Reality TV Ruined TV! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Rebafanhere · 04-10-2008, 04:05 AM

I heard on TV that 50 percent of Television now is all reality! I do love American Idol only reality I watch. There are hardly any new sitcoms on now its almost all reality! I cant stand the fact a high rated show like Reba was canceled for the likes of Americas top model? It just seems like to me tv is in no way as good as it was in the 80s or early 90s. Does anyone agree?

tv star collector · 04-10-2008, 07:45 AM

I grew up way back in the late fifties and early sixties. We only had three
networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) and yet had more choices than we have today:
westerns, variety shows, sitcoms, adventure shows, cartoons, game shows
.. and, yes, we had "reality" shows then (they just weren't called that). But
what else would you call TED MACK'S AMATEUR HOUR, YOU ASKED FOR IT, and THIS IS YOUR LIFE? And the nature program WILD KINGDOM was arguably the best "reality" show of the sixties.

To be honest, more than half the time nowadays I watch videos or DVDs.
There's a handful of scripted shows that I watch on a regular basis (no
reality shows). Unfortunately (for writers, actors and viewers), the "reality
show" trend shows no signs of going away. Just the opposite. They are
becoming more prevalent than ever.

catlover79 · 04-10-2008, 09:55 AM

I hate reality TV with a passion. Thank goodness that a lot of good sitcoms/dramas are available on DVD. I watch those instead. Except for the news and Jay Leno, I rarely watch broadcast TV anymore.

BarneyFife · 04-10-2008, 10:01 AM

A friend and I were talking about this a few days ago. With all the Reality Shows out these days, you don't see many sitcoms anymore. I like some of the Reality shows, but alot of them are just unwatchable.

PlayOn · 04-10-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I hate reality TV with a passion. Thank goodness that a lot of good sitcoms/dramas are available on DVD. I watch those instead. Except for the news and Jay Leno, I rarely watch broadcast TV anymore.

same here, Monika. i'm not sure, but it seemed that after the first 'survivor' every network tried to copy it. same as dancing with the stars. that was supposed to be a speacial. the ratings were so big they turned it into a tv show and the other networks tried to copy it.
when marie osment passed out on dancing with the stars, they showed that over and over on Fox News, the E! Channel and every other network that wasn't Nick or Disney. i'm glad she's alright, but who cares?
BRING BACK THE COMEDY!!

waichingliu81 · 04-10-2008, 11:29 AM

reality tv is overrated as hell and i'm sick of it. thank goodness we have the choice NOT to watch any of it. if anything, it is partly because of reality tv that there aren't as many sitcoms being produced nowadays. it has killed the production of almost all scripted tv- although i don't care much for dramas anyway. as the only tv shows i prefer are cartoons and sitcoms

chris31989 · 04-10-2008, 01:20 PM

Not only do I dislike reality TV, but there are hundreds of channels available on cable and about 5 (not even) re-run older sitcoms and programs. On my DISH Network, I go through about 200 channels and I can't find anything interesting at all.

ABC1 · 04-10-2008, 07:43 PM

With the exception of American Idol, I don't watch much, if any, reality TV.
I don't watch any of TV Land's new "reality" programming. I'd rather watch my DVD's.

Ireneparalegal · 04-10-2008, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tv star collector

I grew up way back in the late fifties and early sixties. We only had three
networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) and yet had more choices than we have today:
westerns, variety shows, sitcoms, adventure shows, cartoons, game shows
.. and, yes, we had "reality" shows then (they just weren't called that). But
what else would you call TED MACK'S AMATEUR HOUR, YOU ASKED FOR IT, and THIS IS YOUR LIFE? And the nature program WILD KINGDOM was arguably the best "reality" show of the sixties.

To be honest, more than half the time nowadays I watch videos or DVDs.
There's a handful of scripted shows that I watch on a regular basis (no
reality shows). Unfortunately (for writers, actors and viewers), the "reality
show" trend shows no signs of going away. Just the opposite. They are
becoming more prevalent than ever.

That's what I have been posting on other threads. We only had three networks, one public station (PBS) three local channels and one spanish channel. Oh, and one channel that aired snow.

And yet we had so much to look forward to on television. Daytime was all abt game shows, soap operas, syndicated sitcoms or dramas, no back-to-back airings of shows either, no reality tv existed. In the afternoon it was all abt cartoons and more syndicated tv shows. We had kid shows, shows geared towards adults, etc. The memories...

megamanj2004 · 04-11-2008, 03:58 AM

Darn shame how many great shows are getting the shaft treatment thanks to the way TV execs shove all these junky reality garbage hooplas in our faces by running promos for them over and over and over again.

And that is part of why we have the annoying split-screen, credit crunches on TV these days, just for those promos for those garbage reality shows.

NBC was to blame for starting the whole wave of credit-crunched and generically, compressed split-screen credits.

CBS is to blame for nearly ruining the great GS comeback that ABC started back up in 1999-2000 w/ Millionaire by getting frickin' "Survivor" and then having all these other networks and cable networks following the trend.

FOX is to blame for axing some of the much better shows for more smut shows like "Moment of Truth" and "American Idol."

