Why do people think reality programming is bad?

[Tubehead]

i watch good bit of realtiy progaming my favorites are shark tank shipping wars Bater kings extrream coupoing auciton kings america pickers pawn stars storage wars under cover boss and toy hunter

[MacLeaper]

Most all of those shows have more of an element of a documentary to them- and that's fine for those who enjoy documentaries. Some people find them boring though, in regards to both subject matter and format. It depends on what it is though- I enjoy "Comic Book Men" on AMC every now and then, though in general I really hate "reality" TV shows. However, this show is more like a documentary of life at a comic book store- and since I enjoy comic books, it's a fun show for me to watch- particularly since guest stars like Stan Lee show up on there at times and it's basically like hanging out with the guys at the local comic book shop and talking comics and seeing what cool stuff comes through the door.
But a lot of reality TV show programming has been shows that are almost like a game show in nature to some degree (i.e. "Survivor", "The Amazing Race", "Fear Factor", etc.) and then some that are just social experiments ("Big Brother", "Temptation Island", "Who Wants to Marry A Millionaire?", "Forever Young", etc.)
I really don't care for the social experiment type shows, but I might give the game show type shows more of a pass- but I generally don't care for those either.
If I were to watch any reality shows at all, I'd rather watch shows that are interesting in subject matter and in the style of a documentary, such as the "Comic Book Men" show I mentioned and perhaps "Antiques Roadshow" if they have anything interesting on it. But of course, all of this is subjective to people's tastes and interests.
I also enjoy some comedic shows like "Candid Camera" and "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "America's Funniest People" and "Art Linkletter's People are Funny" and Bill Cosby's follow-up series- "Kids Say the Darnedest Things"- all of those could technically count as "reality shows" too. And so, for that matter, could "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"- which I do enjoy when they keep it clean. (Of course, as with all TV shows, this calls for careful editing.)
But for the most part, I don't like "reality shows" because for one, they're not always all that real to begin with and they also can get pretty foul in language and situations, etc. And I don't care for the format in general either. Most of the time, I'm in more of a mood for a scripted comedy or drama or sci-fi show or cartoon, etc.

[Regulus]

I Liked "Real People", "That's Incredible" & "Games People Play", these shows showed the offbeat side of life. These shows are long gone. The Modern shows just don't turn me on. They just aren't my cup of Tea. It seems like you've seen one of these shoes you've seen them all. This is why I'll take Scripted shows over 'Unscripted" shows every time.

Go over to the TV Series on DVD News and Discussion Thread. I posted every TV Show I have on DVD. There's a Handful of "Reality" shows on there, but the vast majority are scripted.

[clj2]

What I don't understand is why people complain about them so much. If you don't like them, you certainly aren't being made to watch them. There is tons of other stuff on.

[EmoJoe]

A lot of reality shows are cheap and not particularly well made, and because they're cheap, there's an abundance of them, so I can understand some of the frustration.

But there are good reality shows out there. And even if you're not a fan of the genre at all, like it's been said by others, there's plenty of shows out there that aren't reality shows. They're not nearly as abundant as they were 8-10 years ago (especially on network TV).

[dakert]

I enjoy Survivor and Big Brother but I consider them Game Shows rather than reality.

[bookandfilmnut]

Originally Posted by clj2

What I don't understand is why people complain about them so much. If you don't like them, you certainly aren't being made to watch them. There is tons of other stuff on.

I think the reason we complain about them is because in many cases they replace good programming. For example, The Channel Formerly About History used to have lots of informative and educational historical documentaries. Now it is nothing but 24 hours a day of ice road, or loggers or pawn stars, (or, as I generically refer to all these programs: "A****les Yelling at Each Other.")

In the case of The Channel Formerly About History, there turns out to be very little in the way of alternative programming on other stations to make up for what was lost in terms of the value and content of the no-longer available educational material.

Same thing happened to Discovery Channel and it's offshoot, the Science Channel. In both cases, they rarely show anything educational anymore, it's all some form a reality show.

So while you are correct that nobody is forcing me to watch A****les Yelling at Each Other, the fact that The Channel Formerly About History (and other stations) made this programming change is worthy of a lot of complaining.

I complain because I miss the good things that were lost when they changed content.

[icecream]

95% of all reality shows belong in the garbage. But there is the occasional gem. I've enjoyed Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?, Grease: You're the One that I Want (much better than American Idol and The Voice), Dogs in the City, and Guiness World Records Primetime. There may be a few others I've liked but don't remember at this time. One reason reality is so hated is all the air time it takes up. One reality show can air 3-4 hours a week, there used to be more variety with more scripted shows until reality came. Plus some reality shows get TWO seasons a year while scripted shows only have one 22 episode season, if even that much.

[yankeesrj12]

Originally Posted by catsrule

I've enjoyed Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?

I LOVED Beyond Belief, but I don't know if I'd consider it reality.

[James28]

There are good reality shows, and there are bad reality shows. You can hardly find a "good" reality show on TV in any network/channel; Some "bad" reality shows are those that are overrated and should be boycotted, like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo, etc. Those who primarily watch only scripted programming are the ones making the complaints.

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by Regulus

I Liked "Real People", "That's Incredible" & "Games People Play", these shows showed the offbeat side of life. These shows are long gone. The Modern shows just don't turn me on. They just aren't my cup of Tea. It seems like you've seen one of these shoes you've seen them all. This is why I'll take Scripted shows over 'Unscripted" shows every time.

Go over to the TV Series on DVD News and Discussion Thread. I posted every TV Show I have on DVD. There's a Handful of "Reality" shows on there, but the vast majority are scripted.

real people was a fun show i watched that quite a bit as a kid altought i think i watched alot more bacause of the shows that came on after it on nbc

[jimpickens]

Scripted TV is no better as far as tackiness and tastelessness goes hell I'd rather watch Swamp People, Duck Dynasty, and American Hoggers any day over what passes as quality TV on the big three and FOX.

[Neutronman67]

Because watching a bunch of celebrity rich people act crazy on a reality show can bore not only human beings but animals as well, nick at nite and and TV land started to turn into a reality channel back in 2004 or 2005 lol

[UMFaninMD]

The dating and competition shows are tedious and I can do without those. Plus, stations that don't even need reality programming have given into the craze: The Weather Channel, The Science Channel, The History Channel and A&E. Not every channel needs reality programming.

I like the crime reality shows, such as The First 48, where they follow two crimes in two cities. Say Yes to the Dress isn't bad either, and America's Funniest Home Videos is entertaining too. But if The Bachelor/Bachelorette, American Idol, DWTS, all those Real Housewives, and any show where a bunch of jerks like to scream at each other or act like pathetic fools trying to land a spouse shows ended today I wouldn't be sad. There's nothing interesting there and it's actually boring. Hell, the reality shows of the past, like The Gong Show, Candid Camera and TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes could teach today's a thing or two about how to be entertaining.

[Tubehead]

thats ok i don't like dateing show watced onecalled dateing in the dark whata horribale show my cousion she like The Bachelor i seem to can't seem to get into Celebrity Apprentice i don't like biggest loser and sourivior my dad watched it when it first started it was good. only part of biggest lose is that they set food out in front of them then they make them want to eat at then they can't thats like Torture i don't like dancing with the stars my mom liked it