On my way home, I was reading a piece in the paper about the on-going writer's strike and likelihood of increased reality tv shows in the next few months. It got me thinking and I felt it was time to weigh in on reality tv, a genre that is too often ragged-on and quickly dismissed.
First, I have to admit I'm a quasi-closeted reality tv viewer. Just like my religious beliefs (or lack of), I don't lie about where I stand, but don't readily reveal them either within certain circles. I have quite a few friends who not only look down on reality shows but television altogether. They rail on the boob tube and see reality tv as the epitomy of the junk shown. I was brought up with limited tv viewing, the majority of which was composed of PBS shows. But some Saturday mornings, all I wanted to watch was Saved by the Bell. All grown up, PBS is still my favorite station(s). They provide some of the best documentaries (latest recommendation is Who Killed the Electric Car) and entertainment (gotta love BBC). And if I look back, some of my favorite reality tv show's are from PBS - the whole House series from Colonial House to Frontier House to 1900 House are wonderful escapes into living in a different time and place.
Now understand, like anything else, there is a spectrum within the reality tv genre. There are the good and the bad and the mediocre. If you look at the mother of all reality shows (some would argue Survivor, but that was really just a spin off with money), the Real World has the fundamental element that attracts people to reality shows - the simple sanctioned voyerism. Who doesn't enjoy the cafe seating outside that allows people watching? You get to see all walks of life and that's what reality tv has provided over the past decade - variations on this theme, from the safety of your living room.
You have your professional series. Who hasn't thought about being a model or a chef or a fashion designer? I could do that. Even intriguing professions like designers and venture capitliasts got Martha and Donald to join the game for awhile.
You have the celeb series. This feeds into our endless love/fascination with the celebrities (or quasi-celebs). We've had them live together, dance, and even play detective - figuring out who the mole was in their group.
Then you have the elmination series - there can be only one. What that one is up to the show - the fastest, smartest, prettiest, geekiest, skinnest. Sometimes decided by judges, sometimes by your fellow contestents.
Or in contrast, you have shows, where the only premise is to all get along. The idea is through adversity and turmoil you learn from each other, grow and become enlightened - well at least that's the theory. Here we've seen it happen to people from different parts of the country switching mates to pre-pubescent kids rebuilding a town.
And let's not foget about Cops, which stands on it's own. There is no assembly cast, it's not needed as the show boils the characters down into two categories: the good guy and the bad guy. Or rather, the cop and the person disturbing the peace. It's a good stand-by, you always know what you're getting with Cops and it's real!
But getting back to the original point - not all reality tv is bad. So the question is, what makes for a good reality tv show? Just like any show, from Seinfield to Masterpiece Theater, there are two elements that must be provided with quality and balance: character devleopment and an intriguing plot. The downfalls in some of today's shows are that not enough time is provided for the backstory of the characters. We're not vested in them, don't relate with them because we don't know them - they're just portrayed as stereotypes. And unfortunately, the casting department will over do it - trying to cast the next Puck for turmoil, or casting the stereotypes. And unfortunately, once the execs feel they have a proven formula, they run it over and over, but missing the key elements of the original success - the unique situation and cast.
For some, tv is a great escape. Reailty tv provides that escape, allowing you to wonder how you would have done, living in a house and doing nothing all summer, strolling down the beach with a naked guy forming alliances, meeting the test of love versus money when faced with a pseudo millionaire bachelor, telling the difference between queer and straight folk, or living with Quaker kids. Reality tv gets stranger and stranger, and there is a lot of crap out there, but there are some gems out there too. My point being don't make a broad statement that all reality tv is bad until you give it a fair shot. In today's age, you sure have a lot to choose from and it looks like more is on the way.
