Tag: reality tv
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The Truman Show: Prescient and Hopeful
When The Truman Show came out in 1998, “reality TV” as we know it today was just barely a thing. MTV had aired the first season of The Real World in 1992, the original Dutch version of Big Brother hit the airwaves in 1997. The “king” of all reality shows, Survivor, wouldn’t air until two years later, in 2000. In…
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Dating in the Dark a Bright Spot Among Reality Shows
Have you ever fallen for someone without even knowing what they look like? Maybe it was on the phone or, more likely these days, over the Internet. Even then, imagine not seeing a picture of them at all until just before it’s time to make the decision to date them in the real world or…
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SciFi’s New Reality
Over the last two nights, The SciFi Channel has debuted two new reality shows. Why The Science Fiction Channel feels the need to fill its schedule with the same reality show tripe (and professional wrestling) that other networks do, I don’t know. (Well, other than greed.) But they continue to insist on producing these shows.…
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Celebrity Circus
Tonight, NBC premiers it’s new “reality” show, Celebrity Circus. I, of course, won’t be watching it. (I’ll be watching a much more worthwhile “reality” show, Ghosthunters.) Here’s the thing about what I’ve seen of this show just from the previews–I’ve already seen a better version of this a decade or three ago. It was called…
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Beauty and the Geek: Gone Too Far
Since it first aired, I’ve been a fan of Beauty and the Geek. I thought the concept was fantastic and the execution infinitely better than most “reality” shows. The contestants grew and learned. The show wasn’t as much about competition as it was about becoming a better person–the prize money was just an extra added…
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New Season: CBS’s Kid Nation
Even before it hit the air, Kid Nation gained the title of most controversial new show. For those who’ve missed the promo stuff for this new reality show, they’ve taken 40 kids from all different age and social groups and sent them to a pioneer-era ghost town. They have supplies, an appointed council and a…
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Beauty and the Geek – Season 4
The new season of Beauty and the Geek has hit the CW. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is one of the few reality shows that I actually think is worth watching. It’s one of the few that doesn’t encourage every-man-for-himself backstabbing. The show is actually about personal development and learning about others. You…
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Shows for the season, new and not-so-new
Entourage So I’ve “discovered” this new show on HBO called Entourage. OK, so I’m a season and a half late getting on the bandwagon with this one–I was without my own TV when it premiered last year. The show follows the struggle of a new actor and his friends trying ot make it big in…
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‘Brat Camp’–School of Hard Knocks
Last night, while I was watching the wrap up of Beauty and the Geek (on the WB) and the latest episode of The Inside (on Fox), I recorded the new reality show Brat Camp on ABC. I just watched it today after work. Now, let me start by pointing out that Brat Camp isn’t one…