That's why I barely have time to even watch much TV these days since it's now a total wasteland w/ the junky reality shows from VH1, a.k.a. Viacom Hooplas 1, credit crunched, speed-ups, countless annoying promos, 5 minute commercials, etc.

About the only time (besides GS's and certain other shows and the news) I even watch is to watch a few sports every now and then.

comedyfreak · 04-11-2008, 07:32 AM

The only reality TV shows I like are Dancing With The Stars, Survivor, and Celebrity Apprentice. I do think there are way too many reality shows on the networks.

Elizabeth Eden · 04-13-2008, 01:53 AM

I completely agree with that; TV is not what it used to be. The best days are over. I think it's a shame the sitcom has died, but there's no beating the classics, and as long as I can still watch re run after re run of those, I'm happy. I would say I hate reality tv but at the same time I'm guilty of watching American Idol, Top Model, and some of the celebrity garbage like My Fair Brady, and Girls Of the Playboy Mansion. What's with the celebrity reality shows? It seems everyone jumps on this bandwagon, as if they aren't in our face enough!

wkomorow · 04-13-2008, 11:23 AM

I think there are two issues. I firmly believe that the billion dollar sports contract that networks pay to carry the Olympics and major league and college sports is siphoning money away from producing good quality programming. It costs money to produce a good quality series.

Second, I think that sitcoms just are not as popular today than they were a number of years ago. This is because American interests change and TV reflects those interests. Some will argue that TV shapes those interests, but I believe it to be the other way around. It seems to me that during times of stress, Americans seem to favor sitcoms. It is also true that the popularity of genre shift. Reality TV dominates, but a few years ago it was game shows. Before that adult oriented cartoons; before that crime dramas, etc.

It also true that not all reality TV is crap, though a lot of it is. Dancing with the Stars was very good entertainment (though it is now getting a bit stale). I enjoyed Celebrity Duos. When the Real World first debuted, it was innovative TV. BBC America established itself with Ground Force (loved that show) and Changing Rooms. Charlie Demerick became somewhat of a phenomenon in America.

Mr. Television · 04-13-2008, 11:37 AM

I wouldn't mind reality tv as much if the networks would just put on a wide variety of shows. As tv star collector said we used to have only 3 networks and I never felt one genre was dominating over another. Yes sitcoms were very popular but if you look at what else was on, dramas, westerns, variety shows and the like were all represented. I used to love Real People and That's Incredible. They tried to copy them too but nothing like it is today. Today they just throw anything out there and it doesn't matter if it's good or not. If it fails they'll throw something else out there at us.

waichingliu81 · 04-13-2008, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wkomorow

....Second, I think that sitcoms just are not as popular today than they were a number of years ago. This is because American interests change and TV reflects those interests. Some will argue that TV shapes those interests, but I believe it to be the other way around. It seems to me that during times of stress, Americans seem to favor sitcoms. It is also true that the popularity of genre shift. Reality TV dominates, but a few years ago it was game shows. Before that adult oriented cartoons; before that crime dramas, etc.
.

its not just because people's viewing habits have changed, but the tv industry seems to have given up on scripted tv shows such as sitcoms, because a) reality shows are cheap to produce, b) the wages these people earn are much less than those of the actors playing characters on tv- hell most don't even get paid to go on reality tv shows and c) they give the impression that anyone can do anything to be on tv and to get their record contract or whatever, in the short space of say 3 months, as opposed to 3, 4 years or more of actual experience.

the state of tv before reality TV arrived was fine and now, it has gone downhill. rarely do i watch a current tv show- ugly betty being the main programme i tune into.

for me i avoid reality, not just because it is cheap but it is also sooo damn boring to sit through

04-10-2008, 04:05 AM	#1
Rebafanhere Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 10, 2008 Location: California Posts: 12	Reality TV Ruined TV! I heard on TV that 50 percent of Television now is all reality! I do love American Idol only reality I watch. There are hardly any new sitcoms on now its almost all reality! I cant stand the fact a high rated show like Reba was canceled for the likes of Americas top model? It just seems like to me tv is in no way as good as it was in the 80s or early 90s. Does anyone agree?

04-10-2008, 09:55 AM	#3
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,396	I hate reality TV with a passion. Thank goodness that a lot of good sitcoms/dramas are available on DVD. I watch those instead. Except for the news and Jay Leno, I rarely watch broadcast TV anymore.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

04-10-2008, 10:01 AM	#4
BarneyFife Retired Forum Fanatic Join Date: Mar 02, 2008 Posts: 8,460	A friend and I were talking about this a few days ago. With all the Reality Shows out these days, you don't see many sitcoms anymore. I like some of the Reality shows, but alot of them are just unwatchable.
	__________________ BarneyFife has left the building.

