Most of them are pointless, irritating, and just plain worthless.With the exception of a handful ,such as the Amazing Race,Big Brother(seasons 4 through 6) and season 5 of American Idol(showcased some amazing talent, Elliot Yamin,Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks), but than again, TV programming as a whole,has been on the decline for a few years now and unfortunetly, we will see more and more of this type of programming for years to come,as long as there's an audience for them, they're not going away any time soon.

yes, especially boring garbage like Survivor or The Batchelor-I'd rather watch MNF-that is real, not fake reality! American Idol is more of a classic talent competition but the AI clones or wanna be's, like American Inventor, are absolutely terrible.

Give it a rest already, people are really getting sick of reality tv. What ever happened to Family comedy shows?

It depends on what type of reality TV it is. If it is something like survivor, Temptation (trying to see if people will commit adultery), Fear Factor, Big Brother, then it is a definite 5 star scam. I used to not mind Big Brother but I hate it now not only because it is becoming more sexual and profane in nature, but it is such a scam because the contestants have to sign an agreement saying they can't sue anyone in the house for rape and they have to accept the fact that the media can portray that individual in how ever way they like ie they can defame them and make someone look like a prostitute. Normally, a person could sue the media for slander and defamation, but BB contestants can't. Plus they sign a lot of their rights away. If that is not a scam, I don't know what is? But there are also some good reality TV shows around like some sports, cops, airport, those rescue shows.

I don't like much on TV past the news and sports, but this stuff is the beginning, middle and end of bad. Starting with the concept that any of these shows represent any reality except the deluded minds of a network executive, they are cheaply made tripe, with the same entertainment value as eavesdropping on your neighbour's domestic squabbles.

There is no such thing as good reality! I'm always amused (but, more so, saddened) by the ratings smashes that reality programs inevitably become, because most scripted shows feature more realism than the most true-to-life reality show. It's probably the most lucrative scam ever foisted on the television-watching public, if not the most brilliant fraud in advertising history. Profits on reality shows are huge, because they garner ratings (and thus advertisers) as well as scripted shows, yet have none of the annoying little inconveniences of, say, having to pay actors or writers. Sure, all reality shows have a stable of writers, but not nearly of the size you would find on Law and Order, or Everybody Loves Raymond. Of course, the fact that they have writers at all belies their claim of strictly real-life action! And the prize money handed out at the end is chump change next to the dollars saved by scamming the public into watching the cheapest-to-make form of programming. And I haven't even gotten into the content of these shows... all moralizing aside, I often wonder how reality is even satisfying entertainment. Surely America recognizes the blatant plagiarism from network to network (i.e., Super Nanny breeds Nanny 911, etc.); it seems that network programmers' idea of brainstorming is to pull out TV's and flip around the other networks until they see something their own channel can rip off! Forgery is a crime in the real world, but apparently it's par for the course in television's bizarre realm. How else does one explain the shameless trend-mongering of recent years? Perish the thought, but if the public doesn't wake up to the low-brow, lowest common denominator fraud being perpetrated on them daily by wealthy TV execs, scripted TV (that is, scripted TV without either CSI or Law and Order in its title) may die forever. People may have thrilled to the (ultimately fixed) Dancing With The Stars phenomenon, but they'll probably miss real actors and writers when they are gone forever.

I'm being a real hypocrite on this one, because I have seen a grand total of about 30 mnutes of reality TV since it first came out, but from the endless ads I have seen on TV, and some of the printed hype, I really think that this stuff is even more mindless than a lot of the other swill on the tube. The only reality is that these programs are an unmitaged scam.

There's a difference between good reality and bad reality. The Amazing Race, the first, second, sixth, and seventh seasons of Survivor, the last few seasons of Big Brother, and the first The Apprentice fall under the first category. The second category holds Joe Millionaire, The Biggest Loser, Chains of Love, Temptation Island, and many...many others. Good reality can be a case study of human psychology, a really engaging adventure story, or just flat-out hilarious. Reality TV as a whole shouldn't be brought down by a few (okay, more than a few) bad eggs.

A lot of reality tv is annoying, but I just don't watch it.

Senseless and boring. I honestly can't see what the big deal is.

