How badly are "reality" shows faked?

[Archae]

Worse than you think.









http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_1318_17-lies-hidden-behind-scenes-popular-reality-shows/

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Is anyone seriously shocked by that?

[Newsjock]

2. Next you're gonna tell me that Charles Van Doren didn't really know all those answers

[chrisa]

3. They're all totally fake. It's commonplace to have multiple takes with supposed "real" interactions.

That customer talking to the Pawn Stars workers? Probably went through multiple takes saying the same thing over and over again. The Pawn Stars pawn shop isn't real either - it's a gift shop for fans of the show.

"Ghost Hunters" is not real either - anyone who actually hunts ghosts will tell you that 99.9% of the time you find nothing. The flashlight thing (where a ghost turns it off) is stupid - it can easily be faked. Their past evidence is clearly special effects, and their acting is corny. "Ghost Adventures" is pretty funny, though - it doesn't even try to be realistic.

The rest of these do the same things. It's all about good TV. Survivor is totally fake too. If these shows were real, they would be much less interesting - a lot of stuff is faked for the sake of entertainment.

[Archae]

14. I only watch one "reality" show, the oldest one, "COPS."

I doubt they'll ever have to stage any of it, face it, criminals will always be with us.
Especially dumb ones who try to run away.

I have noticed most of the criminals busted on COPS are relatively minor offenders, drugs and assaults most common.

I loved one guy, caught with powder cocaine, kept yelling it wasn't his, even though he had cocaine on his upper lip under his nose.
Kept yelling "It's not mine!" until it cut to commercial.

[MindPilot]

32. The guy with smeared lipstick wearing a leopard print leotard climbing out of the 18-wheeler cab...

still my favorite COPS moment of all time!

[Archae]

39. What was he busted for?

DUI?

[MindPilot]

41. No, actually IIRC, he was the victim.

I think the situation was that a male prostitute assaulted him and took his wallet.

[Archae]

44. That makes the whole thing even funnier!

I know, I know, I shouldn't laugh at this guy getting assaulted and robbed.
But it is funny, like the gas attack at the Furry convention.

[AngryAmish]

15. I know 2 guys who were on Iron Chef America

The secret ingredient is know ahead of time...they are told it will be 1 of 3 things. Other than that it is on the up and up.

[Bandit]

24. Do you think the waves are not real in "Deadliest Catch"

Or how about the crabs in the pots. Are they faked? I fished the Gulf of Alaska for over two decades and can say beyond doubt that what you see is actually what happened.

[Archae]

40. Like "COPS" it's the exception to the rule.

No one even mentioned Deadliest Catch, but yes that does look real.

And rather scary at times.

[chrisa]

46. What you see on the final product is heavily edited, and often times is from multiple takes.

Even if the footage is real (which, for most 'job' shows, the people receive some help), it didn't necessarily happen as it's shown. It's common to even take dialog or events from completely different days and piece them with other cuts to make an interesting story.

For example, the Ghost Hunters actually film for at least a couple days on location, but the show is cut to make it look like it's all in one night. For their Christmas special, they actually shot it in July and had the place put up Christmas decorations to make it look like it was Christmas.

Another good example is "Man vs. Wild." Bear Grylls had a lot of help, never stayed in the woods over night, and was never far from civilization.

I've never actually seen "Deadliest Catch," so I don't have an opinion on it.

[edhopper]

25. For Ghost Hunters

that's 100%, cause there ain't no ghost.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. I'm convinced that the producers told Teresa Giudice to throw a fit

(not necessarily turn over a restaurant table) if she wanted more face-time on RHONJ. She's a real dumb ass, but she's also hungry for attention. It got people watching the show and talking about it.

