Back to the orginal intent of this thread...

They are somewhat guilty pleasures, but I actually think reality shows are the most interesting ones on TV! People like David Kelley (who wrote Ally McBeal, Boston Public, LA Law, etc. if some of you don't know) bitch and complain about Reality TV, but in fact, he's one of the people responsible for the popularity of Reality TV. If anyone watched Ally McBeal during the first season, it was a phenomenal show. It started slipping Season #2, and completely "jumped the shark" in Season #3. The plot lines became ridiculous, and people just stopped watching it. So maybe if you had done a better job Kelley, people would have watched your shows, and not Reality TV!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand...

My 3 favorite reality shows are:

American Idol - Although I think it started to slip at the end of Season #3.

Survivor - Although the concept is starting to get a bit old. The problem is, they keep on having to reinvent the game to make it interesting. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't. But if you DON'T change the rules, the alliances make it become WAY too predictable.

The Apprentice - Season #1 was great...I look forward to seeing if it can keep the momentum going in Season #2!

I really like "Last Comic Standing" but I'd like to see more comedy and less interpersonal drama. But, given the nature of the show, that ain't gonna happen.

"The Amazing Race" is probably the most gripping hour of televison you'll watch each week. I'm consistently amazed at how the show puts me on the edge of my seat for the last 5 minutes.

Those two stand out. The rest is mostly not of interest, although "Survivor" has its moments. It's amazing how much it has brought into the cultural lexicon...the first season actually brought the term "Machiavellian" into common parlance for a few days!

The Amazing Race is probably my favorite!!!

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:I really like "Last Comic Standing" but I'd like to see more comedy and less interpersonal drama. But, given the nature of the show, that ain't gonna happen.

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But, it is going to happen! Last Comic Standing 3 premieres shortly after the finale of Season 2 will be a combination of Season 1 and 2. No more immunities, interpersonal drama, or any of the silly "reality show gimmicks". Its all stand up ALL THE TIME! Also, the viewer gets to vote each episode a la "American Idol". I really love the show and Im really excited about the changes!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: EccentricSam,

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Originally posted by Eccentro:
But, it is going to happen! Last Comic Standing 3 premieres shortly after the finale of Season 2 will be a combination of Season 1 and 2. No more immunities, interpersonal drama, or any of the silly "reality show gimmicks". Its all stand up ALL THE TIME! Also, the viewer gets to vote each episode a la "American Idol". I really love the show and Im really excited about the changes!

[URL=http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article4606.art&page=1 ]For a good article on the subject---Click Here---I apologize on the gratuitous use of popups on this link, but I suppose thats unavoidable.[/URL]

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That's really cool news, E! I'm a fan of stand up as an art form, and the show has potential, but turning into a Survivor clone is what makes it boring. I've liked some of the challenges they've done (the roast, the kid's show) but mostly it's just been back-biting, which is not stand-up.

If you're a stand-up fan, check out the new album by the brilliant (but terribly underused on "King of Queens") Patton Oswald..."Feelin' Kinda Patton"...

Hee! Funnily enough, there's a blurb in the new Entertainment Weekly where Patton Oswalt totally bags on Last Comic Standing. I mean he really hates it ... (especially the kid's show part). I haven't seen it, because I'm very picky about stand up comedy so I'm not interested in seeing it done badly. And the way he ripped on this show didn't much make me want to see it.

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Originally posted by KT:
Hee! Funnily enough, there's a blurb in the new Entertainment Weekly where Patton Oswalt totally bags on Last Comic Standing. I mean he really hates it ... (especially the kid's show part). I haven't seen it, because I'm very picky about stand up comedy so I'm not interested in seeing it done badly. And the way he ripped on this show didn't much make me want to see it.

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Heh, Id be interested in reading it. But, since, Im not buying an Entertainment Weekly anytime soon I suppose Ill just have to live without it.

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Originally posted by KT:
Hee! Funnily enough, there's a blurb in the new Entertainment Weekly where Patton Oswalt totally bags on Last Comic Standing. I mean he really hates it ... (especially the kid's show part). I haven't seen it, because I'm very picky about stand up comedy so I'm not interested in seeing it done badly. And the way he ripped on this show didn't much make me want to see it.

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Patton's a pretty strongly opinioned guy, and he likes to slag on the pop culture a fair bit, so I'm not surprised. There are some funny folks on the current edition of LCS (Kathleen Madigan, besides being a St Louisan, has always been a favorite of mine) but there's also an element of "watered-down-ness" to the show. But it's fun watching funny people have to think on their feet...it's why the old "Who's Line Is" shows were so good and why I like Colin Quinn's show on Comedy Central so much.

Patton's pretty edgy (his bit about sexual fetishists and piss-drinkers magazine comes to mind) but he's kinda the pot calling the kettle black, given that he's on a watered-down sitcom playing a boring part. I kinda like "King of Queens" but he doesn't do much there. But the guy's gotta pay rent, so I can't really fault him.

Patton was the MC and the comic relief, by the way, when Aimee Mann and Michael Penn went on tour together a few years back.

