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Reality television is a genre of Television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the term "reality television" is most commonly used to describe programs produced since 2000 . Documentaries and nonfictional programming such as the news and sports shows are usually not classified as reality shows. Reality television covers a wide range of programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning shows produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (a modern example is '' Gaki No Tsukai ''), to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions such as '' Big Brother ''. Critics say that the term "reality television" is somewhat of a misnomer. Such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of Reality , with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes coached to act in certain ways by off-screen handlers, and with events on screen sometimes manipulated through editing and other post-production techniques. ORIGINS OF REALITY TELEVISION Precedents for television that portrayed people in unscripted situations began in the 1940s. Debuting in '' and '' Truth Or Consequences '', involved contestants in wacky competitions, stunts, and practical jokes. In 1948, talent search shows '' Ted Mack 's Original Amateur Hour '' and '' Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts '' featured amateur competitors and audience voting. The '' Miss America '' Pageant, first broadcast in 1954, was a competition where the winner achieved status as a national celebrity. Miss America Pageant. "1950's - Year in Review." Retrieved May 8, 2007. The Radio series ''Nightwatch'' (1954-1955), which tape-recorded the daily activities of Culver City, California police officers, also helped pave the way for reality television. First broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1964 , the Granada Television series '' Seven Up! '', broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary seven-year olds from a broad cross section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life. Every seven years, a film documented the life of the same individuals in the intervening years, titled ''Seven Plus Seven'', ''21 Up'', etc. The series was structured simply as a series of interviews with no element of plot. However, it did convey the individuals' character development over time. The first reality show in the modern sense was the 12-part 1973 PBS series '' An American Family '', which showed a Nuclear Family going through a Divorce . In 1974 a counterpart program, '' The Family '', was made in the UK , following the Working Class Wilkins family of Reading . In 1992 , Australia saw '' Sylvania Waters '', about the '' Nouveau Riche '' Baker-Donaher family of Sydney . All three shows attracted their share of controversy. Some Talk Show s, most notably '' The Jerry Springer Show '', which debuted in 1991 , try to present real-life drama within the talk show format by hosting guests likely to conflict on the set. '', '''']] Reality television as it is currently understood, though, can be traced directly to several television shows that began in the late 1980s and 1990s. '' COPS '', which first aired in the spring of 1989 , showed police officers on duty apprehending criminals; it introduced the Camcorder look and Cinéma Vérité feel of much of later reality television. '' Nummer 28 '', which aired on Dutch television in 1991 , originated the concept of putting strangers together in the same environment for an extended period of time and recording the drama that ensued. It also pioneered many of the stylistic conventions that have since become standard in reality television shows, including a heavy use of soundtrack music and the interspersing of events on screen with after-the-fact "confessionals" recorded by cast members, that serve as narration. One year later, the same concept was used by MTV in their new series '' The Real World ''; ''Nummer 28'' creator Erik Latour has long claimed that ''The Real World'' was directly inspired by his show. '' Changing Rooms '', a British TV show that began in 1996 , showed couples redecorating each others' houses, and was the first reality show with a Self-improvement or Makeover theme. The Swedish TV show '' Expedition Robinson '', created by TV producer Charlie Parsons, which first aired in 1997 (and was later produced in a large number of other countries as '' Survivor ''), added to the ''Nummer 28''/''Real World'' template the idea of competition and elimination, in which cast members/contestants battled against each other and were removed from the show until only one winner remained. TYPES OF REALITY TV There are a number of sub-categories of reality television: Documentary-style In many reality television shows, the viewer and the camera are passive observers following people going about their daily personal and professional activities; this style of filming is often referred to as "'' may be the epitome of this style of show, with unscripted situations, real-life locations, and no tasks given to the cast (at least, no known ones). Often "plots" are constructed via editing or planned situations, with the results resembling Soap Opera s — hence the term ''docusoap''. Within documentary-style reality television are several subcategories or variants: Special living environment Some documentary-style programs place cast members, who in most cases previously did not know each other, in artificial living environments; '', with cast members forced to live and work as people of a specific time and place would have; '' The 1900 House '' is one example. 