Sit Down, Relax, and Enjoy Reality TV

As one television season winds down this week, the summer season will be starting soon and with it another round of reality shows. But you don’t need to view reality TV as the demise of quality entertainment.

The eulogy for reality television has been written for years. Every new television season brings with it critics who insist that reality programs are on the decline. One look at last week’s ratings indicates that six of the top 10 programs on broadcast television are reality shows. Other than “American Idol,” scripted shows tend to receive all the publicity even though their ratings would dictate otherwise.

Personally, I love reality television. After a full day of traffic, work, chores around the house, and other headaches of daily life, I do not necessarily need a lesson or an education once I finally plop on the couch and turn on the tube. I want to simply be entertained.

However, reality programs can be educational as well as entertaining, which is a bonus. Sometimes I enjoy a biography or documentary on a musician, actor, or industry leader. Other times, I want to see what product Donald Trump is pimping on “The Apprentice.”

Right after first son was born and my wife and I were hit with our own reality of the reponsibilities of a new baby coupled with no sleep, it was reality programs that allowed us to shut our brains off and still have a laugh among the exhaustion. We still recall being dead-tired watching "Rock of Love: Charm School."

I also enjoy good, scripted TV. “Modern Family” is very funny and the various incarnations of “CSI” provide entertainment while also showing some very intriguing scientific crime-solving techniques police use. However, all too often I feel disappointed with scripted programs. I invested six years into “Lost” only to be cheated by the finale. I felt that I had wasted my time when the show could not or would not answer any of the mysteries it introduced during the series run. Other finales like “Seinfeld” and “The Sopranos” also left me shrugging my shoulders.

Reality programs reinvent themselves every year with a new cast of stars and villains. No show is better at showing reality consistency like “Survivor.” This show that bore the reality competition genre has been on for 11 years and 22 seasons and is still in the top 20 broadcast programs. Yet, critical darling and multiple-award winner “30 Rock” languishes around 60^th place in the ratings. 

One show that has always been at the top of the ratings is “American Idol.” The singing competition is the most watched show on TV again this year with an injection of new life from judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. “Dancing with the Stars” is second in the ratings only to “Idol” proving reality programming is still a winner with American viewers.

 With one-to-two hour commutes, long work hours, family commitments, and running errands, low-brow reality shows like “Big Brother” and “Jersey Shore” allow the viewer to keep one eye on the TV while paying bills, ironing, and performing other household tasks. Full attention is not needed when contestants are wallowing in a pool of caramel in their bikinis for a pass to see a movie (Big Brother). Whereas determining the origin of the Dharma Project and why polar bears live in a well (Lost) takes some concentration.

Some reality shows are intelligent, thought-producing, and heart-felt. “Shark Tank” is a simple broadcast of entrepreneurs asking millionaires to invest in their ideas for an equity stake in their company. These are real industry leaders investing their own money into real companies. The real negotiations and marketing discussions are right out of business school. Cooking shows such as “Top Chef” show the rest of us the artistic side of cooking and preparing a meal. Then you have a show like “Intervention” which painfully and brutally broadcasts someone with an addiction and how they and their families deal with this problem. In then end, the family has an actual intervention with the person and they are offered the chance to go to rehab. The stories do not always have a happy ending, but real life does not always either.

There is a plethora of reality shows running the gamut from inane to heartbreaking giving every viewer something from the television menu to choose from. Real life can often be difficult and hard, but watching real life as it is portrayed on TV can be entertaining and fun.