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Originally posted by KT:
Hee! Funnily enough, there's a blurb in the new Entertainment Weekly where Patton Oswalt totally bags on Last Comic Standing. I mean he really hates it ... (especially the kid's show part). I haven't seen it, because I'm very picky about stand up comedy so I'm not interested in seeing it done badly. And the way he ripped on this show didn't much make me want to see it.

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I picked up the latest EW and read the blurb about "Last Comic Standing". I thought, though he was right in certain cases, his arguments were pretty lame and not funny at all. He said that the kid's show was a bad idea because it didnt represent what good comedy is. I agree. It was fun to watch though. He said that the audience during the Head-to-Head was a bunch of drunk people with no tatse in comedy. Any more drunk than any audience at any comedy club??? Gulman won over Jay London because of his looks---eh, maybe. I thought Gary had a better set so I agreed with the audience. Maybe Im just as drunk and comedically challenged as the audience. Who knews? Sure, I disagreebecause Ima fan, but I was really expecting the article to be really funny and perceptive. It was neither of those things so Im not exactly going to rush out and buy Mr. Oswald's CD any time soon.

My Favorite Reality Shows are:

Survivor
Amazing Race
Rock Star: INXS
American Idol
Project Runway
Project Greenlight

My problem with Project Greenlight is that it was so clearly staged in it's entirety, like The Resturant and The Casino.

And they posed as if an actual contest really happened.

What does everyone think about 'Amazing Race Family Edition'?

I'm a bit skeptical because it seems it might get bogged down in having fourty different characters, and it seems to me that the families with children are at a natural disadvantage.

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Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
My problem with Project Greenlight is that it was so clearly staged in it's entirety, like The Resturant and The Casino.

I think PG is more about the filmmaking process than the contest. That's what interests me about it anyway.

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What does everyone think about 'Amazing Race Family Edition'?

I'm a bit skeptical because it seems it might get bogged down in having fourty different characters, and it seems to me that the families with children are at a natural disadvantage.

I guess we'll have to see. I'm a bit skeptical too. If the roadblock is something physical and some little kid has to compete against guys in their 20s, it does seem a bit unfair. Also, a four person team has a way different dynamic than a two person team. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it turns out.

Wait..are we talking about the Project Greenlight with Dennis Leary on comedy central, or some other show called Project Greenlight?

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Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
Wait..are we talking about the Project Greenlight with Dennis Leary on comedy central, or some other show called Project Greenlight?

Project Greenlight is on Bravo. Its the thing Ben Affleck and Matt Damon started where amateur filmmakers compete to get their movie made. The show chooses a writer and a director from their contest and the show follows them through the fimmaking process.

By the way, I liked the new Amazing Race family addition. The Paolo family sure is annoying though. They're from New York City and they couldn't find Soho? lol. I'm betting the Mom is gonna hit one of those kids any day now too.

Ahh. Nevermind then about Project Greenlight. The one that was on Comedy Central was lame. Don't know about the one on Bravo.

Yeah, I liked the new Amazing Race. But as always there's a few teams that are just annoying.

Like, the Linz family. It's clear that the three brothers don't give a flying f*** about what their sister has to say. And they're the kind of guys who wear their dicks on their sleeves.

The Amazing Race could have used a little more ethnic diversity amongst the teams. Having the only African-American family eliminated first, ironically named the Black family, was just sad. I don't know how many episodes of those screaming sisters I can handle either, Top Model is less abrasive on the ears!

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Originally posted by Smenkharon:
I don't know how many episodes of those screaming sisters I can handle either, Top Model is less abrasive on the ears!

Nothing is more abrasive than America's Top Model. Who knew Tyra Banks was the single most annoying person ever?

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Originally posted by Smenkharon:
The Amazing Race could have used a little more ethnic diversity amongst the teams. Having the only African-American family eliminated first, ironically named the Black family, was just sad. I don't know how many episodes of those screaming sisters I can handle either, Top Model is less abrasive on the ears!

Given that two out of the last three Amazing Races were won by the black team, I'm willing to cut them a little slack on that avenue. (Though I do think it's funny that the black family's last name was 'Black'. They should have been more careful about that.)

I don't think that family was going to get very far. The father had a sort of relaxed 'All that matters is you have fun' attitude. It's a wonderful attitude to have, and he's a really good father, but that attitude isn't condusive to winning. The other family with kids doesn't have that problem because their children are used to competing and understand what it means to be in a competetion.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:

I don't think that family was going to get very far. The father had a sort of relaxed 'All that matters is you have fun' attitude. It's a wonderful attitude to have, and he's a really good father, but that attitude isn't condusive to winning. The other family with kids doesn't have that problem because their children are used to competing and understand what it means to be in a competetion.

Yeah, there's always one team on the Amazing Race that's "just there for the adventure". These teams never get very far.

I have to give a shout to my current favourite tv show, The Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel! Not a reality show per se, but more of a documentary series, this show has stirred emotional responses from me that I've never experienced from any tv program in my life. Following the crab fishing season in Alaska's Bering Strait, the show jumps around from boat to boat and keeps tabs on the crab count for each boat. That is...if the boat survives the intense carnage of the Bering Sea! Highly recommended, nothing like it on tv ever before; this is hardcore, serious, real-life on the screen!

I think it's mondays at 10pm, as well as various other times.