Has the trend toward Reality TV improved the quality of television shows?

No

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by Ruth Woodhouse

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My answer to this question would have to be a resounding NO! The majority of the shows that are referred to as "Reality Television" are about as far removed from reality as the east is from the west. Shows such as "Big Brother" and "Survivor" are just sensationalism as far as I'm concerned - and I feel sure there are a significant number of other people who would feel the same way. Why anybody would want to go on a program like "Big Brother" and have a film camera on them every minute of every day for several weeks, while trying to live with a group of people they don't know in close quarters is totally beyond me. Such exhibitionist behaviour could not be more opposite to my nature.

I have never had any desire at all to watch this show. Just hearing about it all the time in the media is bad enough. I can't understand the people who find anything attractive about it to ogle at for a large portion of an evening either. I can only say they must not have much of value to do with their time.

Not long ago there was great outrage over the way certain members of the household had been behaving on the Australian series and there was a call for the show to be banned. Of course that didn't happen, but the issue served to reinforce my evaluation of the show as trash. Why would most people want to watch sordid behaviour like that? Or why would those involved be so unguarded as to behave badly when they know full well that the cameras are filming everything they do, for goodness sake!

Then there's the stories you hear of the way they are treated by the producers of the program. Leo Sayer apparently left the British version of the show because, amongst other things, they wouldn't allow him to have any clean underwear for the duration of the series. I mean, just how demoralising is that!

Then there was the recent news item about one of the women on the Australian series whose father had died but the producers didn't even let her know. That is just unethical to my way of thinking.

I've never watched "Survivor" either - but again the publicity it receives is bad enough and puts me off any thought of watching it. These programs are all so totally contrived and lacking in dignity. As for the whole concept of the participants voting each other off - why don't they just give them each a knife and have a game to see who can stab someone else in the back first?

There are, of course, other shows that I've seen snippets of which belong in this category too. The one where two couples who live totally different lives swap spouses, families and lifestyle for a fortnight is particularly pathetic. Why would anybody want to have millions goggling at the way they live their life? Why would a woman want to go and live with somebody else's husband and family and live the way she does when it's poles apart from the way she lives her life? Especially when she knows the family are going to hate her and all her faults are going to be on display to the world. It can only be downright humiliating and soul-destroying surely.

In the first week they have to live exactly as the other woman and her family lives. But then the second week they get to turn things around and force the family to live their way. The other day I caught the first few minutes of one of these shows when I'd finished watching another program. One of the women had over 20 pets and was very easy-going - to the point of not caring about her house being dirty and untidy. But she looked like a nice and decent person and she and her family were happy living life their way. The other woman was a control-freak, house-proud in the extreme and didn't like animals. So the second week of living in the other woman's home she got rid of all but three of the pets! I was absolutely appalled at her doing such a thing. The husband was very upset as he loved the animals too - and when the other woman found out she was understandably beside herself. She told the woman who'd got rid of her pets that she'd never hated anybody but she hated her. I have to say that getting rid of somebody's beloved pets really was over-stepping her rights by a very long way. I just can't comprehend why anybody would want to take part in a show like that.

Then there are the shows where people with extreme weight problems are totally humiliated and spoken to like they are about ten rungs below human status. There was one show in particular that used to absolutely disgust me because of the way the weight-loss expert always berated these people. Just because they have a lot of flab on their bodies doesn't mean they should have to put up with being treated like some kind of human garbage. To me, it made the woman herself look contemptible, rather than those who were seeking help. I couldn't help but wonder what her own disgusting weaknesses were - because I'm sure she'd have something she wouldn't want the whole world to know about!

The only show I have found to be worth watching which falls into the category of "reality television" is a series that's on at present in Australia called "The Lost Tribes". When I first saw the publicity about it I thought it was going to be just another show like "Survivor". But really it's very different. The three families involved applied to go on an adventure trip - all of them having exotic holiday locations in mind. They had no idea at all what they were letting themselves in for.

Each family were sent to live with a remote and primitive tribe for two weeks. What a culture shock! One family went to Indonesia, another to live with a Zulu tribe in South Africa, and the third to Namibia. This has been very real TV - starkly so. Obviously it's been a life-changing experience for the families involved - and very enlightening for we who have watched their incredible experiences. While they have been filmed at very low points, they have not had the public ogling at every intimate detail of their day-to-day behaviour. I feel that, on the whole, they have done themselves and their country proud in spite of some intense rebellion at times. I expect most who have watched the series would be filled with admiration for them having coped as well as they have in such extreme conditions that they were totally unprepared for.

There is no reason why reality television has to be so shallow, degrading and crass as it is on the whole. Yes, we are all fascinated with the lives of real people, so there must be an extensive amount of scope for high-quality programs to be produced which give us insight into real people's experiences. However, shows like "Big Brother", "Survivor" and so many others have virtually nothing whatsoever to do with reality and/or are, in my opinion, totally devoid of appropriate quality, dignity and value. What I'd really like to see is some reality TV that's inspiring, motivational, funny, entertaining, heart-warming and promotes wholesome family values.

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