Is “Reality” TV even reality?

What has become of the viewing choices of people across the world?

Growing up, after dinner, my family home would have had the regular sound of the theme tune to Emmerdale, Coronation Street or Eastenders.  Soap operas were the bread and butter of TV in the UK & Ireland, giving people that 30 minutes of escapism from the trials and tribulations that life can bring, providing material for a great chin wag in work or during the school run the following day.  Nowadays that daily tradition doesn’t seem to exist amongst millennials; introducing… “Reality” TV.

In place of a soap opera with a small village having murders, robberies and sex scandals, we now have so-called celebrities showcasing their perfect lives via reality TV shows.  Gone are the days of a build up to a cliffhanger and desperately trying to figure out ‘who did it?’, and in it’s place what we have is ‘did you see the Housewives of Cheshire are away on holiday to Barcelona…’.

The problem I have with reality TV is that it’s creating unrealistic expectations amongst people, showcasing a rich, lavish lifestyle, that many fail to realise has been edited to ensure that the ‘real’ lives of these people are neatly swept under the rug.

As I write, my wife is currently watching the Housewives of Cheshire, which I’m almost certain is the 376th episode in the last 2 days (well, it feels like it anyway!). I think this show has more episodes than Days of Our Lives!

I may as well share with you what shit is happening in this episode.  Here goes… At the minute Tanya is out partying again after having her baby (who just pissed on someone’s sofa) and they’re all so concerned that Missé’s marriage is breaking up.  Sandwiched in between this they all hate each other and can do nothing but bitch behind each others backs at every opportunity.

Holy good fuck, this shit is endless, with the same nonsense in every episode; someone’s having a party, someone is vulnerable, and a ‘good night out and a giggle’ is what they need… This type of show must be a producers dream with little thinking outside the box needed to create a drab, bullshit filled 45 minutes of footage.

What I’d like to see is these ‘famous’ people wake up in the morning (with no make up on), get the kids up for school (shouting “get up!” for 45 minutes until little Gregory finally gets his ass out of bed), make breakfast, lunches and do the school run, before heading home to do a bit of hoovering, washing skid marked boxers and remembering you still have to go and get some groceries in Lidl or Asda to feed the little creatures.  Imagine the fun you’d have watching them struggle to persuade little Gregory to jump on the wheelie bins because the cat next door is ripping the rubbish out.

I blame the Kardashians.  They created a monster with this shit.  And to think, their fame started from a home-made sex tape (that’s a story for another day).

Imagine Kanye West answering the call of ‘will someone wipe my bum’ from the bathroom from his toddler, while trying to give little Gregory a hand with the bins!

I think what this tells me is that we’ve now become spoilt for choice with TV, with so many hundreds of channels and shows to watch, we don’t appreciate a good TV show that creates anticipation and intrigue anymore.  Nowadays everything is on demand, so people don’t even need to watch a show when it’s actually on.  The old timer’s had the best generation of TV; a limited number of channels, which created competition for great, engaging viewing that people actually looked forward to watching (unlike the rubbish on my TV at the minute)

Just as I was finishing writing this a girl in this show the missus is watching just paid £30k to join a dating agency.  Let that sink in… 30 grand!!!

This stuff isn’t reality TV at all!