The new CBS show "Undercover Boss"

I work in reality TV. God help me.

The new trend is that contestants are PAYING to be on the reality shows. No joke. All the fat shows, many of the dating shows, contestants pay 10k to be on, with AFTRA residuals likely making up for it within the first year, if the show isn't canceled early.

Many of the contestants are actors, performers and models with side jobs. For example, many of the chef contestants on various cooking competition reality shows come from ye olde audition poole for regualar food network series!

Also, most mind blowingly, reality show contestants are interviewed one on one, throughout filming, and they're filmed by people they think are simply production lackeys, but really they're filmed by story producers on the show, who in turn tell the judges or hosts whether or not to get rid of the contestant. Get it? I'm a producer, say, and I interview the contestants, I write the story outline for the next episode based on what the contestants say, and I tell the judges how to vote based on the punch which that contestant's story has--if it's good, we'll let you stay around another week, basically.

Also, the contestant/ interviewees who have the best expository skills on camera, and best and most entertaining information during dail interviews are likely to stay the longest on competition reality series.

So what exactly do you do on your show? Are you a producer, a PA, a writer, what?

He's probably the coffee getter. ;)

Almost every reality show I have ever watched, it's pretty clear to me that most of it is loosely scripted. I've watched "Wife Swap" more than a few times, for example, and the basic layout of each episode is so similar to the next, that it's obvious their are some hands guiding the drama.

Oh yeah, they're scripted. That's why during the strike, one of the key demands by the WGA was for the master contract to cover reality show writers as well.

Bill said:
I work in reality TV. God help me.

(followed by nice thorough examples of how 'real' reality TV actually is)

Good stuff. I'm pretty sure the good folks around here get it. But I'm still amazed at how many people I know in life who don't seem to.

Lord Gonchar said last February:
Manufactured emotion and storylines done by people who know how to 'act' on a reality show.

It's not about being real (and I don't think even tries to be anymore) - it's just a genre label. Sitcom, Drama, Reality - it's all just a word to describe the style and content of a show.

:)

Now I see there are several shows dealing with car repos. I think one is a spinoff from that show about crappy jobs (can't remember the title) that featured the security guy from Dorney in its first episode.

First of all, these people hunt down the vehicles, so the repo can happen in the most public place possible. Of the course the idea is to have as many friends and family members around throwing tantrums and cursing. Makes for good TV, but how efficient is it to have to drive to 5 or 6 places trying to find out where the car is? I would think you just go to the person's home at a time when you're pretty sure they'll be there.

I haven't watched much of either show, but some of the stuff I've seen borders on assault, vandalism, and other assorted felonies. The repo guys-- well actually that 400 lb Latina with the mumu and the Pebbles Flintstone do and her bald heavily tattooed loudmouth cohort-- barged into a coffee shop to claim a woman's car. BTW, this woman and her friend were the only 2 customers in the place. Of course, stuff got nasty, lots of cursing from both sides, and stuff got smashed. Now I would have to think that the shop owner was well compensated for the use of his premises and was in on the whole thing, because this stuff just doesn't happen spontaneously without a police report or lawsuit being filed.

Another thing in all these "reality" shows is all the anger, nastiness and crassness prevalent. I wonder, have our lives gotten so bad that we resort to watching other people being insulted, laughed at, and abused for entertainment?

That's why I quit watching so-called "Talk Shows" so many years ago, RGB. They got so out of hand, and I didn't find other people's pain (or stupidity) to be enjoyable TV.

Is that show that you're talking about called "Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe"? I don't consider shows like that to be "reality shows". They are more like documentary TV to me; entertaining and educational. I really enjoy that kind of programing.

No, it's not Dirty Jobs. That one I don't mind. I looked it up. It's a show called "All Worked Up" and it's broadcast on TruTV. It looks like they changed the format. Where they used to feature different jobs on each show, now they only follow 4 jobs. Must be like a "continuing adventures" of type of thing. The network describes it as follows:

"This series goes on the job with people whose work entails delivering bad news or dealing with difficult situations where the recipient may explode in a rage. Whether it is serving subpoenas, parking violations, or towing cars, there is never a dull moment in this half-hour of non-stop action."

Ah yes, bring on the rage. The trailer on the website shows a group of people physically attacking the repo guy, with camera operators and mike booms right in the frame. Nothing staged about this, is there? Wonder how many takes it took till they got it right.