Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue.

River ,'Ariel'


Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]


SuziQ - Apr 04, 2013 12:48:16 pm PDT #20483 of 23273
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame

San Francisco also brought us Pedro which, for me, more than made up for Puck.


Amy - Apr 04, 2013 12:49:50 pm PDT #20484 of 23273
Because books.

nobody could've invented someone like Hatch in a million years

It's not free streaming, and my kid is so upset. She's become a Survivor junkie, and she wants to watch that season so much.

I would love to rewatch it, actually. Everything was so different! They were allowed to bring so much stuff, for one.


kat perez - Apr 04, 2013 12:53:46 pm PDT #20485 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

The Seattle cast was season 7 and yes I do know waaayyy too much about The Real World through probably about Miami! The big to-do was Stephen slapping Irene (not LA Irene, another Irene)as Irene was moving out (because of a relapse of Lyme Disease, what? Oh, old school Real World. So random!). He didn't get kicked out of the house either, which was amazing considering David got kicked out in Season 2 for pulling a blanket off of Tami while she was in bed (pretty much fully clothed, I might add, although later on she claimed she was naked) and Puck got kicked out in Season 3 basically for being obnoxious and hard to live with (and putting his snotty fingers in people's peanut butter).


Amy - Apr 04, 2013 12:57:02 pm PDT #20486 of 23273
Because books.

Oh, that's the Irene I'm remembering! That whole slapping thing was bizarre.


Jessica - Apr 04, 2013 12:57:33 pm PDT #20487 of 23273
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

That's partly why I like TAR - there's not a lot of producer interference possible in that format. (I assume personalities are more or less manufactured, but the order teams arrive at the mat is due to competence and luck, not to network manipulation.)


SuziQ - Apr 04, 2013 12:58:33 pm PDT #20488 of 23273
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame

He ran up to her car and slapped her. Am I remembering right. I used to be a Real World addict - probably about through Miami. Isn't that when they started the whole give them a job/project thing?


kat perez - Apr 04, 2013 12:59:10 pm PDT #20489 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

I loved Pedro and his whole story, but honestly, SF was the first season that really seemed cast for conflict. It was clear from the jump that Puck was just in it for the publicity and the chance to be famous and that he was cast to cause trouble. And casting an openly gay, HIV+ man with a straighlaced, latina, catholic, young republican type like Rachel was just courting controversy. The manipulation on that season was really starting to show, which makes it a real love/hate season for me because there was a lot to like (Pedro's whole storyline, Pam and Judd) but I also feel like SF was the beginning of the end for The Real World as a show at all interested in being something beyond trash TV. Then after the boring London season, Bunim-Murray just said "Fuck it" and started casting for looks and conflict and making the kids work together in bullshit, made up jobs and anything real about The Real World went right out the door.


Amy - Apr 04, 2013 1:00:47 pm PDT #20490 of 23273
Because books.

TAR is good for that reason. Plus, the scenery! No matter what else is going on, I get to see a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise.

Isn't that when they started the whole give them a job/project thing?

Yes! That was not a great idea.


kat perez - Apr 04, 2013 1:02:23 pm PDT #20491 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

Yes, I love that about TAR. Even when they cast people who play to type, once they get out there and start running the race, the chips fall pretty much where they may. It's refreshing.

And I would so re-watch a marathon of S1 Survivor. Someone should get on that.


kat perez - Apr 04, 2013 1:10:19 pm PDT #20492 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

Oh, and they started the give them a fake job/project thing in Miami, which was before Seattle. For me, it really ruined the show and turned it into something else entirely. I did keep watching after that, but I wasn't a capital "F" fan anymore. I probably watched pretty religiously up through Hawaii, but that season was so uncomfortable because they put Ruthie on and she was so clearly an alcoholic and really needed help and not to have her life paraded on MTV and it was really bad to watch those kids act as enablers as she got closer and closer to killing herself on TV for our amusement. After that, I kind of couldn't watch anymore.