the reality tv ecosystem

my parents are switching through channels all showing crappy sing-song-dance-comedy reality shows channel after after channel on a sunday afternoon. what must have started as a singing show (probably, indian idol) inspired by, rather a franchisee of the very famous american idol has now evolved into a whole lot of #$%^ on all channels, the good, the bad and the ugly.

so, like i said, it started with indian idol. the indian television was never exposed to the idea of reality tv / sing / dance competition on tv. of course, there was a band of girls - like show on mtv many years ago. but then it did not create a fad at that time.

as it was the only one show of its kind, indian idol became the common topic of conversation in parties, at work and at school. the show made a lot of money from all the crazy sms'es being sent by people multiple times each night. they loved the fake crying, the fake tension during results, the unnecesssary melodrama and frills associated with it.

the ever so gullible tv audience got so hooked onto indian idol that all producers, directors and tv channel owners started rolling up their sleeves and getting a similar singing competition on tv. the formula must've been quite straight forward. and they must have also thought that there is anyways such a huge television market in the country, they wouldn't mind being just another show showing the same stuff.

there were new shows and there were old shows which were 'reality-ized' keeping in mind the popularity the other reality shows gained in very little time.

the sad part is that the trend that must have started about 4 years ago, unfortunately has not died yet. the judges are the same - just shuffling around the shows, the contestants are the same - just shuffling around the shows, the anchors are the same - just shuffling around the shows and the audience are still the same - just shuffling around the countless shows on each channel.

now that all formulae have been exhausted, they have got the winners from each show and put together another round of shows that will scrape through our brains every weekend. these winner contestants promote their show with angry "back with a vengance" faces on hoardings and sides of buses around the city.

i am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the fad will die soon as they will eventually run out of formulae and audience too.

Comments

Sumita said…
Unfortunately, India got this trend from the west!!!!!! While I find some shows entertaining, the vast majority is just crap. But in the US, the alternative is Desperate Housewives and Lost which is not too bad. But in India, I would rather watch reality TV than Kyonki Saas Bhi...... etc.
June 12, 2008 at 6:34:00 PM GMT+5:30
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