[discostu]

Almost, I believe it will last because the plots are vastly different than anything you could do in "straight" TV, and nobody really cares about "the con". It was revealed a long time ago that most of the participants are struggling actors and that the producers generally have more control over the situation than is revealed in the show, no con. It's jsut part of the genre, pick a reality show (one that I watch at least) and I can tell you about some tweaking that's done off camera. We're seeing that Joe Millionaire was all about the dirty little secrets. Junkyard Wars admitted long ago that they seed the junkyard (they also de-seed so the contestants will have to fabricate or juryrig something) and that they play a little loose with the 10 hours. It's been very well documented that Trading Spaces has helpers never on camera. The last 5 minutes of Monster Garage is always staged (and kind of hokey, I wish they'd drop it, it's cool to see the thing in action but the "competition" is stupid). Nobody cares, the shows succeed because no matter how you slice it they're less scripted than normal TV which makes them more interesting and more capable of suprising the audience.

[ewing]

But there was some evidence in the 'Survivor' lawsuits that the producers were actually deciding who would move forward in the game..

[FreeTally]

Junkyard Wars admitted long ago that they seed the junkyard (they also de-seed so the contestants will have to fabricate or juryrig something) and that they play a little loose with the 10 hours. It's been very well documented that Trading Spaces has helpers never on camera. The last 5 minutes of Monster Garage is always staged (and kind of hokey, I wish they'd drop it, it's cool to see the thing in action but the "competition" is stupid).

Man, you just broke my heart and crushed my hopes and dreams. Life will never be the same again.

[El Sordo]

Next you'll be telling us that Iron Chef's is fixed too.

[Wright is right!]

"It's been very well documented that Trading Spaces has helpers never on camera."

In fact, it's well-documented IN THE CREDITS at the end of the show. The assistants are LISTED BY NAME. Trading Spaces never claimed that ONLY the couples did all the work, and from the scope of some of the work required on some shows (huge areas painted with multiple coats) it's more than obvious that we don't just have a guy and a gal and a couple of paint brushes.

The editors only show the couples and the nominal participants (Paige, the designers, and whomever the carpenters des jours happen to be) because those people make interesting TV. The off-screen helpers (who mostly assist with "homework") are there to make the show look good.

"While You Were Out" could USE some more assistants, because a few times they've come up short on man-hours and some projects have gone unfinished. Both shows are cool entertainment, though, and you can easily pick up some great deco tips.

Michael