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must be completed. However, they're all individually competing instead of splitting up into teams first and slowly break down into individuals. While Real World and Road Rules focused on the middle school, high school, and college groups, both Survivor and Big Brother was geared to a diverse age range.

But Reality TV wouldn't have been commonplace today if it wasn't for this writers' strike that took place around 2000-2001. Writers went on strike for higher wages. Instead of giving into the demands of the writers, the network executives decided to make more Reality TV shows.

At a cost standpoint:

- Hardly any writing had to be done.
- They don't have to pay actors.
- Network stations could outsource to outside firms for whatever thing they needed.
- It was all natural drama. Producers hired psychologists to do profiling on the contestants.
- Huge gamble banking on the success of Survivor and Big Brother

From 2001 until now, there's been an ever increasing number of Reality TV shows. Other networks such as ABC, NBC, and FOX quickly followed suit. And then the networks accessible only through either cable or satellite started to follow suit. Most of the Reality TV shows on the air are pure garbage which a few decent shows. There's enough themes, plots, and twists to attract viewers. I myself have been disgusted with some of the shows but couldn't help myself but to watch. I was drawn to them. The network producers have enough psychologists to consult to create shows to attract a wide variety of viewers.

Competing networks started copying off each other. Most of the decent reality shows are pretty difficult to find. A few decent ones in my opinion were:

- Combat Missions which appealed to current and retired military, police, and Federal personel.
- Blow Out which focused around celebrity stylist Jonathan Antin and his hair salon known as "Jonathan's."
- Who Wants to be a Superhero which is produced by Stan Lee. That in my honest opinion is one of the best reality TV shows today. Winner gets their own comic book series.
- Top Chef which focuses around chefs who want to win their own restaurant and kitchen.
- Hell's Kitchen similar to Top Chef but with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.
- The Ultimate Fighter.

Mainly we still like to watch Reality TV is because for some reason we enjoy seeing the worse in people. There's a saying that "to err is human." It seems that those people on those reality shows are the most human of us all. This goes especially with reality shows with huge

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