Duck Dynasty before Duck Dynasty.

[trumad]

[NYC_SKP]

1. Phony. Just like Storage Wars, et al. nt

[Tommy_Carcetti]

2. It's sad that so-called "reality" television is some of the most contrived things on television.

But hey, it saves networks on having to pay writers and actors to actually produce a product with potential talent behind it.

[NYC_SKP]

3. I remember when Discovery first became a cable channel...

They offered science and technology shows, interesting stuff!

Now that History, Science, Discovery and others are all owned by the same single entity, it seems we have moonshiners, gun shooters, pawnshops, aliens, ghosts, and bigfoots.

Not very scientific or history or discovery-like.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. And when Arts and Entertainment actually had artistic programming on it.

Or when Headline News actually showed real news around the clock and not just celebrity gossip and sensational murder cases.

Or when MTV, i.e. Music Television, showed music videos.

Or when--well, you get the drift.

[tina tron]

11. They cater to the most base instincts of our society

America loves a train wreck and reality TV is the rubberneckers that slow down to watch.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. they've all become unwatchable. nt

[japple]

18. I remember when Animal Planet used to address REAL animal issues

instead of crap like River Monsters, Pitbull & Parolees, etc., etc.

[notadmblnd]

26. And sonmeone please tell me, why do I want to watch a show about fish tank kings?

[Nanjing to Seoul]

29. Reality TV is easier and cheaper to do, and the rubes that watch TV eat it up because they live

vicariously through the idiots on TV. "Honey Boo Boo" and "Duck Dynasty" are more entertaining for a society of half-wits than any documentary or show designed to teach.

[japple]

30. Then there was the program about intestinal parasites called

something horrible like "The Terror Within." Not sure about the title, but it was aimed at striking fear into the hearts and minds of everyone. Who was their target audience? 13 yr old boys?

[ctsnowman]

22. Nailed it.

[tina tron]

10. I was in Vegas a year ago

and I don't know which reality pawn shop show it was, but they have their shop in downtown Las Vegas, old Vegas, not the Strip. It is about the size you would expect a pawn shop to be. There was a line to go into this place that went around the block all because it had the "as seen on tee vee" bullshit surrounding. Amazing how much people will suspend belief to escape into the TV lives of others, sad commentary on where America is right now.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. It's Pawn Stars.

And like most reality television, it's heavily edited and scripted.

The main stars of the show are only on premises on limited occasions, so it's not as if they film just anyone who walks into the store or that anyone who walks in will have their item appraised by the show's stars on the spot. They all go through a pre-screening process (just like American Idol contestants went through screening and only a few were selected to perform before the judges).

I'll admit I do sometimes watch it just because some of the items on there are interesting, but I'm not going to believe for a second that Rick Harrison is anything but an idiot and that he knows anything about the supposed value or meaning of the items at issue. I'm sure they have researchers galore doing all the work between the screening process and filming.

[NYC_SKP]

19. The local Pawn Shop owner told GF and I that Hard Core Pawn was a lot more realistic.

I hadn't seen it before.

Both aren't real; both are staged, but one specializes in interesting items while the other specializes in interesting people.

I still watch both on occasion.

[trof]

28. "Rick Harrison is anything but an idiot"? No, he's a very calculating buisnessman.

Rick is far from being an idiot.
He's got a good thing going that's made him and his entourage (probably) millions of dollars and he's milking it for all it's worth.
It's the American Way.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

33. In terms of his so-called "historical knowledge", he is.

The show makes it seem like someone comes in with a vase out of the Ming Dynasty, and he'll immediately start spouting off facts about obscure Chinese Emperors.

I'm almost certain that what really happens is that the person brings in the vase, the screeners assess it, do research on it, and then provide Rick with all the requisite facts to make him sound educated about the subject matter when the person actually goes before the camera.

Like I said, I will admit I watch the show sometimes because some of the subject matter is entertaining. I mean, historical items are in and of themselves interesting. But Rick himself is a lowballing douche.

[countryjake]

34. Some of those "items" have been assessed on more than one reality show ...

My man used to watch Pawn Stars and American Pickers, despite my claims that they were both set up, scripted, and fake. He finally quit watching them after he saw a piece of junk that the Pickers pulled out of a barn in New England mysteriously show up on the counter at the pawn shop in Nevada. Oh yeah, whatever the antique was, it also was carted over to American Restoration. That history channel is just as bad as A&E.

