One could argue that The Real World New York, back in 1992, was the first major reality TV success story of the current reality TV era. One could also argue that it was the only Real World season, that even came close to portraying reality. Nearly twenty years later, The Real World is about as contrived and scripted as a so-called reality television show can be. Cast members have figured out how to parlay a role on the show into a few good years of E-list celebrity, and as such, all remnants of reality have gone completely out the window in favor of manufactured drama and plot-lines nudged along by savvy producers.
Now that’s not to say that the show in its current form is not entertaining (it clearly is), but there is no question that any realism contained within, has almost fully degraded. However, it seems to me that at some point along the way, the promised “reality” actually degraded so much, that entertainment value began to actually improve.
If I were to graph this out, it might look as follows (though the entertainment value line may come back up sooner and sharper):
And this doesn’t just apply to The Real World. Any show where one season’s viewers can be next season’s contestants, is subject to this same phenomenon. Some that jump to mind are Survivor, Big Brother, The Bachelor (um, “Bachelor Pad” anybody?), and American Idol (the tryouts mostly). Currently Jersey Shore is right on track with one season of semi-real “reality” and solid entertainment value, followed by a nice sharp degradation of each.
