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My point was really that just because you watch one reality tv show, doesn't mean that forms the basis of your viewing habits. I don't watch programs because of the genre, I watch them because I think they are good.
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I totally agree with you Feefs. My interest, call it obsession if you like, is purely with BB2, none of the other reality shows ever really appealed – and I
have tried to watch them.
‘Survivor’ bored me. I watched the first episode and decided to persevere and watch the second, as it would probably get better – I’d turned off before it even got half way through. I did watch part of some of the later episodes as well, but always got bored and started channel flicking – something which would just not have occurred to me to do while watching BB2. I found I never warmed to any of the characters and nothing about the show made me want to watch it.
I had a very similar experience with ‘Shipwrecked’. I had read on several boards that it was really good and quite a few people said that it was well worth watching. I just couldn’t get into it at all. I watched a bit of several episodes and always ended up switching over.
I think that one of the differences with BB2 was the amount of coverage. On both ‘Survivor’ and ‘Shipwrecked’ we only saw the edited shows. We only got to see the bits the producers wanted us to, and consequently were never going to get to really know the characters. I never really watched BB1 either, at the time it didn’t appeal. I did watch a little of some of the earlier shows but there was nothing there to hook me, nothing that made me want to go back to more. I have watched a lot of it now (thanks for the tapes Mark), but it was only my interest in BB2 that made me want to go back and watch it. I am enjoying it, but I’m nowhere near addicted in the way I became very quickly with BB2.
I think the main difference, for me, was the constant ‘live’ coverage of BB2 on E4, and the web. It put it into a completely different category, you didn’t just watch it – you lived it! I also found the people more interesting, I think the Channel 4 producers somehow managed to find a unique mix of people who gelled together so well, yet still had enough differences to make it interesting and addictive viewing. Even though the Helen and Paul romance is definitely one of the main highlights for me, and I think was one of the most important and interesting developments in the show, I was addicted well before it began to flourish. However, I do think that it was H&P that kept my interest going after the show finished, following the story, needing to know what happened next.
I have watched some of Temptation Island, but – sorry Mark – thought it was complete and utter sensationalist drivel. I never watched a full episode, just the odd 10 minutes or so when nothing better was on, but I thought it was awful. I only saw the American one though, so can’t comment on the British counterpart.
To sum up, it’s definitely wrong to lump all reality TV show’s together in the same pot. It’s equally wrong to presume all reality TV fans are mindless and incapable of appreciating the ‘better things in life’ – whatever they may be.
I’m a BB fan, and I also watch a lot of, what many would describe as, ‘rubbish’ on TV. But I also watch, and enjoy, many documentaries, news programs, ‘serious’ drama, comedy etc,etc,etc….. I read a phenomenal amount of books, I go to opera, theatre, concerts – both pop and classical. I have a diverse range of interests – just like most of the rest of the population.
Don't pidgeon-hole me just because I'm a BB fan, and don't go 'Oh my God, Television will never be the same again, it's ruined forever', just because some reality TV shows are popular.
Sorry – end of rant. I feel better now.
