Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I searched for this and there was a name your top 10 reality shows thread back in 2011. A lot has changed since then. Name your top five reality shows. Feel free to add honorable mentions.

My Top Five:
1. The Challenge: Dubbed by many as America's fifth sport. I absolutely love this show especially how well designed some of the challenges and final competitions are. I also like that competitors can keep coming back on the show. You get to see the cast grow from their early 20's to late 30's and early 40's.
2. The Amazing Race: I love the incredible scenic shots and that whoever crosses the finish line first wins.
3. Survivor: Still compelling after 40 seasons although some interference by producers is making the show difficult to watch at times.
4. Shark Tank: I'm still amazed at some of the businesses/inventions that show up looking for deals.
5. The Great British Baking Show: Who would have thought that people baking in a tent would be so entertaining?

Honorable Mention: The Mole: The first two seasons hosted by Anderson Cooper were fantastic.
Honorable Mention: The Bachelor: A guilty pleasure that helps me get through my hour long exercise bike workouts.
Honorable Mention: The Real World: A groundbreaking show that was also one of the first reality shows.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I was about to talk poop about reality shows in general, but hell I watch some. So that argument's moot for me. In no particular order:

Top Chef
Great British Baking Show
Project Runway (the old one with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Their new show isn't all that.)

And a lot of HGTV ones like: Fixer Upper, Love It or List It, Property Bros, Good Bones

Favorite Trash Show: You're Cut Off (I think it was VH1 and just a train wreck.)

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

In no order:

Big Brother
The Bachelor
Blind Date
Paradise Hotel
Elimidate

I'm a sucker for reality tv dating shows.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I haven’t watched a reality show in years but the first season of Survivor the first season of The Mole, and the first 3 or 4 seasons of Deadliest Catch are the only times I’ve ever enjoyed a reality show.

I’ll occasionally watch Naked and Afraid or one of those “survive in the wild” type shows but I’m not sure they’d be considered “Reality Shows” and they’re mostly only good for background noise while I’m cleaning the house or something.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Used to watch Jersey Shore and Cops and old Blind Date if that is truly a reality show and I did get into Real World and Road Rules in early years, but Cops takes all 5 spots and I’m so sad it’s over...

1. Cops
2. Real World (early few years)
3. Jersey Shore
4. Road Rules (early years)
5. Blind Date (first run or whatever)

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Easily the worst television genre. The only one's I've loved:

Real World Seasons 1-4
An Idiot Abroad / The Moaning of Life
Dr. K Exotic Animal ER
Dr. T Lone Star Vet

Edit:
Forgot about Nathan for You and Magic for Humans if those are going to be considering reality shows. Both fantastic.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Real World (early seasons before Hawaii)
Rock of Love
Sorority Life (S1 & 2)
Hoarders
The Surreal Life

Obviously, my tastes tend toward classy, sophisticated fare.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Only one for me: VH1's Bands on the Run. Almost 20 years old now.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

In no particular order:

Amazing Race
The Profit
Ghost Hunters
Jersey Shore :lol:
The Mole

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

The first few seasons of The Amazing Race were probably the best of the bunch of reality shows but it’s frenetic pacing gave me so much anxiety I couldn’t even watch. :lol:

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Big Brother (as long as you include the live feeds)
Survivor
LivePD
The Challenge
Amazing Race
The Real World

Sorry, more than 5.

The Circle could make it there if it gets enough seasons in the future.
Also, Beauty and The Geek...ok, not really, but it was fun and people seem to have completely forgotten about it.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

60 Minutes

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I forgot to list it. I always enjoyed watching Beauty and The Geek and King of the Nerds.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

The first few seasons of Beauty and the Geek were fun to watch but by the later seasons the women who went on the show kind of manipulated the premise as its pretty easy to play dumb to try and win the money.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Top chef - still going strong
amazing race - still kicking
survivor - watched the first 20 season, then started again this last one with my daughters
Project runway - the tim and head version
American idol/voice - first few seasons of idol were great, voice has been a solid show the past 5+ years
trading spaces - fun show back in the day

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Bonus question - do you know anyone that has appeared on a reality show?

