Unreal TV

[the_siobhan]

I KNOW there are people on my f-list who watch reality shows. Can't fool me, I know you are out there.

So I ask you, what shows do you like? Which ones do you hate? Which shows do you love to hate?

And Why?

Let's call it research.

(And it just occurs to me now - are there communities devoted to such things?)

Comments

[otheronetruegod.livejournal.com]

I've always hated the term "reality TV". I prefer "documentary competition", myself.

That aside, the shows I like:

Survivor. Though each season is quite different, the relationships that develop between the players and the dynamic in the face of starvation and paranoia is very fun to watch.

The Amazing Race. This is an example of film editing at its best, and it's usually quite exciting to watch. I like this because there's no voting off unpopular people -- the last team in for each leg gets the boot, so it's all skill.

The Apprentice. I've not watched it much this season, but it's a facinating microcosm of business. Sometimes I wonder how smart these applicants are, but it makes for interesting watching.

Beauty and the Geek. Holy fuck, Shaddenfreude at its best. I don't watch it much, only occasionally, but it's what I would call a guilty pleasure.

Shows that aren't on anymore but I enjoyed:

The Mole. This was -great-. One contestant was working for the producers. Everyone gets tasks to do, and the mole works to make the tasks fail as much as possible without getting caught. At the end of each episode, there is a quiz asking questions about the mole -- their hair or eye colour, if they're male or female, what they did during the tasks, that kind of thing. The person who scored the worst was eliminated.

The Joe Schmoe Show. This technically wasn't a reality show, but it was freaking hilarious to watch. Take a guy, tell him he's in a reality show, but really all the other players are actors following an improv sketch. Every contest is rigged, and we get to see behind the scenes of it all. Much fun.

Shows I hate:

Anyting that involves marriage or mass dating. Anything that involves singing or dancing. This includes, but isn't limited to: So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, The Bachelor(ette) and Who Wants To Marry a Millionaire. Blech.

There are LJ communities for all of these shows.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I haven't caught Survivor yet. I watched an episode of The Amazing Race and was surprised how much I got into it.

Shows that aren't on anymore but I enjoyed:
The Mole.
The Joe Schmoe Show.

I don't suppose you have tapes of any of the episodes?

[otheronetruegod.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I don't. I watched them live or recorded them on the PVR and promptly erased them.

More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Schmoe_Show

You can the first season of each from here:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0007GAEXK/imdbca-20/
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0001XAODO/imdbca-20/

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I knew it was a long shot. :-)

Thanks for the links.

[otheronetruegod.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've also been enjoying Top Chef, which is a cooking contest modeled after Project Runway, a fashion design contest, which I've also enjoyed a lot.

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I forgot. I have also watched and enjoyed Cooking Under Fire, an elimination competition for chefs that they run on PBS. They travel around the country cooking in different restaurant kitchens and attempting different types of assignments (team/individual, specific cuisines, specific ingredients, specific timeslines, etc.). Losers get eliminated by the judges, and the end winner gets a chef job in a top restaurant. It's hosted by PBS show cooks, including Ming of Simply Ming.