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unit

Unit5

PartA

Realitytelevision

Realitytelevisionisagenreoftelevisionprogrammingwhichpresentspurportedlyunscripteddramaticorhumoroussituations,documentsactualevents,andusuallyfeaturesordinarypeopleinsteadofprofessionalactors.Althoughthegenrehasexistedinsomeformoranothersincetheearlyyearsoftelevision,thetermrealitytelevisionismostcommonlyusedtodescribeprogramsofthisgenreproducedsince2000.Documentariesandnonfictionalprogrammingsuchasnewsandsportsshowsareusuallynotclassifiedasrealityshows.

Realitytelevisionsawanexplosionofglobalpopularitystartingintheearly2000s.Tworealityseries-SurvivorandAmericanIdol-havebeenthetop-ratedseriesonAmericantelevisionforanentireseason.TheshowsSurvivor,theIdolseries,theTopModelseries,theDancingWithTheStarsseries,TheApprentice,"FearFactor"andBigBrotherhaveallhadaglobalimpact,havingeachbeensuccessfullysyndicatedindozensofcountries.

Currentlythereareatleasttwotelevisionchannelsdevotedexclusivelytorealitytelevision:

FoxRealityintheUnitedStates,launchedin2005,andZoneRealityintheUK,launchedin2002.Inaddition,severalothercablechannels,suchasViacom'sMTVandNBC'sBravo,featureoriginalrealityprogrammingasamainstay.

InApril2008,theAcademyofTelevisionArtsandSciencesannounceditwillgiveitsveryfirstPrimetimeEmmyAwardforOutstandingHostforaRealityShoworRealityCompetitiononSeptember21."Realitytelevisionhasbecomesuchanintegralpartoftelevisionandourculture,soitonlymadesenseforustocreatethisnewhighlycompetitivecategory,"TVacademyChairmenandCEOJohnShaffnersaidintheannouncement.

TypesofrealityTV

Documentary-style

Inmanyrealitytelevisionshows,theviewerandthecameraarepassiveobserversfollowingpeoplegoingabouttheirdailypersonalandprofessionalactivities;thisstyleoffilmingisoftenreferredtoas"flyonthewall"or"Factualtelevision".Often"plots"areconstructedviaeditingorplannedsituations,withtheresultsresemblingsoapoperas—hencethetermdocusoapordocudrama.Inothershows,acinémavéritéstyleisadopted,wherethefilmmakerismorethanapassiveobserver—theirpresenceandinfluenceisgreatlymanifest.

Withindocumentary-stylerealitytelevisionareseveralsubcategoriesorvariants:

Speciallivingenvironment

Somedocumentary-styleprogramsplacecastmembers,whoinmostcasespreviouslydidnotknoweachother,inartificiallivingenvironments;TheRealWorldistheoriginatorofthisstyle.Inalmosteveryothersuchshow,castmembersaregivenaspecificchallengeorobstacletoovercome.

BigBrotherisprobablythebestknownprogramofthistypeintheworldwithdifferentversionsproducedinmanycountriesaroundtheglobe.

Celebrities

Anothersubsetoffly-on-the-wall-styleshowsinvolvescelebrities.Oftentheseshowacelebritygoingabouttheireverydaylife.Inothershows,celebritiesareputonlocationandgivenaspecifictaskortask.VH1hascreatedanentireblockofshowsdedicatedtocelebrityreality,knownas"Celebreality".

Professionalactivities

Somedocumentary-styleshowsportrayprofessionalseithergoingaboutday-to-daybusinessorperforminganentireprojectoverthecourseofaseries.Nooutsideexpertsarebroughtin（atleast,noneappearonscreen）toeitherprovidehelportojudgeresults.Theearliestexample（andthelongestrunningrealityshowofanygenre）isCOPSwhichhasbeenairingsince1989,precedingbymanyyearsthecurrentrealityshowphenomenon.

Elimination/Gameshows

AnothertypeofrealityTVis"reality-competition",orso-called"realitygameshows",inwhichparticipantsarefilmedcompetingtowinaprize,oftenwhilelivingtogetherinaconfinedenvironment.Inmanycases,participantsareremoveduntilonlyonepersonorteamremains,who/whichisthendeclaredthewinner.Usuallythisisdonebyeliminatingparticipantsoneatatime,inballoondebatestyle,througheitherdisapprovalvotingorbyvotingforthemostpopularchoicetowin.Votingisdonebyeithertheviewingaudience,theshow'sownparticipants,apanelofjudges,orsomecombinationofthethree.（Theseprogramshavealsobeencalled"gameoperas,"atermcoinedbySteveBeverly.

Awell-knownexampleofareality-competitionshowistheglobally-syndicatedBigBrother,inwhichcastmemberslivetogetherinthesamehouse,withparticipantsremovedatregularintervalsbyeithertheviewingaudienceor,inthecaseoftheAmericanversion,bytheparticipantsthemselves.

