The whole concept of reality television has gone completely insane. What started out as a cool idea with MTV’s “The Real World,” the first glimmer of a reality show that put seven strangers together and forced them to live in a house, has turned into an all-out circus among the networks to see which absurd idea can top the other.
Now, with more than 20 new shows set to hit the air waves this summer alone, the public should take a stand against this reality overload. While the concept was innovative at first, the rapid progression of shows has turned watching TV into an inescapable nightmare.
Things got out of hand after the success of CBS’ “Survivor,” which first aired in fall 2000. From there, awful variations such as NBC’s “Dog Eat Dog” and “Fear Factor” popped up that stretched the competing-for-money concepts to amazing lengths.
The only interesting premise on these competition shows was the strange and degrading tricks people would do to win $1 million. People eating bugs, pig intestines and jumping off cranes (with a safety rope, what are you scared?) can entice viewers for only so long.
After that, the dating show craze took off again. Shows like Fox’s “Change of Heart” and The Learning Channel’s “A Dating Story” had been on the air awhile and were tasteful dating shows that seemed to genuinely try to get people together for something more than a wild, sweaty fling.
But then beasts like ABC’s “The Bachelor,” Fox’s “Temptation Island” and “Joe Millionaire” found their way in front of our faces. Now the majority of shows dealing with people dating likely would make Chuck Woolery blush. What does it say about our society when Monica Lewinsky can host a dating show?
Eventually, these shows have focused more on cat fights and backstabbing, which apparently are more entertaining than getting to know someone on a casual date.
The powers that be then moved on to finding the next pop star with “American Idol” and “Fame” and showed just how many people can’t sing in this country. While the first installment of these shows had promise, the future of finding talent among ordinary people seems dim.
The list of shows goes on. RealityTVlinks.com now lists more than 150 reality TV shows, many of which are still on the air.
There are, however, a few shows that break the generic reality show mold. NBC’s Law and Order: Crime and Punishment is much like the Law and Order drama, only it takes courtroom footage from real criminal cases. Unlike the drama and emotions from other shows, viewers can see these people’s plight, because they’re not on the show to get fame.
Of course, the best form of reality TV is the prank show. Nothing compares to Ashton Kuchar playing an insanely funny joke on a celebrity on his MTV show “Punk’d.” The genius of this show and others like the old “Candid Camera” or Comedy Central’s “Trigger Happy TV” is the hidden camera aspect because it catches the real side of people, when the’ve got their masks off.
You truly find out how a person is when their world is turned upside down, by parking a moving van in front of a celebrity’s mansion and telling them it’s being reposessed because of back taxes he owes, like Kuchar did to pop star Justin Timberlake on “Punk’d.” These shows last longer because the art of the pratical joke will never get old.
But the absolute worst idea to surface is MTV’s “Fraternity Life” and “Sorority Life.” Having to watch immature co-eds deal with problems such as running up Daddy’s credit card bill and finding a date to the mixer should be reserved only for the most heinous criminals.
If there’s one bright spot to any of these primetime flops, they brought interesting references into popular culture. If it weren’t for reality TV, you’d never be able to say to someone you’ve just outwitted, “You are the weakest link. Goodbye!”
At what point do viewers say enough and network executives get the idea that the concept is nothing more than a fad that’s gone out of style in a hurry? Let’s hope the TV bigwigs do us all a favor and hire people who are in touch with “reality” and can generate ideas and possibly write a creative TV show intelligent people would watch.