Can Reality TV really get any worse? [Archive]

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buckshot1220

01-28-12, 21:58

I'm sure it can, but with the influx of sub-par programming it seems like we have hit rock bottom.

I had CMT on earlier listening and half paying attention to the music videos. The show that followed was some new show called Bayou Billionaires. It's basically a husband and wife that struck it rich (I think oil was found on their land) and now basically support a clan of rednecks that leech off of them for small business ventures and such.

In this wonderful episode one of them is going to start a commercial fishing business with two jet skis and cast nets most would use to catch bait with, not dinner:rolleyes:

How far can this possibly go? It has been over a decade since Survivor premiered. I'm willing to admit there are some shows worth watching, but the majority are honestly degrading and bring us down as a culture. Not to mention half of it is so poorly staged you'd have to be in second grade to believe its reality.

ETA:It was natural gas not oil.

ChicagoTex

01-29-12, 23:48

Unfortunately, reality TV's drastically reduced overhead vs scripted television means that a much lower standard of ratings/viewership can yield similar profits. Couple that with the fact that there are apparently a few million people in America who will literally watch ANYTHING, and you've got yourself a formula for endless painfully stupid reality television, at least until someone in hollywood can figure out an even cheaper way to make TV shows that at least a few million will watch.

ETA: It just hit me, something like America's Funniest Home Videos is probably even cheaper.

Evil Colt 6920

01-30-12, 00:23

No doubt they can get much worse. A lot of new shows are based right here in Louisiana. I already hear enough of the "do you have a pet gator" crap as it is. Some people think Louisiana is nothing but a swamp filled with gators:rolleyes: While I am proud of where I am from, these shows find the extreme weirdos and paint a picture for the rest of america to think we're all this deranged. :no:

SteyrAUG

01-30-12, 00:32

They are here to stay because there are enough morons to make them profitable. There are very few "new shows" that I will watch.

variablebinary

01-30-12, 00:42

Voyeurism is high, production costs are low.

Great combo for a TV exec.

The_War_Wagon

01-30-12, 05:07

I've watched ONE reality show EVER - "COPS." Been watching it since about 1990. I can deduce from the relentless commericals for the others, that they suck much ass.

skullworks

01-30-12, 06:31

There are only two reality shows that I've followed; Combat Missions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Missions) (where the late Scott Helvenston had a prominent role) and Top Shot (http://www.history.com/shows/top-shot). Both shows suffer(ed) from the usual back stabbing etc, and competitors trying to psych each other out off the court rather than beating them on it (Jake Zweig in season 3 of Top Shot was probably the most annoying competitor thus far with his "PsyOps" antics).

Scoby

01-30-12, 07:58

If it originates from Hollywood, CA.....I'm certain it can.

Sry0fcr

01-30-12, 08:36

I cut the cord on cable TV a long time ago. Netflix + Hulu Plus + Blockbuster means if I'm watching something, it's been vetted and I actually want to see it.

CarlosDJackal

01-30-12, 16:21

- Sons of Guns
- American Guns
- The Real Housewives of Orange County/New York/Mobsters/etc.
- Jersey Shore
- The Bachelor
- The Bachelorette
- Lizard Lick Towing
- South Beach Tow
- Operation Repo
- Pawn Stars
- Hardcore Pawn
- Storage Wars
- American Pickers
- Storage Hunters
- Dance Moms
- Toddlers and Tiaras
- Keeping up with the Kardashians (and multiple spin offs)
- Tiny and Toya
and other junk.

This list should tell you that there are going to worse ones coming soon. I freaking hate most of the reality shows!!

BrianS

01-30-12, 17:39

ETA: It just hit me, something like America's Funniest Home Videos is probably even cheaper.

As soon as the OP asked how much dumber it could get I thought of the show "Ow my balls" from the movie Idiocracy.

It's all downhill from here.

:D

GermanSynergy

02-01-12, 13:57

Bread & Circuses for the masses. Don't worry what your government is doing, just zonk out, tune in to some mindless drivel and vote (D).

Moose-Knuckle

02-01-12, 19:26

"Bread and circuses"

Jellybean

02-01-12, 23:35

"Bread and circuses"

... that is all the people desire.
Give us something to twitter, blog, or blab about and we're all happy as clams.

That being said, Operation Repo is a true reality (my ass) tv classic- to many laughs to shake a stick at.

arizonaranchman

02-02-12, 18:40

I'm proud to say I've never watched any of these idiotic Reality TV shows. I've never once seen American Idol, Survivor, etc. I mostly watch the news or history channel or one of my old favorite TV shows from years ago. Almost every modern show anymore is intolerable. Sometimes I wonder why I even have a TV subscription.

arizonaranchman

02-02-12, 18:43

Bread & Circuses for the masses. Don't worry what your government is doing, just zonk out, tune in to some mindless drivel and vote (D).

Exactly, we're being quietly enslaved under a high-tech, big government tyranny as the populace drools on themselves watching this crap, sports included. The majority of the people have absolutely no clue what's happening to them.

rojocorsa

02-03-12, 02:22

Panem et Circenes is right.

I grew up in a house without cable, and now that I live in one with cable, I don't honestly give a shit. I'm out of touch with sports and popular culture, and I'd like it that way.

That bullshit does degrade us as a culture. I'm surprised at the kind of shit people will watch.

Regarding some of the sentiments expressed in this thread, I want to share what one of my contacts posted on Facebook the day of the "PIPA and SOPA Boycott."

You didn't care when the government decided it could spy on you without a warrant. You didn't care when they started telling you what you could eat. You didn't care when your kids' education was turned into indoctrination. You didn't care when they were more worried about military veterans than Islamic terrorists. You didn't care when they spent so much money that our entire economic system may collapse. You didn't care when they gave billions of your money to unions and corporations that were their political contributors. You didn't care when inert cosmetic features on guns were felonies. You didn't care when they made it a ****ing crime to not have government approved health insurance.

All of these things were done in your name. On your behalf. To help you, protect you, take care of you. Each time you gave them more power and gave away more of your freedom. Each time you believed them when they said they were protecting you, or helping the less fortunate, or sticking it to "the rich" who "aren't paying their fair share".

Each time you applauded their efforts. Mocked those that were concerned. Called them uncaring or racist or alarmist or stupid. Each time you asked for more. You begged them to take care of you, protect you, right wrongs, enforce equality.

But now that your Internet porn and bit torrents are threatened, NOW you care?

It's too late for all that, kids. Turning off Wikipedia for a couple days isn't going to win back the freedoms we've pissed away. It isn't going to undo decades of expanding government power. They've already decided there's nothing they can't do, no law they can't pass.

We watched it happen. We let it happen. We have the country we deserve.

So go ahead, post a rant about SOPA on your blog. Link to Ron Paul's web page. Pretend you're doing something. It'll make you feel better. Then you will go back to business as usual and so will they.

Democracy in action. Isn't it beautiful?

skullworks

02-03-12, 07:14

"Democracy in action."
Or democracy inaction, as it were. ;)

Moose-Knuckle

02-03-12, 15:59