Reality TV facing its own reality: a ratings slump

LA Times ^ | December 28, 2014 | Scott Collins

[Zakeet]

Just a few years ago, underemployed TV writers were complaining that reality programming was taking over their industry.

Now the scribes are having their revenge: Unscripted programming is mired in an unexpected slump.

Onetime smashes such as "Survivor" and "Dancing With the Stars" are drooping with age. Coca-Cola recently wrapped up its 13-year sponsorship of "American Idol" after Fox's singing hit plummeted in the ratings last season. NBC's own singing show, "The Voice," saw its season finale drop nearly 10% this month.

And what's worse, no new hits are taking their place.

[Zakeet]

Out of respect and admiration to the nitworks, here are some ideas for some can't-miss hits:

1. Hidden Love ... the story of Reggie and Barry and a secluded beach
   
2. Moose and Squirrel ... Lynn Swan and Valerie Jarrett hit it off
   
3. Cooking with Moo-chelle ... tasty treats to make every child puke
   
4. The stretch with Nasty Pelosi ... how many lifts and botox injections can the old bag take
   
5. Ripping with Reid ... how to make millions on a government salary even while tithing to the Mormon Church
   
6. Dumb as a stump ... is Joe Biden still alive ... how can we tell?
   
7. Newser loosers ... how much of a laughing stock can the make of themselves as their viewers and subscribers continue to plunge
   
8. Rino rollover ... Munch McClowncar and Boo-Hoo Boner continue to do their thing
   
9. Hillary's etiquette ... the World's Smartest Woman shows the way on charm and grace
   
10. Up and down with Bubba ... day in the life of the former president
    
11. Master-baiting with the Jerks ... Rev. Al and Rev. Jesse stir the masses and make a mess

... and this in only a couple of minutes. Bet you bad old Freepers can add a bunch more.

[cripplecreek]

[Ken H]

Don’t blame me. I never watched them to begin with.

[VanDeKoik]

It’s a Christmas miracle that those things are on the way out. Trash TV for trailer parks and the ghetto.

[SaraJohnson]

Maybe the fad of attention whoredom is over. Hopefully Rap “music” follows the downward trend.

[dfwgator]

Good!

[Gaffer]

From my perspective, I think this writer thing is concocted. There is no way I can’t believe the actions and encounters on these programs are not scripted in some manner.

I avoid these shows like the plague.

[catnipman]

“Hopefully Rap “music” follows the downward trend”

Don’t hold your breath: as long as there are talentless “musicians”, we’ll always have rap, and I’m not foreseeing a major shortage of talentless “musicians” any time soon.

[Fresh Wind]

Junk food for the mind.

[HonkyTonkMan]

The producers rode that horse into the ground. Bad writing, bad acting = lower payroll/production costs.

Reality TV shows are about as authentic as CNN's Charles Jaco covering the Gulf War in 1990.

[Slyfox]

What can possibly explain the fascination with the Kardashians?

[dfwgator]

The problem is “rap” has crept into more mainstream music. Nothing worse than hearing a decent song only to have some stupid rap in the middle of it.

[dfwgator]

Rap is cheap to produce, throwaway flavor-of-the-month “artists” the record companies don’t have to pay much for.

[RegulatorCountry]

In the early seasons of American Idol, winning or even making the finals meant something, winners went on to a recording contract leading to actual hit songs and some past AI contestants are household names today. Now, it’s “who?” even for the winners. The novelty has worn off, the show and all it’s imitators seem contrived. It probably always was contrived.

As far as the reality shows, they always did annoy me and I never understood the fascination. That sentiment spread as the genre proliferated. Now it’s ho-hum, just another collection of edited outtakes, of photogenic dimwits doing stuff that producers calculate to be interesting to the public.

[GreenHornet]

What can possibly explain the fascination with the Kardashians?

The Kardashians are the present day version of the Gabor sisters. They're famous, but nobody really knows why.

[Rockpile]

Great list. 🎅........but take that second o out of "loosers".

[DanZ]

“Out of respect and admiration to the nitworks, here are some ideas for some can’t-miss hits:”

LOL - you made my day. Thanks, very funny

[Norm Lenhart]

Reggie did indeed get the short end of that deal.

[bleach]

You mean you don’t like “Hick Hop” country music? /s

[cripplecreek]

The Gabor sisters actually did some acting. Granted they acted pretty much as themselves but they made it work.