Reality Shows

I have to admit, I'm a reality show junkie. Give me a night of The Amazing Race, Big Brother, Survivor (though it depends on who is on the cast -- I see Johnny Fairplay is on the new show coming up next month, and I'm still debating whether I'll watch it or not. "Crude" is not my thing.), The Apprentice, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, or America's Next Top Model (there's just something about being able to watch beautiful, skinny girls get the heave-ho because they're not pretty enough! LOL). I also enjoy the Gordon Ramsey shows, especially Hell's Kitchen, and shows on HGTV and the Food Network to find their next show host. Project Runway is another favorite of mine. And, being life-long NASCAR fans, DH and I love the "day in the life of..." type shows involving NASCAR drivers. I was thinking about reality shows this morning and wondered when the first reality show broadcast. With a little Google research, I found it was apparently a 1950's show The American Family. I would love to see a rebroadcast of that one! Watching life in the 1950's now would be like watching an alien life form's reality show. I'd love to sit with a 15 or 16 year old and watch that show now! No computers?! No cell phones? Every teenager doesn't receive a car for their 16th birthday? Chores? Moms who don't work? Home-cooked meals around a dinner table every night? No credit cards?!? Oh...my...gawd! If I could watch just one reality show, it would definitely be The Amazing Race. With the exception of a few, the contestants on the race are "real people" who race around the world. The show gives the viewers a wonderful opportunity to view other cultures, to watch people deal with travel difficulties and to view a world through different eyes. The contestants don't seem to be taunted into negative situtations as they are in some shows, and conflict resolution is a recurring theme. If we still had kids at home, this would be a show I'd love to have us watch as a family. There are reality shows I don't watch or have watched and don't continue to watch. Crowned comes to mind right away, as does Dancing with the Stars and too many to list from MTV and VH1. Don't give me stupidity or shows so full of bleeps (or worse, not bleeped when they should be). I'm not going to watch sexcipades or temptation shows. I'm not going to watch characters who are just plain rude or mean (which means I'm debating about whether I'm going to watch the next Survivor show, since Johnny Fairplay will be returning). Instead, I want to watch the Rupert's or the James', who you know are just plain good people in real life. Would I be on a reality show? Not on your life. Although Jeff and I would be great on The Amazing Race! LOL Would my life make for an interesting reality show. Not even a little bit. Well, maybe when Brayden Lee is here for the day, but other than that, it would make for a pretty boring show. But reality shows, for me, are a place to connect, watch, and learn about others in unusual situations, and I thoroughly enjoy them!