The REALity...

So I was thinking every week I would try and include a post on something I witnessed from behind the scenes of a reality set that I have worked on... Obviously I wont be able to disclose what particular show or mention names but none the less it should be rather entertaining or at the very least eye opening.

On this one dating show I worked on I remember sitting in on a production meeting before an elimination. Little ol me thought we were going to discuss camera angles and lighting but to my surprise when I walked in they had the blown up pictures of the cast members up for elimination on a board. Under each picture there were notes. My second surprise was sitting in along with the producers was the star of the show... I use the word "star" loosely... They were telling him who he should eliminate and why and giving him incentives on why he should eliminate one girl over another. Hold the phone... wasn't this a reality dating show and the eliminations were supposed to be made based on lack of a connection or common interest and or bad dates... Silly me for thinking such, this was not how it was done at all... the producers essentially sat there and told him who was more photogenic, who would generate better ratings, who he looked better paired up with and who the audience would prefer him to be with, not once did he divulge who he actually liked or who he would like to pursue dating. It was never about love or trying to find this guy someone he actually enjoyed spending time with... it was all about ratings. I distinctly remember them keeping this one girl on because she didn't get along with the other girls in the house and the producers were trying to instigate a fight with her and the other girls for a future episode and story line even though he had no interest in her what so ever. When he said he liked this girl or wanted to get to know this other girls he was flat out told "NO" by the producers, and to pick someone else from the "approved" list.

This is just another example of how "reality TV" is nothing more then a scripted show with lesser talented actors with an air of realness about it that is intended to do nothing more than fool the viewers.