Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
For me it's a waste of good time slots. 
Big Brother was the first "reality TV" I became aware of - and promptly ignored. And I never looked back.
A part of me wonders if they might be interesting for studies of behavioral science, but I am afraid the "reality TV" situations are too fabricated too be of any use in general situations. You only study a human in a container (or an isle, or whatever-else-you-fabricate), not the human in his natural environment.
Ultimately, the only reason they exist is because you can get viewers for very cheap money. You don't need to pay real actors (and you can exchange your actors ever season, so one trying to raise his price), you don't need as many writers, you don't need the SFX or production quality. And you still get enough money to get payed for your advertisement. It is a niche to fill a 24h/7d TV schedule. You can't create blockbusters for every hour of your program - heck, for most of the day, your audience is at work or sleeping, unable to watch. That can never pay off.
But personally, I'd definitely prefer reruns of old shows and documentations over reality shows. At least then, on the occasions I have time to zap around aimlessly, I might catch something interesting... (And no, I don't care for game shows or (fake) court shows or either.)
Big Brother was the first "reality TV" I became aware of - and promptly ignored. And I never looked back.
A part of me wonders if they might be interesting for studies of behavioral science, but I am afraid the "reality TV" situations are too fabricated too be of any use in general situations. You only study a human in a container (or an isle, or whatever-else-you-fabricate), not the human in his natural environment.
Ultimately, the only reason they exist is because you can get viewers for very cheap money. You don't need to pay real actors (and you can exchange your actors ever season, so one trying to raise his price), you don't need as many writers, you don't need the SFX or production quality. And you still get enough money to get payed for your advertisement. It is a niche to fill a 24h/7d TV schedule. You can't create blockbusters for every hour of your program - heck, for most of the day, your audience is at work or sleeping, unable to watch. That can never pay off.
But personally, I'd definitely prefer reruns of old shows and documentations over reality shows. At least then, on the occasions I have time to zap around aimlessly, I might catch something interesting... (And no, I don't care for game shows or (fake) court shows or either.)