04-11-2008, 03:58 AM	#10
megamanj2004 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 21, 2004 Posts: 2,361	Darn shame how many great shows are getting the shaft treatment thanks to the way TV execs shove all these junky reality garbage hooplas in our faces by running promos for them over and over and over again. And that is part of why we have the annoying split-screen, credit crunches on TV these days, just for those promos for those garbage reality shows. NBC was to blame for starting the whole wave of credit-crunched and generically, compressed split-screen credits. CBS is to blame for nearly ruining the great GS comeback that ABC started back up in 1999-2000 w/ Millionaire by getting frickin' "Survivor" and then having all these other networks and cable networks following the trend. FOX is to blame for axing some of the much better shows for more smut shows like "Moment of Truth" and "American Idol." That's why I barely have time to even watch much TV these days since it's now a total wasteland w/ the junky reality shows from VH1, a.k.a. Viacom Hooplas 1, credit crunched, speed-ups, countless annoying promos, 5 minute commercials, etc. About the only time (besides GS's and certain other shows and the news) I even watch is to watch a few sports every now and then.
	__________________ 10 AND A HALF YEARS GOING STRONG!!!

04-11-2008, 07:32 AM	#11
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Star Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,061	The only reality TV shows I like are Dancing With The Stars, Survivor, and Celebrity Apprentice. I do think there are way too many reality shows on the networks.
	__________________ www.facebook.com/comedyfreak

04-10-2008, 07:45 AM	#2
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,487	I grew up way back in the late fifties and early sixties. We only had three networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) and yet had more choices than we have today: westerns, variety shows, sitcoms, adventure shows, cartoons, game shows .. and, yes, we had "reality" shows then (they just weren't called that). But what else would you call TED MACK'S AMATEUR HOUR, YOU ASKED FOR IT, and THIS IS YOUR LIFE? And the nature program WILD KINGDOM was arguably the best "reality" show of the sixties. To be honest, more than half the time nowadays I watch videos or DVDs. There's a handful of scripted shows that I watch on a regular basis (no reality shows). Unfortunately (for writers, actors and viewers), the "reality show" trend shows no signs of going away. Just the opposite. They are becoming more prevalent than ever.

04-10-2008, 11:29 AM	#6
waichingliu81 debbie allen Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 28, 2006 Location: london, england, UK Posts: 4,347	reality tv is overrated as hell and i'm sick of it. thank goodness we have the choice NOT to watch any of it. if anything, it is partly because of reality tv that there aren't as many sitcoms being produced nowadays. it has killed the production of almost all scripted tv- although i don't care much for dramas anyway. as the only tv shows i prefer are cartoons and sitcoms

04-10-2008, 01:20 PM	#7
chris31989 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 12, 2007 Location: Newington, CT Posts: 96	Not only do I dislike reality TV, but there are hundreds of channels available on cable and about 5 (not even) re-run older sitcoms and programs. On my DISH Network, I go through about 200 channels and I can't find anything interesting at all.

04-10-2008, 07:43 PM	#8
ABC1 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 04, 2001 Location: Champaign, Illinois Posts: 279	With the exception of American Idol, I don't watch much, if any, reality TV. I don't watch any of TV Land's new "reality" programming. I'd rather watch my DVD's.

04-13-2008, 01:53 AM	#12
Elizabeth Eden Living in the wrong era Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 12, 2008 Posts: 88	I completely agree with that; TV is not what it used to be. The best days are over. I think it's a shame the sitcom has died, but there's no beating the classics, and as long as I can still watch re run after re run of those, I'm happy. I would say I hate reality tv but at the same time I'm guilty of watching American Idol, Top Model, and some of the celebrity garbage like My Fair Brady, and Girls Of the Playboy Mansion. What's with the celebrity reality shows? It seems everyone jumps on this bandwagon, as if they aren't in our face enough!
	__________________ Make tea, not war.

04-13-2008, 11:23 AM	#13
wkomorow Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 24, 2005 Posts: 227	I think there are two issues. I firmly believe that the billion dollar sports contract that networks pay to carry the Olympics and major league and college sports is siphoning money away from producing good quality programming. It costs money to produce a good quality series. Second, I think that sitcoms just are not as popular today than they were a number of years ago. This is because American interests change and TV reflects those interests. Some will argue that TV shapes those interests, but I believe it to be the other way around. It seems to me that during times of stress, Americans seem to favor sitcoms. It is also true that the popularity of genre shift. Reality TV dominates, but a few years ago it was game shows. Before that adult oriented cartoons; before that crime dramas, etc. It also true that not all reality TV is crap, though a lot of it is. Dancing with the Stars was very good entertainment (though it is now getting a bit stale). I enjoyed Celebrity Duos. When the Real World first debuted, it was innovative TV. BBC America established itself with Ground Force (loved that show) and Changing Rooms. Charlie Demerick became somewhat of a phenomenon in America.

04-13-2008, 11:37 AM	#14
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,136	I wouldn't mind reality tv as much if the networks would just put on a wide variety of shows. As tv star collector said we used to have only 3 networks and I never felt one genre was dominating over another. Yes sitcoms were very popular but if you look at what else was on, dramas, westerns, variety shows and the like were all represented. I used to love Real People and That's Incredible. They tried to copy them too but nothing like it is today. Today they just throw anything out there and it doesn't matter if it's good or not. If it fails they'll throw something else out there at us.
	__________________ Sonny