2001 's '' Temptation Island '' achieved some notoriety by placing several couples on an island surrounded by single people in order to test the couples' commitment to each other. '''' combined the "special living environment" format with the "professional activity" format noted below; in addition to living together in a Loft , each member of the show's cast was hired to host a television program for a Canadian cable channel. Celebrity reality Another subset of fly-on-the-wall-style shows involves celebrities. Often these show a celebrity going about their everyday life: examples include ''". Professional activities Some documentary-style shows portray professionals either going about day-to-day business or performing an entire project over the course of a series. No outside experts are brought in (at least, none appear on screen) to either provide help or to judge results. The earliest example(and the longest running reality show of any genre) is '' COPS '' which has been airing since 1989 , preceding by many years the current reality show phenomenon. Other examples of this type of reality show include '' Miami Ink '', '' American Chopper '' and '' The First 48 ''. The US cable networks TLC and A&E in particular show a number of this type of reality show. VH1 's 2001 show '' Bands On The Run '' was a notable early hybrid, in that the show featured four Unsigned Band s touring and making music as a professional activity, but also pitted the bands against one another in game show fashion to see which band could make the most money. Elimination/Game shows Another type of reality TV is "reality-competition", or so-called " Reality Game Show s", in which participants are filmed competing to win a prize, often while living together in a confined environment. In many cases, participants are removed until only one person or team remains, who/which is then declared the winner. Usually this is done by eliminating participants one at a time, in Balloon Debate style, through either Disapproval Voting or by voting for the most popular choice to win; voting is done by either the viewing audience or by the show's own participants. (These programs have also been called "game operas," a Pejorative term coined by Steve Beverly, a college Professor in Tennessee and Webmaster of TVGameShows.net .) A well-known example of a reality-competition show is the globally-syndicated '' Big Brother '', in which cast members live together in the same house, with participants removed at regular intervals by either the viewing audience or, in the case of the American version, by the participants themselves. There remains some controversy over whether talent-search shows such as the ''Idol'' Series , '' America's Got Talent '', '' Dancing With The Stars '' and '' Celebrity Duets '' are truly reality television, or just newer incarnations of shows such as '' Star Search ''. Although the shows involve a traditional talent search, the shows follow the reality-competition conventions of removing one or more contestants per episode and allowing the public to vote on who is removed; the ''Idol'' series also require the contestants to live together during the run of the show (though their daily life is never shown onscreen). Additionally, there is a good deal of interaction shown between contestants and judges. As a result, such shows are often considered reality television, and the American Primetime Emmy Awards have nominated both '' American Idol '' and ''Dancing with the Stars'' for the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program Emmy. Modern Game Shows like '' Weakest Link '', '' Greed '', '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? '', '' Dog Eat Dog '' and '' Deal Or No Deal '' also lie in a gray area: like traditional game shows, the action takes place in an enclosed TV studio over a short period of time; however, they have higher production values, more dramatic background music, and higher stakes than traditional shows (done either through putting contestants into physical danger or offering large cash prizes). In addition, there is more interaction between contestants and hosts, and in some cases they feature reality-style contestant competition and/or elimination as well. These factors, as well as these shows' rise in global popularity at the same time as the arrival of the reality craze, lead many people to group them under the reality TV umbrella instead of the traditional game show one. There are various hybrid reality-competition shows, like the worldwide-syndicated '' Star Academy '', which combines the ''Big Brother'' and ''Pop Idol'' formats, '' The Biggest Loser '' and '' The Pick-up Artist '' which combine competition with the self-improvement format, and '' American Inventor '', which uses the ''Pop Idol'' format for products instead of people. Some shows, such as '' Making The Band '' and '' Project Greenlight '', devote the first part of the season to selecting a winner, and the second part to showing that person or group of people working on a project. Popular variants of the competition-based format include the following: Dating-based competition Dating-based competition shows follow a contestant choosing one out of a group of suitors. Over the course of either a single episode or an entire season, suitors are eliminated until only the contestant and the final suitor remains. For a time, in 2001 - 2003 , this type of reality show dominated the other genres on the major US networks. Shows that aired included '' The Bachelor '', its Spinoff '' The Bachelorette '', as well as '' Temptation Island '', '' For Love Or Money '' and '' Average Joe ''. More recent such shows include '' Flavor Of Love '' and its spinoffs '' I Love New York '' and '' Rock Of Love ''. Job search In this category, the competition revolves around a skill that contestants were pre-screened for. Competitors perform a variety of tasks based around that skill, are judged, and are then kept or removed by a single expert or a panel of experts. The show is invariably presented as a job search of some kind, in which the prize for the winner includes a contract to perform that kind of work. Examples include '' The Apprentice '' (which judges business skills), '' America's Next Top Model '' (for modeling), '' American Idol '' and '' Nashville