i don;t think i've ever watched any reality tv......turns me off. maybe i caught a little of the 1st survivor series at work one night, but i was not impressed. i know more about them from listening to Howard Stern on my ride to work. Not appealing. of course, other than football and movies and the occaisional episode of the simpsons, i rarely watch tv....much too busy harrassing you people!

I sorta like the original reality TV - home videos, candid camera, etc. I never tuned in, but I might linger if flipping past. I haven't tuned in to any of the recent "candid camera stretched out for 15 hours" or "what would you do for $1000000 stretched out for 15 hours" shows, though. If I'm gonna watch a whole season, I want a writer.

Most TV is only tolerable while simultaneously reading the Cellar.:)

Oh, and welcome to the Cellar, Mad. Those black&white shoes look real uncomfortable.;)

I like a little of both, in relation to reality tv i find it enjoyable to watch episodes you can just sit and its over in one episode or so.. example:
Wife Swap(Families swap wives for 1 week ) and
7 Years (a person is interviewed at age7, 14, 21, 28 etc.)

I find these type of reality shows interesting, i can learn from them, and enjoy the show in an easy 1/2 hour sitting.

HOWEVER survivor, idol, big brother.. i will not watch. its too fake, its too boring and i hate they way they drag these stupid shows out. they make a 5 episode show into a 40 episode show. too much padding for me.

Normal tv and sitcoms i dont really like, they all just use the same jokes/storylines over and over again. ones i do enjoy however are : Malcom in the middle / Kath and Kim / Neighbours / Sex and the City / Ally McBeal / The Wonder Years.

I hate mindless shows like everybody loves raymond, 3 guys and a girl, most cartoons and sci fi. total insult to my intelligence, and a waste of my time.

Thanks bruce - I always thought those banners from blogger would come in handy eventually... the shoes - stlyle over comfort while you can do it - digressing....

Seems everyone who has written here has seen at least one reality show - more importantly... even when you hate it... you still watch it just a little - so you can remember why you hate it! Admit it... come on....

I watch more TV than I should. I like most of the shows on NBC, and I've been watching a lot of HBO and the Discovery channels since getting digital cable last summer. I've been watching less TV over the last 4 months though, and I'd like to keep going in that direction.

As far as reality shows, "The Apprentice" is interesting, and I watch "The Real World" and "The Osbournes" for their humor. But the only other reality show I've ever enjoyed is "Lost" (6 episodes on NBC just after 9/11). The rest of it is just absolute crap to me.

Shameful confessions
 

I watched and liked Big Brother 1 and 2, but either the hamsters in 3 and 4 were unappealing and shallow, or my personality changed to where I coudn't tolerate that sort of thing any longer.

I watch all of the Osbournes.

Dave Attell's Insomniac is kind of reality-based. As is Crank Yankers.

I watch an enormous amount of cable news, which has about as much connection to reality as the reality TV shows.

If there's one thing Ozzy isn't in touch with, it's reality. ;)

The closest thing to reality TV I'll watch is Viva La Bam, which is staged stunts and ridiculous antics wedged into a reasonably realistic setting (a tranquil Chester County neighborhood).

Those *are* reality TV.

I admit to having watched the first episode of the first Big Brother...just to see what it was like. I hated it, but occasionally watched because my roommates' wife was addicted to the point that she subscribed to the website and spied on them all the time.

I have not watched a reality show since. At all. Unless you include Trading Spaces, While You Were Out and my current favorite TV show, Junkyard Wars. Oh, to be on a JW team...

Anyway, I spend 90% of my TV time on TLC, Discovery and History. If I could get Discovery Wings without also getting digital cable and a box (for more money) I would be happy.

Reality shows take big bites of sh*t sandwiches. IMO

Brian

I have been exposed to the pseudo-reality shows only because of the vile tv viewing taste of my coworkers ...

I have never voluntarily watched any of these programs.

I do not expect to do so in the future.

What little tv I do watch is usually FoxNews, History Channel, Law & Order, and CSI.

I have archive tapes or DVDs of a few other series I enjoyed, including Wiseguy, Stingray, The Prisoner, Oz (season three is being released on 2/24/04), and joy of joys ... I just scored the DVDs for the ORIGINAL Outer Limits series. :yum:

The problem with most reality TV is that it encourages people to exploit their own base nature and lowest qualities for an easy buck. It encourages us, the audience, to support such idiotic behaviour. I like the fact that movies are starting to poke fun at the reality TV concept. This is the movie I was referring to before: http://marryryanbanks.com. Read the plot and then read the plot to "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton" (www.winadatewithtadhamilton.com). The plots are almost identical. The first one is about this celebrity who tries to save his career by letting viewers choose which bachelorette, or everyday fan, gets to marry him. The catch is that the celebrity's best friend falls in love with the girl who is supposed to marry the celebrity. (Jason Priestly, Bradley Cooper and Emma Caulfield are the primary characters, so I'm anxious to see who wins the girl.)

As far as I'm concerned, all TV is missable. I only turn on the TV when it is immediately followed by turnnig on the DVD player. Of course my wife loves TV, so I get some second-hand television from time to time, but luckily she has the same low opinion as I do when it comes to reality TV.

I have never watched any "reality TV" (though I DID design a website for one of the Bachelorettes from Season 2 of the Bachelor, having never watched the show), but I have read a little about them out of morbid curiosity. I am convinced that almost all of them are fully scripted. I just don't think people will do that crap while a camera is pointed at them, transmitting their actions to the world, unless they're following a script. Frankly, if it wasn't scripted, I don't think things would be interesting enough to make a TV show out of.

One exampe is the shudder-inspiring "reality show" called "Temptation Island." Do you really think someone would voluntarily cheat on their significant other on national television? They'd be labelled a whore (or man-whore) for the rest of their days, and never have hope for a meaningful relationship ever again.

Or maybe I'm wrong. It happens frequently.

Maybe you should check out Television Without Pity.

I don't think so, Steve. That just rminds me why I avoided watching in the first place.:)