[trof]

35. OK. Never watched it. Never will.

[NightWatcher]

5. Believing all the lies that they're telling you. Buying all the products they're selling you

They say "jump" and you say "how high?". You brain dead? You got a fucking bullet in your head?










Welcome to Walmart you dumb piece of shit. Now go buy some plastic Chinese shit, go home eat garbage, have a heart attack and die.

[Initech]

21. Along those lines:

"I met a boy wearing Vans, 501s, and a
Dope Beastie t, nipple rings, and
New tattoos that claimed that he
Was OGT,
From '92,
The first EP.

And in between
Sips of Coke
He told me that
He thought
We were sellin' out,
Layin' down,
Suckin' up
To the man.

Well now I've got some
A-dvice for you, little buddy.
Before you point the finger
You should know that
I'm the man,

And if I'm the man,

Then you're the man, and
He's the man as well so you can
Point that fuckin' finger up your ass.

All you know about me is what I've sold you,
Dumb fuck.
I sold out long before you ever heard my name.

I sold my soul to make a record,
Dip shit,
And you bought one."

[TBF]

6. Here's another one ...

they are laughing all the way to the bank.

[trumad]

7. Shorty shorts.

Spit my beer out with this one.

[TBF]

9. Yeah, and Jep certainly takes a nicer pic

for his Christmas card than you'd expect --- and I would imagine this card goes to close friends at his income level and not all the idiots who are on Yahoo defending pop's homophobic speech.

[mike dub]

27. Yep, and that looks more like Gulf Shores, AL or Destin, FL, not Fourchon or Grand Isle, Louisiana

Real coonasses fish and camp at Leeville or Grand Isle --Destin, not so much. (And no, coonass isn't a pejorative, it's a term used proudly by some Louisiana natives---like proud redneck in Alabama)

[rhett o rick]

8. Calling it "reality tv" is the first lie, and they dont stop. nm

[Cali_Democrat]

12. WOW!

[joeybee12]

14. Is this for real?

If so, this is the biggest scam going.

[Cali_Democrat]

15. I don't have the stats, but my guess is that the majority of viewers are Republican

GOPers are easily duped.

Look at how they fell for the Ashley Todd story.

Hook, line, and fucking sinker.

[joeybee12]

16. Since all their merchandise is sold at wal-Mart...

You're probably right...mainly Repukes.

[TeamPooka]

20. the beards are probably fake too.

[yuiyoshida]

23. Reality TV was the ENTIRE reason I got rid of my TV

I don't know what has happened to TV...but its all Sweet Fluff and Crap..and not much more. I did check out Game of Thrones, and enjoyed that series, while watching it on line, but I rarely watch the JUNK that is often passed on to us as Entertainment. People have talked about Duck Dynasty and at first I thought it was some thing by Warner Bros in the form of cartoon, but of course that is wrong. Anyway.. it doesn't surprise me that a member of this family would spout anti gay hate.. when you get "In your face" TV..some of it is going to be disgusting.. I would rather JUST NOT WATCH anything related to what passes for TV Entertainment ANY MORE.

[Johonny]

24. Do you think the goofy statements were even real opinions

or were they some BS to stir up hits on the internet and 24 media to increase the ratings. Yeah he is suspended from the show but if the ratings go up I imagine the family overall makes $$$. It just reaffirms all of reality TV has no reality. It is cheap poorly produced boring BS usually about uninteresting people you wouldn't spend the time to have a conversation with if you met them in real life. Yet people watch... I don't even trust this issue enough to trust he cares enough to be a real ignorant bigot and just not a made for TV one

[mike dub]

25. Our local auto parts store had a brand of oil for sale a few weeks ago

...with DD camo and promotional junk on it. And the only reason I bought it was because **that 5+ quart bottle was soooo much *cheaper than any other brand. Like 12.99 compared to 18.99. Shows 'how much' some marketing people think of that show. At least the bottle's going straight into the recycler after I change my oil.

[WinkyDink]

31. They found a gimmick, and it's been working.

[Historic NY]

32. " H E L L O " suckers.