Sometimes I miss having powers... Oh. Oh! I know what this is! This is peer pressure! Any second now you're gonna make me smoke tobacco and--and have drugs!

Anya ,'Showtime'


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]


Amy - Apr 04, 2013 1:15:34 pm PDT #20493 of 23273
Because books.

Oh god, Ruthie. Wow, I forgot all about that. That was a train wreck.


SuziQ - Apr 04, 2013 1:44:02 pm PDT #20494 of 23273
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame

I must have given up before Hawaii cause I have no memory of Ruthie. I did watch the first couple of the Challange seasons and it was a mix of people I remembered and total unknowns.


le nubian - Apr 04, 2013 2:43:56 pm PDT #20495 of 23273
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

Yeah, kat's impressions are mine. I watched every RW season through Chicago (Season 11). Tonya, as you might imagine, put me off the franchise forever. That was also the last year I watched the RW/RR Challenge. A year or two before I gave up on Road Rules.

You know, I was just thinking about Seattle and how David became involved with the casting director Kira. I think about Kira maybe 2x a year because I just don't understand what she was thinking.


Vortex - Apr 04, 2013 3:40:33 pm PDT #20496 of 23273
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman

I am cynical about how much "reality" is in reality TV. Anything after the very first Real World, I just assume that there is a lot of producer manipulation going on.

A good friend of mine knows someone (yeah, I know, but I trust my friend) who was approached to do a reality show, was told that he would win the competition, and told what the challenges would be so that he could prepare.


megan walker - Apr 04, 2013 5:03:48 pm PDT #20497 of 23273
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

Okay, I didn't think it was that bad.

ETA: And I just reread my tag. Sigh.


bon bon - Apr 04, 2013 8:40:40 pm PDT #20498 of 23273
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.

A good friend of mine knows someone (yeah, I know, but I trust my friend) who was approached to do a reality show, was told that he would win the competition, and told what the challenges would be so that he could prepare.

We know a reality casting producer (this is a different person from the writer above. It's LA). He was asked if he knew someone with a nerdy/fun vibe. He suggested Bob Bob. The producers of that show auditioned Bob for a role in a Pawn Stars-type reality show where he would be the video game expert.

N.B.: Bob knows nothing about video games. This was not a problem.


megan walker - Apr 05, 2013 8:35:15 am PDT #20499 of 23273
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

This whole conversation reminds me about back in the early 90s when I learned about make-up on the covers of women's magazines, except I didn't read those, so I didn't care.


Jesse - Apr 05, 2013 8:52:57 am PDT #20500 of 23273
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

Oh, but you guys -- apparently shit did get real on Real World this week! [link]


meara - Apr 07, 2013 12:36:37 pm PDT #20501 of 23273

And no one should ever ever ever sing Adele. Don't these fools learn?

Hee. I haven't even seen the Voice this week (though I TiVo'd it) but this makes me giggle and want to hang out with le nubian and kat perez and just listen to them snark on people (watching SYTYCD with kat and bonbon and bob bob was awesome!)

Also, I didn't think I had watched that much Real World, but y'all are mentioning stuff I was like 'Oh yeah, Ruthie"..apparently I watched more than I realized.

And I was very disappointed in Pam and Winnie--WTF, ladies? You coulda been CONTENDAHS!


kat perez - Apr 08, 2013 3:33:58 pm PDT #20502 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

I would totally watch the Voice with meara and le Nubian. And that's my family's "family show" so we might even get my mom and dad to come over and watch with us. They taught me everything I know about snarking.

The Real World sucks you in with the marathons. Before you know it, you've spent an entire Saturday watching Real World Tucson and exclaiming, "Jon is such a jerk. John should just punch Jon in the face and then get over Courtney #1. Kourtnay would be so much better for him anyway" in a very heated manner.

Loved the get real moment from the current Real World. I'm gonna drop a bombshell on someone and use that "Let it get silent" because that was all kinds of awesome.