Reality TV is a genre of
television which focuses on the experiences of comparatively untrained performers in theoretically extraordinary situations. This separates the genre from shows like
Saturday Night Live or
Whose Line Is It Anyway? which feature trained performers working on loose scripts or improvisational situations before a live audience. In most cases the results of reality programming are a hyper modernization of the
game show format made popular near the dawn of the television age.
Reality television has had moderate to high success in Europe, Asia and Australia. However, it was not until cable television became popular in America that the genre began to achieve what historically may be seen as either a growth spurt or a brief flash as from a shooting star plummeting to Earth. It is actually something that has been with America for some time, but in comparatively smaller and less questionable or challenging dosages than what kicked in around the turn of the 21st century.
Perhaps one of the first true reality television programs was Candid Camera, made famous by Allen Funt. Using hidden cameras in public areas, pranks would be pulled on unsuspecting passersby, to the amusement of the audience. Even this early on, the famous Mel Brooks definition of what is funny came into play: "Tragedy is I stub my toe: comedy is you fall in a manhole and die." The more tragic and cringe-causing the predicament of the unsuspecting dupe, the funnier the moment for the viewer. In the 1970s there were some shows which tried to mix what would later be known as Reality TV into a news magazine format. Shows like Real People and That's Incredible were short-lived, but also harbingers of things to come. The problem for network executives was the level of control. They knew audiences wanted to see real people in incredible circumstances, but didn't know how to do this in a controlled environment. Concerns for everything from keeping the entertainment value high to keeping lawyers from breathing down their necks were involved. Then many technologies from computers to the size and portability of video cameras to safety equiptment began beefing up in the late 1990s, and after some trial runs in cable, network television took off with a series of experimental programs. This trend was also intensified by the threats of many Hollywood oriented guilds going on strike. Networks needed dependable programming that was NOT dependent on people wielding SAG cards, or trendy and tempermental script writers.
However, all this puts into question for many, the level of quality for this genre of television. Is this art? Certainly not from a conservative standpoint. However, it is entertainment. Andy Warhol once said, "someday everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." P. T. Barnum once said, "There's a sucker born every minute," and reality television gives every sucker his fifteen minutes of fame.
Here's a list of some reality-based television shows, including a sampling of what some would consider modern game shows, but they feature reality-based qualities, intended to take advantage of the genre audience.
The Amazing Race
An American Family
America's Funniest Home Videos
American High
Bands on the Run
Big Brother, the TV show - which is actually featured in many countries.
Blind Date the TV show
Boot Camp
Candid Camera
Chains of Love
C.O.P.S.
Destination Mir
Fear Factor
Lost
Making the Band
The Mole
Real People
The Real World
Road Rules
Spy TV
Survivor at Pulau Tiga Island
Survivor 2 The Outback
Survivor: Africa
Temptation Island
That's Incredible
The Weakest Link
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?