I find this fad that has taken off in the last few years down right annoying. most of the shows are so distastful, some from what I have heard mean spirited. Our family has become tired with network TV. It seems like everytime a regular TV show leaves it is replaced with one of these awful reality shows. I am hoping so much these horrid shows will fizzle out fast.

I like watching Survivor, Pimp My Ride, American Chopper, and Joe Schmo. There are The Swan, Who Wants To Marry My Dad, Fear Factor.... Arrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though I do like the ORIGINAL reality shows that first appeared on cable when the Real World started on MTV, I still sometimes wonder how accurate the Nielson Rating System truly is, there is no way so many people would watch some of these shows that never get cancelled...unless they all say they aren't watching, but really are...which is my guess...

While it may have been a faintly original idea way back when, its just gotten worse and worse and worse and....

Reality TV is highly irritating and pointless. Pretty pathetic most of these shows are. American Idol is plain flat out irritating. Survivor is boring. Joe Millionaire is retarded. Fear Factor is lousy. Style TV Shows are a pathetic attempt to stylize the fashion victum. Get some creativity! And I do have to say that reality TV show is annoying, boring, not sexy and fun like most think.

Lately, pop culture's latest obsession is its obsession with reality and realism. Movies are becoming less inspired and relying on the handicap of real life events and similarity to real life. Some video games are becoming realistic, complete with profanity and blood and playing as a law-breaker. Music is whining about real-life problems and is becoming laced with profanity. And, the trashy genre of reality television continues to, sadly, dominate the airwaves. This genre, in a nutshell is barren of creativity, barren of morality, and barren of any redeeming entertainment value whatsoever. For one, most of them are simply boring. Point a camera at someone and watch them act. First off, that's not reality--its been proven that a camera instantly changes the psychology of the human mind. But, aside from that--think of all the writers, directors, set designers, actors that are not being employed because of this! Secondly, most of the shows are quite offensive. We have shows with profanity--sometimes bleeped, sometimes not. We have shows with one-night stands between unwed couples. We have shows with sexual innuendo. We have shows where people eat gross, potentially dangerous things. You have shows where people come in and in a brazen move, force you to let go of your possesions. And, the list just goes on. There is not one role model to be found anywhere in the growing junkyard that is reality television. Another, its simply boring. I prefer fantasy, things that fire off the imagination and I prefer things to be free of uncreative things like angst ,anger and turmoil. Not one of these dating shows, competition shows, redecorating or living together shows are enjoyable in anyway. I had hoped that by now, the genre would begin to die down, but not as of yet. With the potential cancellation of Enterprise and the end of Frasier, I have to wonder: aside from cartoons, will there be anything on the major networks that I will watch after this TV season?

Some reality tv can be good and educational, but most is annoying, a total waste, useless and tasteless. It's as though the networks are either getting lazy or they just don't have as many good sitcoms or dramas to put on the air. TV should be for entertainment and education, not to watch a bunch of semi-fake reality crap. However, tune in next week in for Survior: Rateitall, as ClassicTVFan, the new Bachelor,for this exciting episode of Fear Factor as CTVFan gives up Chik-Fil-A, and eats, a healthy meal at a 4 star restraunt(complete with a nice serving of vegtables) on Temptation Island.

Reality TV was okay at first but then every station had to have their own little slice of reality. If this is the crap that makes it on TV then I'd hate to see what the networks turn down. But I'm not sure if they turn down anything anymore.

I'm surprised that this fad hasn't gone out yet. Reality TV is the worst of all marketing ploys out there; network executives produce this stuff en masse because it's very cheap to produce. Obviously, the cost of exploiting Cletus the slack jawed yokel is very cheap. Offer him couple thousand dollars to have him walk through fire to get rejected by a hot babe whom he'd never have a chance to date. Ridiculous!! The nice part about it is that these idiotic shows get extremely high ratings. Frankly I don't waste my time anymore with television. I really think that people in network boardrooms really take the consumer to be dithering morons.

As impossible as it may seem, this unspeakable sludge is actually getting WORSE. At the current rate of progression, in three years we will have live cremations, executions and abortions.

I have always felt that anything with the ability to suck your brains out of your head should be avoided. Of course, you could also make the argument that television has been doing this pretty much since it began. This particular sort of TV just doesnt pull me in.