Do you watch Reality TV?
 

No one I know is watching shows like <b>Survivor, Fear Factor, Temptation Island, Real World, Road Rules, Big Brother</b>, etc. And even more are on the way - <b>Murder in a Small Town X, Spy TV, Lost, </b>etc.

Are you watching? Why?

I don't watch reality tv simply because it's reality tv. Just like I don't watch sci-fi simply because its sci-fi. I watch shows with interesting stories and compelling characters. For me, Survivor fit that bill, so I watched it. I could never identify with The Real World or Road Rules, because those characters weren't people ... they were characters. They were specific cross-sections of MTV youth - I didn't know those people or interact with them, so I couldn't identify. The cast of Survivor was in many cases the people I see on a day to day basis, so I could identify with what they were going through. Most of the reality shows are crap, just like most game shows are crap. But I don't dismiss the genre. I will give Small Town X and Lost a chance just like I give all new shows a chance, but I'm not holding out much hope.

das

Yes, I watch Cops.

The other shows listed are very, very far from reality.

I don't consider them "reality" TV, but I've been watching Fear Factor and Spy TV, but both are already beginning to wear thin on me. I have never seen a single episode of Survivor.

I think most reality TV is scripted(with execption to COPS). If ratings are low then the producers ask the contestants to spice things up with a fight or something. My definition of reality TV is people being watched 24 hours a day/7 days a week and not knowing it.

I saw the last few eps of Survivor and the first 2 eps of Survivor 2 to see what all the hype was about, and the premier of Big Brother. I dont care for these kind of shows. If I want "Reality" I could just go outside...

I've watched all the Reality TV shows so far with the exception of Temptation Island which I thought was incredibly stupid. Despite all the opposition to it, I really enjoy the shows.

I don't watch it simply because it's unrealistic. It's all sensationalized crap.

Just Survivor... the others pretty much suck :)

~Scheherazade

american high
 

there's a show on PBS late night called american high. the producers gave camcorders to a bunch of high school kids and let them film whatever they want. it's far and above any of this other "reality" crap that's on right now.

Watched the final episode of survivor - never watched any of the others. About the only one I got into was Boot Camp - not from the humilation side of it, but because it was interesting to see how one might work, and because the people running it seemed to believe in the good side of people. There was not so much negativity as there was in (some of the) other shows.

Having been in the military and actually having been to boot camp, I didn't bother. You don't get voted out and you definitely can't quit and you don't yell at at DI unless you've totally lost your mind.

I've watched Survivor and the Mole. I like Cops alot. I try to avoid watching them, because they take away jobs from writers.

"I try to avoid watching them, because they take away jobs from writers"

I would prefer to watch a quality program. If it is poorly written, calling it "reality tv" does not make it watchable, enjoyable or anything else.

I don't avoid reality TV especially, but on the whole I don't watch much primetime TV...mostly Seinfeld reruns, TBS/TNT/Bravo/AMC movies, Comedy Central, Disney, and more often than not: DVDs.

I watched some of Temptation Island (horrible) and MTV's Fear (sometimes pretty good). Other than that, nothing. I'm getting pretty sick of it actually.

Mainly Survivor but I did watch Temptation Island and Bootcamp. I used to watch Real World and the granddaddy of them all, Cops but don't follow either on a regular basis now. I'm watching BB2 now to see what the big deal is.

Reality my ass. Someone from BB2, Kent, said how the show mirrored real life. How much pot is he smoking? How many people are locked in a home with a group of strangers for weeks with no contact from the outside world and have their lives filmed for everyone to see? Face it. Many of these people are hams hoping to cash in on their "celebrity" or their 15 minutes of fame.

I hate cops, so why watch them on TV?

The best reality show was The Mole, and I can't wait for the second one to come out. I think reality shows (some) are more interesting than crappy sitcoms like Friends, Mad about You, and crap like that. Besides reality shows, I like OZ, Sopranos, and ER. Not much else.