American Idol Gone Country
“yaw” ….
its time to talk about Reality TV.
here’s the reason – i know someone on a reality TV show that’s being aired right now. and i’m not gonna get all into the who’s & what’s because that’s for a later post.
but for now we GOTTA talk about reality TV. see, it has TAKEN OVER OUR TELEVISIONS! how did this happen?
i don’t actually watch much reality TV. i loved the first season of American Idol (hence the kelly clarkson fandom). i’ve been baffled by an episode or two of Wife Swap. i WISH i had the time to watch Gone Country. and i triple love all those survivor type shows, but can’t even turn one on or else i’ll never leave the couch. oh and i must admit that i was once hooked on Trading Spaces.
but here’s the thing… i’m not sure how “real” reality TV really is.
what do you think? is it real?
what do you watch?
I never watch reality TV. I catch a bit here and there but I cant make any sense of it.
I dont understand the fascination, but then I guess most people would wonder why I spend time looking for music videos on YouTube .
I like Survivor and Jon and Kate Plus 8 but I hate The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom. It’s new on TLC – it basically dangles the dream of a stay at home mom in front of her and makes her choose between her kids and her dream.
Is it real? Depends on the show. It is crazy how popular reality tv is.
Okay, I take some dialect issues with this Ya’ll thing. I’ve given it some serious thought, and I say Ya’LL. It just seems more refined to me somehow.
And, no…reality TV isn’t so real. I’m watching Oprah’s Big Give right now, however, and the personalities still shine through. Man…I’m glad to see a few of those folks gone, and unfortunately, because I share some of their weaknesses!
I love reality TV – at least the competition shows. I realize it’s not truly “reality,” but it’s a fun diversion. And a great chance to hang out with friends each week who watch the same show.
i like it. i like my own reality show better
Bert: music vids on youtube?!? ME TOO!!!!!!!
Mags: many linguists would argue that the southern use of y’all is actually a more accurate and reliable form of communication, since it brings distinction between the singular and plural forms of you…. but we won’t have to get into all that squabbling over semantics here, now will we!?!
Nat: your OWN reality show!?! are these the famous videos you’ve started posting as well? he he!
I’m not huge TV watcher either. But when I get the chance and feel the urge, the first show i look for is What Not To Wear. LOVE< LOVE< LOVE that one!
You all should catch it if you haven’t already.
Tam: did you know the have a video podcast? you can subscribe for free in iTunes! YAY!!!!
Much as I hate to admit it, I’m addicted to Bravo. Yes, you read correctly – Bravo. I somehow tend to get sucked into the Real Housewives shows (trash, I know, I know) and Project Runway.
I also really like watching Jon and Kate plus 8, Super Nanny (and I don’t even have kids yet), American Idol (Grey’s Anatomy isn’t on right now, so our friends got us hooked on AI), Dancing with the Stars and What not to Wear.
Good grief, I seem so pathetic. I promise, I do not watch all of these shows all of the time! Just if I’m sitting down to relax for a few minutes. Promise.
kara: girl. i know you don’t watch much tv. i’ve seen you in action -> with your bowl o’ something to eat! that’s when you watch tv!
Mandy: thankyouthankyouthankyou for rushing to my defense! And I am super impressed with your memory — you are SO correct — my tv watching is always accompanied by dinner of some sort! Perhaps I watch too much tv AND eat too much…
i don’t remember the “too much” part, but i do remember that they went together!
I must confess, I’m an AI addict. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I spend the majority of Tuesday evenings leading my worship team in rehearsal… so I miss most of the show. I catch the performace videos on itunes and settle for watching the results show on Wed. NOT nearly as satisfying as the rare chance when I get to see the performances live, but it’ll do for now.
Don’t do much other reality TV. I’m probably the only person on the planet who has never seen an episode of Survivor. You heard me right… not even one.
I do like The Apprentice (the marketing guru in me, I think).
Bellissimanh: OUCH that you have practice on Tuesdays! that’s the BEST time to watch.
Survivor’s about the only reality show I watch. Is it reality? NO. But, it is that tension between entertaining and frustrating that keeps me watching and talking about it with Joanna. I used to LOVE Eco-Challenge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-Challenge) (http://www.ecochallenge.us) and am still a little bitter that Mark Burnett gave up doing it for Survivor. I remember sitting in the Wesley House apartment skipping classes to watch people trek 500 miles on bikes, kayaks, running, and swimming. People threw up, got deathly ill, and one person floated in their own “mess” down a river because there was nothing they could do to stop it. Now that’s reality.
Does “24″ count as reality? I think it’s filmed live like “COPS” right?
i NEARLY put 24 in as one of the shows!
it just seems so REAL to me!! LOL
There never has been a real reality show. The only reality is how people react. They are put into carefully controlled and planned environments with carefully chosen “cast members” along side of them. It has been bogus since the first “Real World” when we were supposed to think it was “real” that those people would have chosen to live together.
Even the TLC style shows lose reality as soon as you cut the cameras on and give any kind of “motivation” for being on camera.
One of my favorite reality shows was “Starting Over.” Very few people every heard of it. It was produced by the “Real World” people. It centered on six women who wanted to work on various aspects of their lives. Besides living together, they also had life coaches to work individually with them. Once a woman accomplished her “goal” she graduated from the house and a new woman moved in. As you can imagine there was conflict galore. Stuff for good tv. I really liked the “communication” aspect of the show, but then again I’m a geeky communication professor.
I know the assistant to one of the life coaches for the show for the final season. The “pressure” that was put on them to have “good story lines” for the sake of television was deeply disturbing. Add into that the “butcher” job that was done with editing and Travis is right, there is no reality television!!
~Cheryl