I don't know (nor care) if there was a discussion about this already (I think there was?), but I got reminded again by the TV series discussion.

Anyway, everyone loves to hate reality TV, it makes you look cool. I do that too and bash all those stupid MasterChef or Top Model or Voice of something or Temptation Island programs. I especially don't understand why there are so many cooking programs/contests, I guess so many people are really wanna-be chefs?

Are there some kinds of reality TV that you actually like watching? I leave it to you your own discretion what do you consider as reality TV, but I consider anything that is not (supposed to be) fictional or acted, and not straight documentaries. I am not restricting it only to contests, but also TV programs following the day to day life of some people (albeit the distinction between these and documentaries is maybe hazy...).

I've noticed I currently enjoy at least two kinds of reality TV:

- "Cops" and similar which follow the day to day life of policemen. Even the Finnish versions like "Poliisit", even though they are more about the policemen taking drunkards who've peed in their pants to lockup for the night, rather than pursuing some real criminals as in the US versions.

- Shows related to buying/selling, or heavily renovating, homes. I am not talking about small decoration programs, but full renovations. I just enjoy seeing how people live in different parts of the world, and what kind of money they are paying for it.

Two shows related to the latter that I am currently enjoying is the Canadian "Love It or List It (Vancouver)", which gives both at the same time: they are both renovating the old home, and looking for a new home (and then the family has to decide whether they stay in their renovated home, or move to the new home).

The other is the British "Grand Designs" which presents kinda extreme homes.

Sure there are also some "similar" Finnish programs like "Pientä pintaremonttia", but frankly it is much less interesting as everything is so much more low-key here when it comes to people spending money on renovating their homes. The show is basically about someone wanting to use 5000€ or so to do little "renovation" (styling) for their current home so that they could sell it for a bit higher price. Pfffft. It is quite a different thing seeing people spending like $100000 or more to fully renovate their current home, or use 1-2 million to buy a new home.

There was a reality show with animals (hamsters, rabbits, etc) in Hungary.... I really liked that one :)

What made it "reality TV" in your eyes, instead of e.g. a documentary? Were they competing who survives the longest in harsh conditions etc.?

do mythbusters count ?
if not i dont give a fuck about "reality" tv its all scripted garbage anyway

Absolutely none.
We have heaps in oz but the latest one is a thing called Googlebox.From the shorts of it the description is.....
People watching something on TV and the cameras on the viewers (in house) awaiting their comments and reactions to the stuff that they are watching.Extremely riveting stuff.
How this crap is successful is beyond me.

Seems like my posts are not showing up again. I used to like charity shop/boot fair hunting, so American Pickers, Storage Wars/hunters, and recently started watching Shipping Wars as that Robbie Welsh is way hot :o)

Other than that I could care a jot about the rest of it.

My windows because they kinda looks like TVs sometimes.

- "Geordie Shore": when the British copy beats the original ("Jersey Shore").... Pure trash but overall what I like the most is the spontaneity of the cast compared to the most of other TV Shows of the same genre, it gives more life into it rather than too much staged situations. Charlotte Crosby is the highlight of the show and quite "different" from Kardashian & co.

- "The Apprentice" US & UK. I only saw the early seasons of the US version when it was out (ten years ago) and quite enjoyed it, the board room can be unintentionally hilarious. I sometimes watch the UK version when I'm aware of its broadcast. Lord Sugar has naturally a different personnality than Trump but it's still good.

- "Shark Tank"/"Dragon's Den": once again there is a cultural difference between US and UK TV culture. Naturally, the US version is more entertaining because the hosts are way more braggy and up to go in competition between themselves where as the UK is quieter and more "logic" driven.

- "Hell's Kitchen": being a former cook assistant, I can laugh at the contestants and the bad situations they put themselves in while Gordon shouts at them like an army sergeant :o)

- "Kitchen Nightmares": The must in "facepalming" show. The original UK version was maybe the most down-to-earth one and with a more "human" Gordon. The US version is more "formulaic" with Gordon acting a bit more and you can sense the "american dream" propaganda. The French version follows the US formula but it's still cool to watch.

- "J'irai dormir chez vous": A French show between documentary and real-TV where the host arrives alone with his cameras in a foreign land (and where he doesn't speak the local language) and he tries to get acquainted with the local people and sleep for the night in their homes. Totally unscripted and unpredictable, each episode is an original point of view on a country, its customs and citizens. It can turn from great (ending up in parties and such) to bad (getting bullied by local thugs). Totally unique and a must-watch.

Shows featuring nothing other than police car chases. For some reason I find it incredibly soothing, especially to fall asleep too.

It is interesting to hear why some people enjoy shows that I personally don't care about. 50% of the time when I switch on some TV channel, there is some cooking reality TV show going on, so apparently there must be a big need for them, even if I don't personally enjoy them.

My feeling towards them usually is that the cooks are put into artificially stressing situations, like "Make a tiramisu... but you have only 30 seconds to do it. Go go go!!!". Or is working as a chef really that hectic as all those programs make it out to be, you constantly running around and having mere seconds to do this and that, with a high probability of total failure, or at least running out of time?

I guess I am as much an "anti-chef" as one can be. I enjoy making food about as much as I enjoy washing dishes, ie. when I make food, I try to make it as effortlessly as possible. Just put some salmon or chicken in the oven, cook some rice, wash and cut some raw vegetables... and eat.

Gogglebox is a bit fun.

Honestly?
Yes. That's exactly what it's like. Professional cooking can be ridiculously stressful when it's busy, I work in street food so it's probably not quite as hectic as a full kitchen but when you have a queue 10 metres long and everyone wants their food five minutes ago it's pretty damn tough.

I do enjoy food programmes, though not as much as I used to. We also watch quite a lot of the renovation kind of programmes. Not really keen on a lot of other reality programmes.

God bless those crazy bastards flying down the high way like Doc Brown trying to hit 88 MPH.

mmmm, you have to make a distinction between culinary contests like Masterchef & co and Hell'sKitchen/Kitchen Nightmares.

The culinary contests could be seen as vaguely "stressfull" but they're more aimed at middle-aged housewives audience. In those shows, the goal is to be the best cook with "pure professional" skills which can be "reproduced" within the safety of your own home kitchen. In the reality of most restaurants and snacks, the goal is to end your daily service without too much troubles :o) Missing ingredients, tools not working, fighting colleagues, angry customers, etc.... ^o^

It's more the extra-professional skills which are needed.