One of my relatives was on Fraternity Life (MTV) season 2, which took place at UC Santa Cruz. I don't think it did too well in the ratings and was pretty much buried. Now, it's even hard to find stuff on the internet about it.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Someone I know (although to be honest I'm much better friends with her sister) was on Top Chef

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Do cooking shows count?

1. Good Eats
2. the Guy Fieri show
3. MXC

The rest are not worth mentioning.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I'm a reality show sucker, but it has to be somewhat intelligent for me to stick with it.
Amazing Race is by far my favorite.
Survivor
Project runway - watched the first one by accident and stayed with it from then on
Joe Schmoe - I thought this was brilliant!
Big Brother - I know I said somewhat intelligent but this one is just damn fun and hate-able!

Honorable mentions: The "it" Factor (Jeremy Renner was in thesthe season), Tengo Talento Mucho Talento, Road Rules.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Reality shows are almost always better in season one when contestants haven't figured out what the producers are looking for and can't game their appearances.

I still have never seen anything like Paradise Hotel Season One. It transcended reality.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

forgot about this one! Yes, this was great. They should secretly bring it back.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

An intern at the tv station where I work was on Are You The One? I actually dated a woman that ended up being on Redneck Island on CMT.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Man I couldn't get enough of Blind Date/Elimidate/Room Raiders/couple others.

Challenge would have to be No. 1 for me. You knew all the contestants so there were usually no duds, awesome competitions, eye candy, drama. Perfect show.

I'd put Big Brother slightly ahead of Survivor because even bad seasons of Big Brother are still entertaining whereas Survivor has really dropped off.

Similarly Amazing Race was terrific in early seasons but recent seasons have been chores to finish. Early Project Runway and Top Chef felt really fresh. I guess the theme is most of these shows get stale.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Bar Rescue
Blind Date
Comic Book Men
Cops
Intervention

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

That show was mostly great because Matt Kennedy Gould was so awesome.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Not sure how much reality is actually in these but their the only reality shows ive ever watched
1) Viva La Bam
2) Wildboyz
3)Gene Simmons Family Jewels
4) Rob & Big
5) Jackass

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

The first 2 were terrific. Definitely on my list.

I don't consider Survivor and TAR as reality shows. They are game shows.

So besides Joe Schmoe 1 & 2, I'd add Beauty and the Geek and the 1st seasons of Paradise Hotel and Temptation Island.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I remember one contestant on Beauty and the Geek who didn't know how to wash his face. Also, he slept in his day clothes (like a suit), so he didn't have get dressed in the morning.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

When Blind Date was first on tv my local network would run Blind Date, Elimidate and The 5th Wheel from 10:30pm-Midnight every weekday. I'd watch those shows almost every night, they were so much fun and so dirty.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Glad to see The Mole love. I loved the shit out of that show.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I have the first season on DVD. I think I'm going to rewatch it.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Hmmm ...

Amazing Race
Blown Away
British Baking
Forged in Fire
Making It

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I know most people hated it but I liked the Osbournes in the early 2000's.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

They did that here too, would watch the entire block of shows. The girls were such cuties. Dudes were hilarious or hilariously inept.

Mole is a great call, but it was mainly that first season.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Even though I'm sure the guys had to be coached to be obnoxious to make it more "dramatic", sometimes you could see they were genuinely clueless in how to act on a date. I remember one where they went to a nice microbrewery, got some pints of good ale, and the guy proceeded to "chug" it, then encouraged his date to do the same.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

I might have put Survivor up there 10 years ago, but it has become a parody of itself. Every bit of tinkering they have done the past decade has made the show progressively worse.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Blind date got a revival on Bravo but I haven't found a way I could watch it without cable.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

Bravo's Blind Date really isn't anything like the original show.

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

In descending order :

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Re: Name Your Top Five Reality Shows of all Time
 

The Challenge
The Real World
Bands on the Run
Jersey Shore, first couple seasons only. None of the spin offs or reunion stuff.
Buckwild.