Posted on 09/02/2013 6:22:23 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
TV Reality shows have become incredibly popular the past few years. However, some Reality Shows are more real than others. Therefore, rate the TV Reality Shows in terms of how REAL they are.
At the bottom in terms of reality, I have to list "Amish Mafia." Even its name sounds unreal. And even more unreal than the sound of the show title is the show itself. Yeah, like Amish folks are going to pay protection money to Lebanon Levi. The show is soooo unreal as to make the viewer laugh which is why I watched it during the first season. But any relationship at all with reality is pretty much missing.
At the other end of the scale I would rate "Deadliest Catch" as the among the most real of the Reality Shows simply because you can't goof around too much on those boats catching crabs. Too dangerous. Of course, that doesn't mean it is completely real. Anytime you have a camera on people, that fact alone will make them act as a bit different.
My personal favorite TV Reality show is "Storage Wars" in part because I used to do that years ago for a time. Okay, perhaps the storage bins are seeded but I did once buy a bin for just 10 bucks and found a few hundred bucks worth of Black Hills gold jewelry in it. I also like "Storage Wars Texas" but "Storage Wars New York" is unbearable. Not only does the location seem wrong, I just don't like the characters. Is it still on the air?
Finally, some of the shows I have a hard time getting into. Like "Jungle Gold." I mean do you really want to travel all the way to Ghana to lose your shirt to chase dubious gold deals? I just don't get it.
Alaska: The Last Frontier is as realistic as they get. My girlfriend Is the aunt of and cousin to the people in it. Crew follows them around all day with cameras. Sure, there are occasional ‘do-overs”, but they are do-overs of something real just to better present it on TV. It is not scripted. It also makes me glad I don’t live in Alaska. Of course, THEY will have little problem if the predicted economic crash indeed comes.
The dumbest? Searching For Sasquatch. I think that is the name of the show.
Yeah, that’s the thing about gold mining in a foreign country. You can pour all your money and sweat into a project and if you are successful, the government can simply nationalize your find at the end.
Lest real: Duck Dynasty (totally contrived situations but fun as hell to watch)
I remember one special episode of “Deadliest Catch” where one of the cameramen got so horribly seasick that they had to medivac him out. What I don’t get is why he didn’t bring seasick pills along. I get horribly seasick too but whenever I go out on a boat I just take the pills and after that I am fine.
Duck Dynasty
River Monsters
Deadliest Catch
American Pickers
Pawn Stars
Storage Wars
Call of the Wildman
I liked Alaska Gold Rush, too (rooted for Palmer).
Most of the others, not so much.
I think “Cops” is also pretty realistic. The cops like to ham it up, but I belive the arrests are real.
None of them are real, all scripted.
The worst, for obvious scripting: Breaking Amish, Bridezillas, and Jerseylicious.
The best: Say Yes to the Dress.
Yes, this is the chick’s list.
In the the “Most Real but Most Unintentially Comical” Reality Shows I nominate “Whale Wars”
Anyone who truly believes “Cap’n” Paul Watson is a serious threat to japanese Whaling is an potential “seaman” aboard
the “Sea Sheppard” with the funniest sailing crew since “The Minnow” was manned by the Skipper and Gilligan....
Even "Deadliest Catch" is getting pretty contrived these days.
Bump “Top Shot”. Good straightforward competition.
Also props to “WWE Tough Enough”. Pro wrestling per se is stupid, but training to be one is impressive.
And because there's no cast to pay ...
My wife drags me thru most seasons of The Bachelor[ette]. For one, I took meticulous notes, giving it as much attention as possible. In the end, he picked the psycho-bitch ... and I realized the show was about the star picking someone, not the audience ... and indeed he wanted a psych-bitch.
The decline of Western Civilization on full display.
“Producers love them because”
...they’re damn near free to make, and sell insane levels of advertising.
Ya know, The Bachelor could schedule a date in space and still make a huge profit.
Very true...they just work for the fame.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.