Body Challenge seemed to get the diet message across better IMO) but a lot of people watch it so there must be something to it. I am glad to see that the hoax shows are tanking. I admit, I liked the Joe Schmo shows, but that's more about poking fun at other reality shows and showing what good people the marks really are. The ones on NBC and Fox right now are just simply cruel.

[Guest P!NK.]

I still don't like Clean Sweep, since the homeowners don't really have to do much. At least on the other ones there's a homeowner doing something.

Clean Sweep is definitely one of the weaker ones because, ultimately, they're all the same. Owners have a bunch of useless crap, owners get rid of a bunch of useless crap, designer turns their previously grungy space into glorified hotel room, etc. At least you can sell the unique and sometimes horrifying designs on Trading Spaces and While You Were Out.

 

In A Fix bugs the hell out of me too for some reason. I think it's just because the people are annoying as hell.

 

I still don't see the appeal of "The Biggest Loser" (Body Challenge seemed to get the diet message across better IMO) but a lot of people watch it so there must be something to it.  I am glad to see that the hoax shows are tanking.  I admit, I liked the Joe Schmo shows, but that's more about poking fun at other reality shows and showing what good people the marks really are.  The ones on NBC and Fox right now are just simply cruel.

 

Haven't seen Body Challenge, so I couldn't compare. "The Biggest Loser" is tremendous stuff - it gives both sadists joy by providing ammo for open shots during the hilarious physical challenges, while providing gooey, heart-warming motivation for sensitive fatties who watch while they're inhaling their Big Mac.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

The Biggest Loser makes fun of fatties, one of our nation's most beloved passtimes.

[starvenger 0]

In A Fix bugs the hell out of me too for some reason. I think it's just because the people are annoying as hell.

I kinda like it, but that may be because they make the homeowner wear a shirt that says "It's All My Fault". That and Jennie likes to wear tight shirts.

 

Haven't seen Body Challenge, so I couldn't compare.  "The Biggest Loser" is tremendous stuff - it gives both sadists joy by providing ammo for open shots during the hilarious physical challenges, while providing gooey, heart-warming motivation for sensitive fatties who watch while they're inhaling their Big Mac.

Body Challenge is essentially Biggest Loser without the voting off or the fixation on losing as much as possible in a short amount of time. In essence it's more docu-reality as opposed to reality competition.

[nl5xsk1 0]

As much as I detest most reality shows, the reality TV craze >> the game show craze of a few years ago. (e.g. Millionaire, Weakest Link, Dog Eat Dog, and all the other ones that were so lame I never bothered to learn their names)

[Black Lushus 0]

I don't agree on the response about American Idol winners not being anything...Kelly Clarkson just recently came out with a Top 40 song that gets constant airplay and is actually high up in the top 40...Clay Aiken was recently on the cover of TV guide and I swear i saw a little blurb recently about Ruben...plus Fantasia is set to drop her album soon...I'm an American Idol mark, I will admit that, and every year they are able to pull me back in to watch every single episode...that show hasn't gone stale YET...

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

I only watch a few Reality TV shows anymore. They really have burned out the genre as of late.

 

I watch Survivor every season, just to see how people react. Backstabbing, breakdowns, internal power struggles. All fun stuff. I was also a big fan of the Mole and Murder in Small Town X(Mainly cause there was nothing else like it) and I watch the Amazing Race every time it's on.

 

I was also a Last Comic Standing fan until NBC yanked it. Personally, outside of Joe Schmo(The first one), I haven't had any interest in the hoax ones, and I never got into the Apprentice or American Idol.

 

Most of the ones on TV today suck the meat missle pretty hard though.

[Slayer 0]

I, for one, never got into the "reality" show fad, largely because there's hardly anything real about it. Most basic human interaction, even in such wacky and far-out (haha) situations, borders on the banal, which wouldn't translate well onto the small screen. So how is this fixed? Injection of artificial drama

 

"Okay, you two pretend to hate each other, and you two pretend to have an affair, and you two act like you're going to stab this guy in the back, got it?"

 

I think there are some parts that are just as scripted as your run-of-the-mill sitcom

 

Reality show actress: "Fuck you you fucking piece of fucking.... umm.... line?"

Director: "Shit."

RSA: "Yeah, you fucking piece of fucking shit!"

[The Metal Maniac 0]

No, what I meant was, I see people watching these shows, and all they do is bitch about how much a certain character pisses them off. Not all of them, mind you, but enough that it makes me wonder why they bother watching at all, if they're just gonna get pissed off.

[starvenger 0]

I think there are some parts that are just as scripted as your run-of-the-mill sitcom

If you've ever tried to watch The Casino or The Simple Life ("shockingly", both on Fox), there were a lot of Convenient Occurences, so yes it does happen.

 

I, for one, never got into the "reality" show fad, largely because there's hardly anything real about it.

There's no denying that. Somebody somewhere must've thought "reality television" was a great buzzword, but really how does that label apply to a show where you're stranded on an island for 39 days? That's probably where a lot of the backlash comes from. But is the name really that different from, say, soap opera, which neither promotes soap (although they used to) nor is an opera? I think people need to let go of the whole "but it's not really reality" thing and either judge a show on it's own merits or simply (as I assume you do) don't watch at all...

[Black Lushus 0]

No, what I meant was, I see people watching these shows, and all they do is bitch about how much a certain character pisses them off. Not all of them, mind you, but enough that it makes me wonder why they bother watching at all, if they're just gonna get pissed off.

That's the purpose of dramatic reality shows...they piss you off so much yet you keep watching...that's what they WANT!

[2GOLD 0]

As long as nothing messes with Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi then all is good. The only reality show I watch.

[NoCalMike 0]

90% of reality shows are just dramatic situations with something going on in the background, like cooking, or dating, or modeling, or singing.....just to fool the viewer into thinking they are watching something better.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

If I want to see people sit around a fucking house, I wouldn't have to watch TV. I want to see people doing things that you don't normally do, like racing around the world or being stranded on an island somewhere. I watch reality TV to escape from reality and to see people competing at the same time.

 

I will watch good scripted stuff (like 24 as well), but most television writers especially with regards to sitcoms are awful with actors to match. Maybe the film industry has become so big that it has snagged anyone with talent. I don't know.

[starvenger 0]

I will watch good scripted stuff (like 24 as well), but most television writers especially with regards to sitcoms are awful with actors to match. Maybe the film industry has become so big that it has snagged anyone with talent. I don't know.

It's not so much that they've taken anyone with talent, it's that they've taken people whose talents would be better focused in a sitcom rather than generic crappy comedy movies...

[Special K 0]

The biggest loser is part of one of Hollywood's favorite motifs: make the audience laugh at the fat people, then chide the audience for laughing at fat people.

 

Haw haw haw! Looka the tubby he's sweaty and has larger than normal clothes! Aw, man. They're people too. You shouldn't laugh at fat people.

 

That above paragraph pretty much sums up 'Nutty Professor' and 'Shallow Hal'

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

That's true. Comedy in general has taken a beating recently.

[starvenger 0]

The biggest loser is part of one of Hollywood's favorite motifs: make the audience laugh at the fat people, then chide the audience for laughing at fat people.

I would like it on the record that I was neither laughing at nor with Ralphie May...