[GeorgeGist]

5. You needed to ask?

[d_r]

6. I saw this one day

working at home and not wanting to get up to find the remote. It was on in the background and it was amazing.

http://www.destinationamerica.com/tv-shows/mountain-monsters/

[ProdigalJunkMail]

7. they are shows for ratings... nothing else

to believe they are somehow real is like believing pro-wrestling is anything more than a carefully choreographed dance...

sP

[underpants]

37. Cheaper too

Non-union writers
Less pay because they aren't "talent"
Even the contests only have one $500k or $1M payout as opposed to paying actors per episode (Kelsey Grammer was pulling down over $2M per episode at the end of 'Frasier')

[ProdigalJunkMail]

43. you got it...

and if it flops... no huge loss.

sP

[GreatGazoo]

8. Master Chef, Master Chef Jr and Kitchen Nightmares are all semi-scripted

For MC they use food stylists and coaches, give them the mystery ingredients 4 weeks ahead of time so they can practice.

The kids come from casting calls, their parents can pay for coaches, they practice in advance, a ringer wins it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/masterchef-junior_n_4234794.html

If the pros on Chopped get beat by the clock, why would anyone believe that every 10YO on MCJ can bang out a picture perfect alligator curry in 30 minutes?

Ramsay himself is somewhat of a fraud -- never played pro football, uses frozen food (boil in a bag !?) in his restaurants, serves tired 1950s British food.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1171004/Theyre-freshly-prepared-Ramsay-defends-use-boil-bag-ready-meals-restaurants.html

ETA: The king of fake food shows was "Mystery Diner" which was one of the few fakes to be called out and embarrass its producers.

http://previously.tv/mystery-diners/the-delightfully-fake-restaurant-crimes-of-mystery-diners/

[LanternWaste]

9. Television is staged and scripted? What a damnable shocker...

Television is staged and scripted? What a damnable shocker...

[ChisolmTrailDem]

21. IKR? IKR? nt

[mercuryblues]

10. yes

House Hunters falls into this category. Some of the houses they show are not for sale. They are houses owned by friends of the purchaser. Sometimes the house they "chose" at the end, they all ready have under contract.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. I heard something about American Pickers that shocked me.

The rumor is that they are millionaires and the deals are made before they fly in. And the truck is driven to the destination where they only film the last mile or so.

Say it ain't so!

[AZ Progressive]

12. Conning Americans has been in vogue since the beginning of this century

It's really gone mainstream, with society acting like it's normal. America really is a sociopath's paradise.

[Brother Buzz]

13. But Trump's Celebrity Apprentice is on the up and up, right?

[Kaleva]

16. "Alaskan Bush People" has become my favorite fake reality show to watch.

They spend their nights in the comfort of a lodge in a nearby town while hired locals build the outhouse, trapper's cabin and stand bear guard duty. We don't see that on tv though.

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. I was once approached by someone wanting to make a show...

... about northwest sawmills. Guy knew less than nothing about the business, and I can't imagine a more boring tv show than following my buddy and me as we gossip, eat lunch and make boards on our tiny bandsaw mill.

Another time, I was approached by someone wanting to do one about boatbuilding - similar situation. I referred both guys to businesses with more entertaining owners.

[wyldwolf]

18. There was a show on the SciFi channel called Scare Tactics

From Wiki:

Scare Tactics is a hidden camera prank show that puts victims into terrifying situations, usually involving movie-style special effects and makeup that recreates horror movie clichés. The victims, generally four per episode, are set up by friends/family in tandem with producers.

The victims on the show are lured to a location, either invited there by people they know (who were in on the act), or reporting for what they thought was a new job. Soon they would experience some kind of terrifying scene—like a strange monster, an alien encounter, a terrible accident, or a violent crime being committed—all of which was staged while the victim was secretly being recorded.

You could see the lapel mics on the 'victims.' Totally and obviously fake.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. You mean if I go into a random storage locker I won't find some hidden treasure?

I'm telling you, I'm totally shocked here.

