Yep, you guessed it. "I hate it all."

Oh come on...the OP did anticipate those answers, and did more or less ask "OK, but which one do you hate most?" I would actually be interested to read what you and yours find most contemptible out of an unredeemable lot. That answer is way too easy.

Yeah. Believe me, I've seen really bad reality TV (A.I. at the top of my list), but even I admit that sometimes I prejudge programming. Joe Schmo being the prime example. The concept sounded so stupid and it being on SpikeTV didn't help matters. I accidentally stumbled upon JS2 one night and couldn't believe how LOL-funny it was. Funnier than any sitcom currently on television, that's for sure. Now I have to see the first one.

I absolutely guarrantee you will NOT be disappointed if you watch Joe Schmo 1. Joe Schmo 1 had twice the LOL moments of Joe Schmo 2, and yeah, I enjoyed Joe Schmo 2. And at least Joe Schmo is honest about the scripting of the "reality" show...in fact, that is basically the major point. So all of you reality haters would probably get a kick out of it as well. And it is not another "punked" type show. I cannot stand those either.

Don't forget MBFOF and the much missed MBFOB. I think the Big Lie ones are probably my favorite because we get the best of both worlds. I have to disagree with Bill Needle though. I really liked JS1, but it felt more like a reality show. JS2 went so over the top and really became a parody of reality shows. JS2 is probably my favorite reality show ever and was definitely one of the funniest shows on TV last year.

I don't think our opinions are mutually exclusive. A DVD review of Joe Schmo Season 1 had this to say:

"The Joe Schmo Show succeeds on many levels, mainly in its unbridled expose of how unreal and inane reality shows have become. The only reason Matt goes along with much of it, he later confesses, is not due to his easily being fooled but, rather, because of his awareness how stupid and wantonly provocative reality shows have become; he just figured Lap of Luxury was another such show."

I loved the My Big Fat shows but figured they're not as universally loved, and it's near impossible to build a case against Joe Schmo 2, which was one of the best things of the entire season, and as Red Dog points out, more hilarious than just about every sitcom on the air. I also agree that it's better than the first, but the first is still great stuff.

Mockingbird!!!

das

The local news.

"Let's pretend that every little thing is dangerous and that we're all doomed. We can prey on people's fears and emotions!"

We have a winner. There is nothing -- not The Anna Nicole Show, not The Swan, not Kicking Poor People in the Crotch 2 -- as low and downright disgusting as the local news. My distaste for these fear-mongering, misinformation-spreading ratings whores knows no bounds.

das

The local news makes kittens cry.

And they film it and broadcast it at 10 after they ceaselessly and shamelessly hype and trumpet it for hours. I so much enjoy missing the first 10 seconds coming out of commercial of any prime-time show I watch with the umpteenth promo for "See what local citizens may or may not be having for lunch tomorrow, tonight at 10."

"The Swan" is one show. "The Anna Nicole Show" is one show. Are you saying that every local news cast in the country subscribes to that philosophy?

Yep. Every local newscast in every market over the entire history of television. How's that?

das

Exactly 100% correct!

All, I am so tired of "reality" TV, would rather watch bad sitcoms any day then that so called reality.

.....(waiting for Groucho to come in and make a "scripted tv" joke)

I'm sorry, I must have missed which stations you meant by "local news." Since you called out the other two shows specifically it must have just slipped your mind.

I've travelled around the country a lot, and other than maybe the weather and sports reports, the local news is indistinguishable from one city to the next. All completely lame. Every one seems to be aimed at an audience comprised of guys drinking PBR while slouched in a ratty recliner wearing dirty t-shirts and boxer shorts while police are searching their homes. You can see them on every episode of COPS. One of my darkest days was when the 35 minute 10 pm local news cast became fashionable. It meant an extra 5 minutes of TV held hostage!

Hmmm...can't say I've had a similar experience. I worked for the highest-rated newsstation in Iowa (and the #1 CBS station in the country for percentage of viewers) for two years and they were nothing but professional and responsible journalists.

Don't tell us you were the guy who came up with the "Your child is in serious danger tomorrow at school!!!! Details at 11" teasers during prime time, making us sit through a 15-minute expose on what color nail polish Angeline Jolie prefers before learning that our children aren't actually in any danger at all.

In all seriousness, my comments were specifically made against Atlanta's disgraceful local news, but in my experience, it hasn't been much different in other places where I've lived. My favorite aspect of the local news is how they try to put a local spin on national stories. "The World Trade Center was just destroyed by terrorists. Atlanta businessman Cleetus McAsshat once read about New York in a magazine. We'll have a detailed interview with Cleetus after the break, but first let's go to Stu Turdman with the Wacky Weather!"

das

Interesting results so far. For the record, I voted for the 'Non-Celebrity Life' show, because 1) I can't stand the people featured on those shows nowadays and 2) if I want to watch a bunch of nobodies doing nothing (not competing for anything) I'll such go to the mall and watch people.

Celebrity Life was a close second, for most of the same reasons as above. The only exception is the celebrity factor at least sometimes shows behind-the-scenes footage of awards shows, studio sessions, commericials/videos being filmed... which I personally find more interesting than the celebrity taking part in such events. And celebrities seem to be more inherently bizarre than most people.

Everything else I can find some I love and some I hate. Competition is by far my favorite, though.

I can honestly say we never did promos like that at our station. In fact, that kind of stuff was considered a joke (and bad journalism to boot.)

I've only found 3 "reality" shows that were worth a damn.

1. The Mole. Not the celeb editions, the regular ones. Don't know why this was called "reality" TV though, as it was a game show and a damned intelligent one at that.

2. MTV / WWE's "Tough Enough." Mainly because I'm a wrestling fan, but also because (with the exception of the 2nd season) the winners were chosen because they showed some real promise. Not because they managed to backstab others or form little coalitions, etc.

3. Spike TV's "Joe Shmoe." Once again, not an actual "reality" show except for the reaction of the Shmoe. Very entertaining.


Common theme here, huh? None of the ones I like are really "reality" TV. Reality TV sucks.