Star '' (for singers), '' Hell's Kitchen '' (for chefs), '' Project Runway '' (for clothing design), '' Top Design '' (for interior design) and the '' MuchMusic VJ Search '' (for television hosts). .]] Fear-centric Introduced in 2000 by '' MTV's Fear '', where six participants were locked alone in a supposedly haunted location, fear-centric shows place people in situations or locations aimed at generating emotions of fright, panic, or revulsion. Shows in the genre include '' Fear Factor '', '' Scare Tactics '' and '' Celebrity Paranormal Project ''. Sports These programs create a sporting competition among athletes attempting to establish their name in that sport. '' The Club '', in 2002, was one of the first shows to immerse sport with reality TV, based around a fabricated club competing against real clubs in the sport of Australian Rules Football ; the audience helped select which players played each week by voting for their favourites. '' The Big Break '' was a reality show in which aspiring Golf players competed against one another and were eliminated. '' The Contender '', a Boxing show, unfortunately became the first American reality show in which a contestant committed suicide after being eliminated from the show. In '' The Ultimate Fighter '' participants have voluntarily withdrawn or expressed the desire to withdraw from the show due to competitive pressure. In sports shows, sometimes just appearing on the show, not necessarily winning, can get a contestant the job. The owner of UFC declared that the final match of the first season of ''Ultimate Fighter'' was so good, both contestants were offered a contract. Many of the losers from World Wrestling Entertainment 's '' Tough Enough '' and '' Diva Search '' shows have been picked up by the company. Self-improvement/makeover Some reality television shows cover a person or group of people improving their lives. Sometimes the same group of people are covered over an entire season (as in '''' (manners). Renovation Some shows, make over part or all of a person's living space, work space, or vehicle. The British show '''', '' Debbie Travis' Facelift '', '' Designed To Sell '', '' While You Were Out '' and '' Holmes On Homes ''. As with game shows, a gray area exists between such reality TV shows and more conventional formats. The show '' This Old House '', which began in 1979 , shows people renovating a house; media critic Jeff Jarvis has speculated that it is "the original reality TV show." Jarvis, Jeff. "Tag the greatest — but not obvious — TV shows." BuzzMachine.com; August 6, 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2007. '' Pimp My Ride '' and '' Overhaulin' '' show vehicles being rebuilt. Some shows, such as '' Restaurant Makeover '' and '' Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares '', show both the decor and the menu of a failing restaurant being remade. Dating shows Unlike the aforementioned dating competition shows, some shows feature all new contestants each episode. This format was first used in the 1960s show '' The Dating Game ''. Modern examples include '' Blind Date '', '' Room Raiders '' and '' Parental Control ''. Talk shows Though the traditional format of a talk show is that of a host interviewing a featured guest or discussing a chosen topic with a guest or panel of guests, the advent of Trash TV shows has often made people group the entire category in with reality television. Programs like '' Ricki Lake '', '' The Jerry Springer Show '' and others generally recruit guests by advertising a potential topic for a future program. Topics are frequently outrageous and are chosen in the interest of creating on-screen drama, tension or outrageous behaviour. Though not explicitly reality television by traditional standards, this (allegedly) real depiction of someone's life, even if only in a brief interview format, is frequently considered akin to broader-scale reality TV programming. Hidden cameras Another type of reality programming features Hidden Camera s rolling when random passersby encounter a staged situation. '' Candid Camera '', which first aired on television in 1948 , pioneered the format. Modern variants of this type of production include '' Punk'd '' and '' Trigger Happy TV ''. The series '' Scare Tactics '' is a hidden-camera program in which the goal is to frighten contestants rather than just befuddle or amuse them. Hoaxes In hoax reality shows, the entire show is a prank played on one or more of the cast members, who think they are appearing in a legitimate reality show; the rest of the cast are actors who are in on the joke. Like hidden camera shows, these shows focus on pranks, although in these shows the hoax is more elaborate (lasting an entire season), the participants know they are appearing in a TV show (it is the true nature of the show that is kept secret from them), and the cameras are out in the open. Also, the point of such shows often is to parody the conventions of the reality TV genre. The first such show was 2003's '' The Joe Schmo Show ''; other examples are '' My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss '' (modelled after ''The Apprentice''), '' My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance '', '' Space Cadets '' (which convinced the hoax targets that they were being flown into space) and '' Invasion Iowa '' (in which a town was convinced that William Shatner was filming a movie there). Other shows, though not entirely hoax shows, have offered misleading information to some cast members in order to add a wrinkle to the competition. Examples include '' Boy Meets Boy '' and '' Joe Millionaire ''. ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM Instant celebrity Reality television has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrities. This is most notable in talent-search programs such as the ''Idol'' series, which has spawned music stars in many of the countries in which it has aired. Many other shows, however, such as ''Survivor'' and ''Big Brother'', have made at least temporary celebrities out of their participants; some participants have then been able to parlay this fame into media careers. For example, '', has gone on to become a television host and actress. Is "reality" a misnomer? Some commentators have said that the name "reality television" is an inaccurate description for several styles of program included in the genre. In competition-based programs such as ''Big Brother'' and ''Survivor'', and other special living environment shows like ''The Real World'', the producers design the format of the show and control the day-to-day activities and the environment, creating a completely fabricated world in which the competition plays out. Producers specifically select the participants and use carefully designed scenarios, challenges, events, and settings to encourage particular behaviors and conflicts. '', November 13, 2003 Even in docusoap series following people in their daily life, producers may be highly deliberate in their editing strategies, able to portray certain participants as heroes or villains, and may guide the drama through altered chronology and selective presentation of events. A Season 3 episode of '' Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe '' included a segment on the ways in which selective editing can be used to this end. Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe - Reality TV Editing Some participants of reality shows have also stated afterwards that they altered their behavior to appear more crazy or emotional in order to get more camera time. Several former reality show participants have spoken publicly about their experiences and the strategies used on reality shows. '' and '' Survivor '' had at times recreated incidents that had actually occurred but were not properly recorded by cameras to the required technical standard, or had not been recorded at all. In order to get the footage, the event was restaged for the cameras. Other shows (most notably '' Joe Millionaire '') combined audio and video from different times, or from different sets of footage, to make it look like participants were doing something they were not. Some shows have faced speculation that the participants themselves are involved in fakery, acting out storylines that have been planned in advance by producers.'''', June 19, 2006 Nevertheless, there has been no direct evidence presented yet that any such program has been scripted or "rigged," as with the 1950s television Quiz Show Scandals . Political impact Reality television's global success has been, in the eyes of some analysts, an important political phenomenon. In some '', August 29, 2005 As substitute for scripted drama Screenwriter Sheryl Longin, who describes herself as "a reality show addict", has written that, based on her experiences, "we may be approaching the death of drama." This is because, she says, seeing real people act naturally matches viewers' expectations of human body language in a way that not even the most talented actors can achieve: "Not even Sir , '' Pajamas Media '', August 11, 2007 POPULARITY AND RATINGS During the early part of the 2000s, U.S. and foreign network executives expressed concern that reality-television programming is limited in its appeal for '', '' The Amazing Race '', '' Project Runway '', and '' America's Next Top Model '' have all ranked in the top DVDs sold on Amazon.com . DVDs of '' The Simple Life '' have outranked scripted shows like '' The O.C. '' and '' Desperate Housewives ''. Additionally, many reality shows have been successfully syndicated, including '' Fear Factor '', '' The Amazing Race '', '' America's Next Top Model '', '' The Real World '' and '' American Idol Rewind ''. ''COPS'' has had huge success in syndication, direct response sales and DVD. A FOX staple since 1989, ''COPS'' is currently (2007) in its 20th season, having outlasted all competing scripted police shows. Two reality series - ''Survivor'' and ''American Idol'' - have been the top-rated series on American television for an entire season. ''Idol'' has topped the ratings three consecutive years ( 2004-05 , 2005-06 , and 2006-07 ) and ''Survivor'' led the ratings in 2001-02 . Currently there are at least two television channels devoted exclusively to reality television: Fox Reality in the United States, and Zone Reality in the UK. In addition, several other cable channels, such as Viacom's MTV and NBC's Bravo , feature original reality programming as a mainstay. Levin, Gary. "'Simple economics': More reality TV." USA Today; May 8, 2007. Mike Darnell, head of reality TV for the US Fox network, says that the broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox) "might as well plan three or four shows each season because we're going to have them, anyway."''Ibid.'' According to the Learning And Skills Council , one in seven UK teenagers hopes to gain fame by appearing on reality television.1 PRIOR ELEMENTS IN POPULAR CULTURE A number of fictional works since the 1940s have contained elements similar to elements of reality television. They tended to be set in a Dystopia n future, with subjects being recorded against their will, and often involved violence.
episode '' Bread And Circuses ''.]]
POP CULTURE REFERENCES Some scripted works have used reality television as a plot device:
In addition, a number of scripted television shows have taken the form of documentary-type reality TV shows, in " Mockumentary " style. The first such show was the BBC series '' Operation Good Guys '', which premiered in 1997 . Other examples include '' People Like Us '', '' Trailer Park Boys '', '' The Office '', '' Drawn Together '' and '' Reno 911! ''. FILMS See Also: Reality film Some feature films have been produced that use some of the conventions of reality television; such films are sometimes referred to simply as '' {Link without Title} was released in 2004. SEE ALSO FURTHER READING
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