Diane,
May I suggest what might be a better solution: perhaps your reviewer colleagues should declare all these shows as phony an refuse to review them. Especially because a significant amount of their popularity comes from water cooler talk, much of which is generated by those aforementioned colleagues. Don't take this personal, it's not directed at you. It's just that you should be careful what your colleagues wish for. As long as the TV journalism industry keeps pretending these are reality shows, you'll get what their reviews are wishing for: more and more of this junk, and no call for a boycott - serious or not - will be effective.

Sorry, but this is one case were reviewers aren't the solution, they're part of the problem. Nothing personal, I just think you're tilting at the wrong windmills, here. Maybe you should make your plea at the next TCA. Or maybe just make it louder next time your there.

Paul from Richmond, KY

Thanks, Paul. Good points. Many TV writers would love to ignore these programs. But these days in publications, it's hard to refuse to review anything if the higher-ups think it's "what readers want." And that's what they think. (Sigh.)

You may notice I try to use quotes around the word "reality," since the shows listed under this genre are often the most un-real things on the tube. My own little protest.

Diane

Bravo!
Thanks for the honesty. I sympathize. Well, at least you're gainfully employed and have the chance to write quality columns, but, and I hate to say it after such an elegant defense, it does let a cat out of the bag. It confirms the suspicion that a lot of buzz is quantity generated by suits, rather than quality generated by conscientious critics. Still, thanks again for the honesty and keep up the good work! And keep the quotes. That's also how I write about "reality" shows. Because there's no good way to write rolling in the aisle, which can be the only fitting response to people who believe these shows are real.

Diane,

How right you are. "Reality" has almost nothing to do with these shows. It's surely only a matter of time before it becomes common knowledge how close "producing" and editing are to writing, when it comes to television.

Best wishes,

Kirk Woodward