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Thread: Un-reality TV shows

  1. #16
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    There is a big difference between documentary type reality shows and the reality shows which are completely made up for TV like The Apprentice. A hobby group I am a member of didn't renew their agreement with Discovery for a yearly TV special because the show quit showing the real hobby and just made the show into idiots doing stupid stuff with the hobby. The hobby group had a lot of complaints from members about how it portrayed the hobby so the group didn't renew the contract.

    Duck Dynasty was supposedly a documentary type reality show, but the producers admitted the show was basically scripted and had nothing to do with reality. The producers gave the cast a story idea for each episode that had nothing to do with running the business.
    Last edited by Brian Elfert; 01-18-2021 at 12:02 PM.

  2. #17
    An Acquaintance and his friend started a business that got a huge following. I couldn't understand it, neither had the education or experience to be the specialists everyone thought they were. I thought they were only slightly entertaining. Out one day, the guy says hi to me and my wife and my wife turns out to be big fan. I get a ration of crap on the way home for not mentioning that I know them. Some producer gets a hold of the guy and puts together a pilot and some strange channel/network gives them a huge advance, which the acquaintance promptly spends on fancy vehicles and equipment to make himself look better. He stiffed his partners. they get mad and drop out. The acquaintance's criminal acts catch up with him, as does the IRS. The whole thing went to crap in a heartbeat. I feel bad for the one partner who invested big time into their venture. The second partner, a spurned mistress made sure the acquaintance's wife had all the goods for the divorce proceedings. The fellow burned so many bridges the only thing he had left for himself was scorched earth. What actually happened in the "rest of the story" would have made a better show than the reality show that was planned.
    Last edited by Perry Hilbert Jr; 01-18-2021 at 12:18 PM.

  3. #18
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    Wrestling is also a scripted tv show. Jessie Ventura made it to governor of Minnesota, Weightlifter and body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of california. The actor Ronald Regan was governor and US president.
    Bill D.

    The movie "Total Recall" has no relation to running for office.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 01-18-2021 at 4:15 PM. Reason: removed political comment

  4. #19
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    I miss the good old days when HGTV was about knowledgable people sharing useful information, not a bunch of house-flipping real estate porn.

  5. #20
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    I find it puzzling that my post which simply said I thought the Apprentice was a game show not a reality show was deleted? What part of the TOS does that even come close to violating?

  6. #21
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    I'll rate reality TV from "most real" to "hard to believe it's reality"
    1- Alone "most real"
    2- The Last Frontier- partly real, but I still like it.
    3-
    Undercover Billionaire- hard to believe, but it's entertaining
    4- ALL TV news channels lately- "hard to believe it's reality"
    "Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
    - Henry Ford

  7. #22
    Next you guys are gonna say The Bachelor isn’t real!
    Last edited by Ron Citerone; 01-18-2021 at 5:40 PM.

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Stan Calow View Post
    I miss the good old days when HGTV was about knowledgable people sharing useful information, not a bunch of house-flipping real estate porn.
    The same thing happened with the Food Network. Now it’s unwatchable. I miss David Rosengarten. Thoughts of a more civilized time.

    With the current straight-up reality shows, I can’t help but wondering, do these people notice the presence of a camera crew? :^) That should tell you all you need to know.
    Last edited by Doug Dawson; 01-19-2021 at 6:14 AM.

  9. #24
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    Reading these comments is much like watching reality TV. Lots of opinions with the cameras rolling. I wonder how much is almost trolling with the cynicism running rampant? Ok, I will admit I am stoking the embers just a bit...in the end it is all entertainment even the Creek. If you don't care for it, just change the channel or go back to reading Shakespeare.
    NOW you tell me...

  10. #25
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    Yeah but, Shakesphere said all the worlds a stage. So he foresaw reality TV with cameras everywhere.
    Bill D

  11. #26
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    I don't think the people in those types of shows on the History channel, or Discovery channel, or whatever they are, get paid much. I was contacted by the Producer of a few of those shows, like Mountain Man (or something like that), to host a series they had an idea for. It was to be filmed halfway across the country. I wasn't really interested, but played along until it came to the point that how much they would pay came up. They talked like it was really great that they could offer me 40,000 for a five month filming session. I wished them luck, and tried to hold my laughter until I hung up.

    edited to add: TV has been a good help through all the staying at home. We've watched GOT all the way through for the second time (the second time everything makes a lot more sense), enjoyed the whole Outlander series, Mandalorian (nothing like as good as those first two, but still not a bad pastime), and last night News of the World, which was very well done. I can't watch those "reality" shows.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 01-19-2021 at 2:30 PM.

  12. #27
    An guy I have me a few times and lives a few miles away was on Forged in Fire. I know that guy is a heck of a blacksmith. As for a blade smith, maybe not so much. The show is sort of a cross between reality and game show. Unlike some of the stupidity on tv, the show depends on the skill and efficiency of the participants. I do wish they would highlight the making of more useful items, compared to some obscure cutting blade known only to the hill tribes of borneo.

  13. #28
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    A few years ago we stayed at a B&B in Costa Rica. They told us the story of how they were on House Hunters International. When they were approached to be on the show they had been in their house for 2 years. It was all staged, they even moved most of their furniture into the garage for the filming. Yeah, a reality show.

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Perry Hilbert Jr View Post
    An guy I have me a few times and lives a few miles away was on Forged in Fire. I know that guy is a heck of a blacksmith. As for a blade smith, maybe not so much. The show is sort of a cross between reality and game show. Unlike some of the stupidity on tv, the show depends on the skill and efficiency of the participants. I do wish they would highlight the making of more useful items, compared to some obscure cutting blade known only to the hill tribes of borneo.
    Forged in Fire seems to have a lot of reality to it. I wish they would go back to giving the blacksmiths a piece of steel instead of making them use scrap iron, old cars and such.

    I suspect part of the reason for the unusual knives they make for the finale is they don't want to repeat the same knives over and over again. The show has done several hundred episodes already.

  15. #30
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    Another show filmed in Alaska, Life Below Zero, seems pretty realistic, no fancy machinery here (except for Sue the cigar chomping sole proprietor of the airstrip/hunting camp in Kavik 500 miles from the nearest city), and the local store for most is not around the corner. One thing those shows have in common that you need to put in the back of your mind is that there is a cameraman present most of the time, some occasionally self-film. Some shows acknowledge their presence, others never. Other ones I follow are Gold Rush, Building Alaska, Deadliest Catch. I enjoy the Weather Channel's Highway from Hell filmed in B.C. And a father-son Ontario cabin building YouTube channel called The Outsider https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChe...ucEHUS6g2LVFGA
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 01-20-2021 at 8:56 AM.
    NOW you tell me...

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