[NaturalHigh]

20. Pretty much what I thought.

[Jamaal510]

22. Aww...not South Beach Tow, too.

After thinking about it for a while, I can't say I'm too shocked. Something seemed fishy when Tremont Towing was supposedly going out of business and Bernice was headed to Detroit with her mom, then all of a sudden, a miracle happens. Same thing happened with when Robert Sr. owed one of his rivals some money, then at the last minute, he gets the dough, and the other guy is mad. Also, Cosgrove fell down a bunch of stairs and was in the hospital until......he and Bernice revealed to everyone that it was a prank!
I'm not going to lie, though--much of the ass beatings and injuries on that show do look real, as well as Robert Sr. having to retire due to his neck injury.

[loyalsister]

23. No surprise there

I have never watched a single episode of a reality show. I like fiction for my relaxation and viewing pleasure. I love my Roku. Except for PBS, I never turn on broadcast TV.
It was probably the writers' strike that cause the cable co. to lose my business. It was getting too expensive, anyway. Good riddance!

[zappaman]

26. ALL of them. N/t

[edhopper]

27. I like House Hunters International

not because I think the people are looking at only three homes and then choosing. But because I like to see the foreign locations.

[louis-t]

28. Trust me, if Hester was getting favored in the series, he would never have

filed a lawsuit. I'm sure he knew what was up from the beginning. I think he thought someone else was being favored over him. He's back on the show and a bigger asshole than ever. That could be fake, too. His 'character' seems to have mental problems at times. I don't care for the newer bidders. The girl from Texas is really dorky. Ivy is hard to watch. Barry is gone. Mark Balelo committed suicide.

[valerief]

29. Yeah, reality shows are no more real than M$M "news" shows. nt

[Dawson Leery]

30. SAG writers are denied a living with the rise of "reality tv".

That is why these "reality" shows are terrible.

[Warpy]

31. I love Cracked

They have some of the best articles on the net.

[CanSocDem]

33. Clearly no sophistication in this crowd.

Since most watchable television is already "reality" (no paid writers...) one has to pick and choose carefully. Even a Corvair guy like you can't dispute the pleasure of watching the many car builders (in Las Vegas) do their magic with a minimum of 'drama'.

Richard from Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas is a true American Car culture hero who probably would have faded into obscurity if not for "reality television". Of course he's now hugely wealthy but one doesn't want to fault him for that.



.

[MindPilot]

34. A few have been decent....

Holmes on Homes, COPS, Dirty Jobs, O'Hare Towing.

Most of them are just obviously contrived BS. I like the build shows like Overhaulin' but please, I couldn't give less of a shit about about all the internal strife and shop politics. Just show me how you restored that '66 Malibu.

[littlewolf]

42. have always liked Holmes on homes , Dirty Jobs, and Deadliest catch.

never really thought of them as reality shows.
Just guys doing a job.
and what is involved in it.

[Glassunion]

35. I don't get the Iron Chef one.

For as long as I've watched the show, I've understood it to have worked that way. Hell, most of what is mentioned is on the wiki page. I was not "shocked" by any of it.

[NuclearDem]

36. Ugh, damn you.

I had stuff to do today, but now I'm on Cracked.

[Ex Lurker]

38. A friend of mine is a part time actor

He was cast last week on a fairly well known reality series as an "angry neighbor."

[Scuba]

45. I know a woman who was recruited to be on American Idol. Yes, recruited, but they wanted ...

... her to sign over her past and future to them and she said no. She's a kick-ass singer.


I used to watch The Big Break until they had Guilliani's asshole kid on the show. That was too much.




On edit: Do you think it was Daryl who was paid to have the breast enlargement?

[hunter]

47. Everything on television is fake, even the "news" shows.

Brian Williams is just an actor in a bit of trouble with his bosses for going off script.

My television is a movie player. That's all it does. If I watch a movie like Iron Sky I can be pretty sure it's not a true story about Nazis on the moon, if I watch Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I can be pretty sure it's not a true story about Abraham Lincoln's vampire hunting prowess.

Being constantly skeptical of television "news," as we all must be, just makes me tired and sad. Why bother?