Are there any fans of reality tv shows here? I for one, enjoy watching a show called the Bachelor. It's interesting to see how people act when theyre put to the test in front of a camera. Some of it is kinda lame, but mostly, I think these shows are pretty entertaining. All you people here who are still talking about a show (Aeon Flux) that ended ages ago, what do you guys think about the stuff that's on tv nowadays? Don't get me wrong, Aeon Flux was awesome, but what about now? What are your opinions on what we get to see now?

-- tvfreak (cyberiptic@aol.com), May 12, 2003

Answers

Todays tv management of the term 'reality' stretches imagination and Nicole's leotards beyond fashionable use.

-- Barb e (Suesuesbeo9@cs.com), May 14, 2003.

i hate all reality tv shows except The Anna Nicole show. it's the most honest reality show, at the very least, i think. i can't stand hearing endless streams of shit spewed from peoples mouths as they "act real" for the camera.

-- neyo 316 gibbon ghost (neobe@cox.net), May 12, 2003.

I stay away from Tv, even my baby brother prefers to watch the original Transformers over that Armada filth.

Speaking of reality entertainment, anyone seen Bum Fights? Heck I thought Joe Millionare sounded cruel.

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), May 13, 2003.

Mmhmm, the simian look is definately in.

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), May 14, 2003.

I admit it... I like that one where they follow couples in a worldwide scavenger hunt/race. Only because it's exactly the sort of thing I'd have dreamed up when I was 11...

-- eskimonkey (jtreit@cha.ab.ca), May 15, 2003.

I always though "Out the front door" was pretty good.

-- scottai (scottai10@netscape.net.net), May 15, 2003.

The only reality tv that I like, or can think of is some of that good quality porn. I mean come on, no pun intended, what is more real and more entertaining than a couple people screwin' on a pool table. I know there are some crappy ones, but if you find a really good one the reality of it just sprays you in the face.

-- Joshua Aldridge (AtlantaJFNA@aol.com), May 15, 2003.

Until they make a reality show set in prison,a ghetto,or a war,TV will continue to be a vast wasteland,to quote Harlan.Anything else is escapist plop,merely designed to reinforce how helpless humans are without their precious contraptions.I disagree with that entirely,but it does get people buying things,through jealousy or thankfulness.And the date reality shows feature purposely horrible relationships,so that people will be more content with their own mates.TV's purpose is no longer to entertain(or why would so many crappy shows stay around so long)but to influence,however subtly.The news is just more obvious at it.TV can do this because its revenue doesn't come from those it serves.Even if a show gets crappy ratings,a sponsor may decide to keep it on the air if it sends the right message.And if a show displeases the sponsor,it's yanked,regardless of the ratings(Family Guy,Futurama)Ratings are merely yet another gage of public opinion. Some shows reinforce stereotypes,others are openly pro-government. Law&Order is an intelligent show that I enjoy,but the Bill of Rights is always the villian.The prosecuters are always good guys,the defendant almost always guilty,and somesuch amendment is always getting in the way of putting somebody they "know" did it in jail.The defenders of civil rights are always shrewish and belligerent.And COPS is just outright intimidation.A show that will compell one to do something other than consume,like think,is hard to come by,and the most intelligent show ever is consigned to videotape.

-- alex walsh (doesn't work@yahoo.com), May 18, 2003.

Futurama and Family Guy weren't even all that subversive. In particular, Futurama spent a lot of time propping up the might-makes- right mentality (case in point: the "popcorn shrimp" episode).

Reality TV in prison? Hell, I say REPLACE prisons with reality TV. We've got perfectly good islands out there going to waste on "Survivor"...

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), May 18, 2003.

What viewers take to be their own excited reactions to what the show affords, is in reality, a notion of their own prying curiosity being satisfied at the expense of forfeited privacy. notice the symbiotic relationship between the candidates who choose to be on those shows and the viewers who choose to watch them. looking for surprises even if they're dressed in censored predetermined circumstances?

-- (Cadencion@aol.com), May 20, 2003.

The Bachelor was awesome. However reality tv is not reality at all. Bob Costas says it should be called "unscripted tv" I personally argee with him. Other than informative talk shows, adn sports non of it has any basis in reality. Take for instance The Bachelor, sure it real people but the situation is insane, its edited, comes to us through a filter. This is not reality. Reality has moments of pure inconsequence. Reality TV is like sports highlights, without the actual impressive game behind the highlights. I think that tv should be bigger than reality, why not I got heavy doses of mndless crap and shallow people in the real world why should I have to tune into "So You Think Your Hot" to see People at there worst who say nothing important and do nothing important. Where is the art in Reality Tv?

-- MDR (nadar@BigPoppaPump.zzn.com), May 23, 2003.

Ugh. TV today is terrible.

Witchblade was awesome, and then TNT took it off. Buffy was good, but now it's over. Enterprise is decent, but doesn't compare to Next Gen. Simpsons is always great, but it's only a half hour of greatness. Family guy, from what I hear, is pretty damn funny... but again, only a half hour long.

In my mind, the only reasons to get cable are Cartoon Network and Comedy Central.

And reality shows... well, they actually make me nauseous. I hate them about as much as I hate FOX news. Sorry... =(

- Sierra

-- Sierra M. (mzflux@hotmail.com), May 29, 2003.

Don't forget the History Channel... that's beautiful programming. That and Insomniac are practically all I watch on TV.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), June 02, 2003.

O yeah and HBO pornumentaries.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), June 02, 2003.