Reality or Just Cheap?

Years ago, we changed the channel rather than watch the contest/reality shows that were showing up on our television: Survivor and American Idol are the two that come to mind. I can remember being hunched over my desk at work, trying my hardest not to roll my eyes as co-workers jabbered about ‘Tony from Texas and his wonderful voice’ or ‘Can you believe how Anna betrayed her own team?’ While I thought it wonderful that some good voices got a chance to be discovered, I don’t enjoy listening to ‘judges’ being cruel to the contestants. Nor do I enjoy watching greedy people doing whatever they think will get them the prize.

Those shows were followed by others, so many I can’t hope to name them all. Over the years, it seems some television stations have gone ‘all reality, all the time’. We frequently find ourselves watching videos in the evenings, rather than actual television.

We’ve decided that ‘reality’ shows must be cheaper to produce than the shows that have a plot. Well, it stands to reason, right? They don’t have to pay a writer to come up with a script, they don’t need actors (although they may have a few judges to pay.) Heck, they may not even need a director, just some camera people to follow the contestants around, and someone to edit the vast amount of video to fit the time slot.

Sometimes I do watch a few of these later generation shows, if the premise is interesting and the judges critique rather than demean. But the few I might be willing to watch will never be as interesting to me as a good plot with interesting characters.