Thereremainssomedisagreementoverwhethertalent-searchshowssuchasthePopstarsseries,America'sGotTalent,DancingwiththeStars,andCelebrityDuetsaretrulyrealitytelevision,orjustnewerincarnationsofshowssuchasStarSearch.Althoughtheshowsinvolveatraditionaltalentsearch,theshowsfollowthereality-competitionconventionsofremovingoneormorecontestantsperepisodeandallowingthepublictovoteonwhoisremoved;thePopstarsseriesalsorequirethecontestantstolivetogetherduringtherunoftheshow（thoughtheirdailylifeisnevershownonscreen）.Additionally,thereisagooddealofinteractionshownbetweencontestantsandjudges.Asaresult,suchshowsareoftenconsideredrealitytelevision.

ModerngameshowslikeWhoWantstoBeaMillionairealsolieinagrayarea:

liketraditionalgameshows,theactiontakesplaceinanenclosedTVstudiooverashortperiodoftime;however,theyhavehigherproductionvalues,moredramaticbackgroundmusic,andhigherstakesthantraditionalshows（doneeitherthroughputtingcontestantsintophysicaldangerorofferinglargecashprizes）.Inaddition,thereismoreinteractionbetweencontestantsandhosts,andinsomecasestheyfeaturereality-stylecontestantcompetitionand/oreliminationaswell.

Popularvariantsofthecompetition-basedformatincludethefollowing:

Dating-basedcompetition

Dating-basedcompetitionshowsfollowacontestantchoosingoneoutofagroupofsuitors.Overthecourseofeitherasingleepisodeoranentireseason,suitorsareeliminateduntilonlythecontestantandthefinalsuitorremains.

Jobsearch

Inthiscategory,thecompetitionrevolvesaroundaskillthatcontestantswerepre-screenedfor.Competitorsperformavarietyoftasksbasedaroundthatskill,arejudged,andarethenkeptorremovedbyasingleexpertorapanelofexperts.Theshowisusuallypresentedasajobsearchofsomekind,inwhichtheprizeforthewinnerincludesacontracttoperformthatkindofwork.Thefirstjob-searchshowwhichshoweddramatic,unscriptedsituationsmayhavebeenAmerica'sNextTopModel,whichpremieredinMay2003.OtherexamplesincludeTheApprentice（whichjudgesbusinessskills）,Hell'sKitchen（forchefs）,ShearGenius（forhairstyling）ProjectRunway（forclothingdesign）,TopChef（forcooking）,TopDesign（forinteriordesign）,Stylista（forfashioneditors）,LastComicStanding（forcomedians）,TheStarletandScreamQueens（foractresses）,OntheLot（forfilmmakers）,TheShot（forphotographers）,SoYouThinkYouCanDance（fordancers）andtheMuchMusicVJSearch（fortelevisionhosts）..

Fear-centric

Possiblyintroducedinthemid1990swithAustralia'sWhoDaresWins,thenintheUSwithMTV'sFearin2000,fear-centricshowsplacepeopleinsituationsorlocationsaimedatgeneratingemotionsoffright,panic,orrevulsion.ShowsinthegenreincludeFearFactor,ScareTacticsandCelebrityParanormalProject.

Sports

Mostoftheseprogramscreateasportingcompetitionamongathletesattemptingtoestablishtheirnameinthatsport.TheClub,in2002,wasoneofthefirstshowstoimmersesportwithrealityTV,basedaroundafabricatedclubcompetingagainstrealclubsinthesportofAustralianrulesfootball;theaudiencehelpedselectwhichplayersplayedeachweekbyvotingfortheirfavorites.

Self-improvement/makeover

Somerealitytelevisionshowscoverapersonorgroupofpeopleimprovingtheirlives.Despitedifferencesinthecontent,theformatisusuallythesame:

firsttheshowintroducesthesubjectsintheircurrent,less-than-idealenvironment.Thenthesubjectsmeetwithagroupofexperts,whogivethesubjectsinstructionsonhowtoimprovethings;theyofferaidandencouragementalongtheway.Finally,thesubjectsareplacedbackintheirenvironmentandthey,alongwiththeirfriendsandfamilyandtheexperts,appraisethechangesthathaveoccurred.Otherself-improvementormakeovershowsincludeTheBiggestLoserandFatMarch,（whichcoversweightloss）,ExtremeMakeover（entirephysicalappearance）,QueerEyeForTheStraightGuy（styleandgrooming）,Supernanny（child-rearing）,Made（attainingdifficultgoals）,WhatNottoWear（fashionandgrooming）,Trinny&SusannahUndress（fashionmakeoverandmarriage）,ToolAcademy（relationshipbuilding）,FlavorofLoveGirls:

CharmSchool&RockofLoveGirls:

CharmSchool2（manners）,TheGirlsofHedsorHall（etiquette）andTheBadGirlsClub&BadGirlsRoadTrip（self-improvment）.

Renovation

Someshowsmakeoverpartorallofaperson'slivingspace,workspace,orvehicle.

Socialexperiment

Anothertypeofrealityprogramisthesocialexperimentthatproducesdrama,conflict,andsometimestransformation.

Datingshows

Unliketheaforementioneddatingcompetitionshows,someshowsfeatureallnewcontestantseachepisode.Thisformatwasfirstusedinthe1960sshowTheDatingGame.ModernexamplesincludeBlindDate,RoomRaiders,Elimidate,Next,andParentalControl.

Talkshows

Thoughthetraditionalformatofatalkshowisthatofahostinterviewingafeaturedguestordiscussingachosent