Reality TV Shows

Friday, May 23, 2008......

In my search of the job boards, I easily become distracted by headlines on the various homepages I view and now have the time to fully explore them (who states being unemployed doesn't have its benefits). Recently, I discovered the following site http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/ and am not sure if I should admit this to others or keep the fact that I really like what I've discovered to myself. Obviously, I have chosen to share my discovery with others and here's why:

1. I discovered from recent conversations with two of my friends that I'm not up on my reality tv lingo. While I spend numerous hours watching L&O (Law & Order for people who have lived in a cave the past 20 years or don't have NBC, Bravo, TNT or TBS), there are shows such as Celebrity Rap Superstar or Breaking Bonaduce (although, I will admit I've heard of this show, but have yet to see).

2. There appears to be 426 reality tv shows that have existed and am wondering why there isn't a show like Project Greenlight where they show the process from start to finish of how a tv studio selects a new reality series.

3. I know that there are several hundred channels, but really, when do they air and who has time to watch them all?

Personally, I enjoy Top Chef, Workout, The Biggest Loser, Project Runaway, Housewives of Orange County and NYC (thanks to my sister). I also enjoy Deadliest Catch and Dirty Jobs (but I think that is solely based upon the host) and, of course, Man vs Wild. I want to note that I hated when the scandal on Bear came out and that my sister had to point it out to me (every possible chance she could). I romanticized the fact that someone could be dropped off on top of a mountain, wrangle wild horses with a lasso made out of vine and build a makeshift boat out of inferior quality wood. Never mind what he eats or drinks. I think Man vs Wild is my take of the fairy tales read to you as a child. Although the disclaimer at the beginning of the show doesn't take away from the show, it somehow has managed to ruin the magic for me.

What I wish I saw and missed were shows like the Monastery, 5 men in a midlife crisis stay with 30 monks for 40 days, but didn't.

As I was going through the list of shows, I have to admit, I have watched several dozen of these shows at one time or another or have heard of them. The beauty of a reality show is that they last for 5 to 6 weeks and the season is over. In some cases, you can catch up in one day of the season if your show was on Bravo or stop watching them and come back to them years later (for me it is The Bachelor this past January).

Although I make fun of the amount of reality tv shows there are, I do appreciate them and look forward to new ones. I plan on watching Denise Richards, It's Complicated which starts on Memorial Day on the E Channel.

j