Why You Should Boycott Reality TV

[2xx1xy1JD]

I get a kick out of locally-produced reality TV here, just because I sometimes recognize people I know and I can find out what really happened.

The worst was a "Rich Bride, Poor Bride" episode where they referred to the bride's father as Cheap Larry. We know the family, the episode was really embarrassing, and the couple got almost nothing in exchange for being on the show. They also did a lot of selective editing - dad actually paid a bundle for the wedding and really couldn't be considered cheap at all.

I've been to several of the Restaurant Makeover restaurants - some of which closed down shortly after the episode made it seem like things had turned around and business was booming.

You Gotta Eat Here did get one of my favorite restaurants right - a laffa sandwich at Dr. Laffa really is an obscene amount of food for one person in one meal, but if you drop dead from a heart attack, at least you'll die happy. (season 2, episode 3)

[GeoBQn]

We had a restaurant makeover type show film at a restaurant here. The filming happened in August, the restaurant closed in October, and the episode aired in February.

[DGayle]

We had a restaurant makeover type show film at a restaurant here. The filming happened in August, the restaurant closed in October, and the episode aired in February.

The people who think these shows are put on the air right after filming should pay attention to the part right before the credits where they sometimes say things like, "X Restaurant did well for 4 months before Amy reverted back to chewing heads off, and closed down a month later." That kind of sort of means the show was filmed several months before, unless Chef Robert can see the future.

[louisa05]

Extreme Home Makeover did an episode in my parents' city once. It cost the city a lot of money to provide security and other services, which is apparently a standard part of how the show operates. Volunteers do a huge portion of the work off camera, and many of the families are unable to keep their homes when it is all done. The last thing I heard about the family in their city was when they opened the house for expensive tours to try to raise money for taxes.

[Maggie Mae]

Ugh Reality TV.

There is a new show on TLC called "Escaping Alaska" and a lot of people are really concerned about the portrayal of Alaska Natives.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/2 ... ality-show

I don't have cable tv, so I won't be watching. But the trailer is weird as hell.

I probably though reality tv was more real than it is, until I was hit in the face with how terrible the shows that take place in Alaska are. The general portrayal is that Alaska is this crazy backward place where we all ride snowmobiles and dogsleds to work, and it snows all the time, and it's always -50 below. That everyone has a bush plane and lives in remote locations. Even Survivorman - I recently watched a few episodes and realized that he was no where near as remote as it appeared.

There was the house hunting shows, where people have the houses picked out and purchased before. The Extreme Makeover shows & Biggest Loser. Of course you aren't going to keep the weight off if you don't change your habits!

Mostly I dislike reality tv because it's cheap entertainment. Cheap to produce, doesn't take much effort to watch, and it's exploiting people. It's another way for people with more money than I'll ever have to make more money off of people who are willing to give up privacy and (in some cases) their personality for a few years of fame and some money (which won't be anywhere near what they should be paid)

[2xx1xy1JD]

The people who think these shows are put on the air right after filming should pay attention to the part right before the credits where they sometimes say things like, "X Restaurant did well for 4 months before Amy reverted back to chewing heads off, and closed down a month later." That kind of sort of means the show was filmed several months before, unless Chef Robert can see the future.

The problem was that Restaurant Makeover was notorious for end blurbs which raved that business was booming, when in fact the business was closing. In all the time that I watched, I never saw a negative blurb, so they give this impression that a quick and cheap, 1 week makeover will magically cure all problems. In reality, the failure rate was pretty dismal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_Makeover

[2xx1xy1JD]

I also know someone who was in A Baby Story. It's totally produced according to a formula, the voice-over is obviously editorialized and designed to create some false drama, but it was probably one of the more realistic reality shows out there because yes, these people really were having babies.

[GeoBQn]

Some salient posts from that fountain of knowledge, Cracked:

"5 Things I Learned as a Child Reality Star" (from someone who was on the one-season show Kid Nation)

http://www.cracked.com/article_21440_5- ... -star.html

"5 Depressing Realities Behind Popular Reality TV Shows"

http://www.cracked.com/article_20299_5- ... shows.html

[Toothfairy]

Reality tv isn't reality.

[Justme]

We vacationed in Tahiti (Moorea, Bora Bora, and main island of Tahiti). I got an email from a business that we used.

Something like "guess what, we're going to be on House Hunters International. Here is a link to the 3 houses they used. Watch us in a couple of weeks." Sure enough, I watched the show, and 3 of their rental vacation homes were shown to a couple moving back home from LA. HH showed the happy couple a month later in their newly purchased home. :lol:

[GolightlyGrrl]

Working behind the scenes at a reality TV show isn't exactly glamorous.

http://gawker.com/a-twisted-industry-re ... 1601137605

Hmm, you don't say...

[Running1985]

The comments from people who believe these show are fact and know everything because they watched it happen drive me crazy. For instance people who say "the gosselin kids are sooooooo happy they said so themselves" for all we know it took 10 takes to get those happy faces.

Anyone watch dance moms? There is a YouTube video where Kelly lost it about how scripted the show is.