No, It's Not
Are you tired of seeing people eat hog shit for money? Forbes says you are:
The genre … has long been reliant on controversy to draw in viewers. Whether it’s gross-out gimmickry (NBC’s Fear Factor) or make-over sensationalism (Fox’s The Swan), the fare has set out to garner publicity and a subsequent viewer base. But if recent history is any indication, the strategy may be fading as a tool for grabbing eyeballs.
Of course, as mainstream media is wont to do, Forbes is ignoring a very obvious counterpoint to its argument: A show in which big people pelt little people with tennis ball cannons is the highest-rated new series of the season. It sounds like "gimmickry" and "sensationalism" are the new gimmickry and sensationalism.
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I watch American Gladiators. Not because of the gimmickry and sensationalism though. I watch it because of nostalgia and The Hulkster. Brother.
That's just as bad considering how much it sucked the first time around. And Wolf is no Malibu.
Ha! You love it, you know you do. Anyone who says they don't get excited waiting to see if someone will bust ass on the Travelator ™ is a liar.
Also, Diamond could kick any of the current gladiator's asses.
Is it bad my 4 year old loves that show? We tell her she needs to eat her vegetables so she can be strong like those ladies and be on the show (she asked when she could be on it). It works - she eats her veggies.
I am for anything that makes preschoolers eat their vegetables.
I work in this genre and the biggest reason to make these shows (perhaps not Gladiator so much) is that they are CHEAP to produce. They dont need an audience of 10 million to make dough and they get sold and resold to international markets so we can even watch british and canadian versions of crappy american shows on lifestyle networks and vice versa for years to come. yay! sucks to be a writer or an actor these days but i dont see it changin'
Reality TV is going nowhere. Because of the WGA strike, there's nothing else on to watch. Reality shows are cheap to make and get better ratings than many scripted shows.
It is all fucking stupid, ecspecially these dance contests crap..watch sports that's real!!
The only show I really liked was Fear Factor. I remember the guy who got covered in cow blood. He sort of got off sexually by being covered in blood. After that they never used blood again.