A lot (maybe all) of reality TV shows are scripted. Not to mention, there's not much substance to them. I mean, you have to admit, if you've watched at least five minutes of Jersey Shore, reality TV can seem a bit mind numbing and pointless. I think you can only hear the phrase "Yeah, Buddy" so many times before something inside of you snaps. And don't even get me started on the Kardashians.
You're probably thinking, "Well, if you don't like it then you don't have to watch it."
That's fair. I don't watch those shows, and I'm not telling you what you can and can't watch either. For the most part, I don't care much about what TV shows are running. I'm often too busy to keep up with most TV series, and I get bored of a lot of TV shows easily.
I know I sound like a strict mother who's trying to get their children to watch educational videos, but we can expose ourselves to a lot of garbage just for the sake of entertainment (if you find that type of stuff entertaining that is).
The sad thing about it all is that it's 2016. If you have cable, you probably have around 900 different channels to choose from, yet the likelihood of finding something to watch is so slim. I think Timmy Turner, from the cartoon Fairly Oddparents, had it right when he predicted the future of television.
For the most part, reality TV gets the brunt of criticism. However, is all reality TV trash? Whether scripted or not, I admit that there are a few reality TV shows that I do enjoy, and that have a purpose that goes beyond entertainment.
1. Catfish.
The show Catfish was actually a spin off of a movie/documentary about Nev Schulman and his experience with being catfished. Essentially, a catfish is someone who pretends to be somebody else by making a fake profile (sometimes multiple profiles) on social media, and then using the profile to connect/talk to other people.
People sometimes catfish other people for emotional reasons/emotional insecurities, and sometimes people catfish other people for malicious reasons. It varies from catfish to catfish.
The movie/documentary is focused on Nev, but the show is geared toward helping other people who may be being catfished themselves. The show is largely centered around relationships and helping people connect with the person they found through social media. And, in some cases, the person suspected to be a catfish is actually the person they say they are.
2. Botched.
While it may seem superficial, the show Botched is focused on plastic surgery. However, it's a show about helping people fix botched plastic surgeries.
While they do care about aesthetic, the plastic surgeries are actually geared toward fixing functional issues most of the time. Every episode, there are usually two people who have serious issues that cause them extreme discomfort, and one person who has an unrealistic expectation to get a surgery that may be harmful to them.
They try their best to keep the aesthetic the patients want, but they also try to counsel patients about how a surgery could be dangerous to them or cause more damage. In some cases, aesthetic is sacrificed for the well being of the patient. Often, the person with the unrealistic expectation ends up not getting the surgery.
In some cases, this is because the surgeons have educated the patient, and they take the surgeons' advice. Sometimes it's because the patient disagrees with their counsel and wants to go somewhere else to get the surgery.
Also, a spinoff show of Botched, called Botched by Nature, started recently. It's about the same surgeons from the original show Botched going around the country and helping people who are disfigured.
While most reality TV may seem like absolute garbage, there are some decent shows that fall under the umbrella of reality TV.
