Though the reality TV genre is largely berated by critics and has been pronounced dead more often than "Friday the 13th" slasher Jason Voorhies, the networks are once again offering up a palette of fresh reality-based programming this winter.
Welcome to one of America's guiltiest pleasures.
"It's like a bad car accident," said senior Pete Ellingsworth. "You don't want to watch, but you just can't help it."
Telecommunications professor Alan Richardson said that the reality TV format persists despite a lack of respect from many in the TV business.
"I think that most of the professionals in the industry tend to look down their noses at this kind of programming," he said. "They realize that it's hype, and it's not very intellectually challenging at all."
Even without critical support, the genre has proven that the right combination of likable (or hatable) characters and a competition format can turn a profit for television networks.
"American Idol" has earned Fox more than $200 million in just two seasons. The show's interactive aspects (viewers help choose the competition's winner) could be the program's ace in the hole, although the oft-quoted insults of chronically crabby judge Simon Cowell (whose celebrity status has possibly risen as much as any contestant since the show's debut) can't hurt its popularity.
Junior Sarah McWhorter said her favorite part of "Idol" is seeing the judges put the "talent-challenged" participants in their place.
"It's nice to see someone give them an honest opinion," she said.
Fox's police chase-laden "COPS" may have arguably been the first reality program to strike network gold (excluding game shows), but the current barrage of reality TV-related hype and airtime can likely be traced to CBS' "Survivor."
Debuting in the summer of 2000, "Survivor" is airing its eighth season of adventure-hungry contestants vying for $1 million in the wilderness.
This year's catch?
The challengers are all winners and fan favorites from previous seasons.
Ellingsworth, a loyal "Survivor" fan, said that the personal attachment viewers develop with the characters in reality shows is part of the reason why they are so irresistible.
"You can't help rooting for people," he said. "You come up with your own idea of who should win."
Shows debuting this season include the aptly titled "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" and "The Apprentice," featuring real estate mogul Donald Trump.
"Average Joe," "Joe Millionaire," "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" all are returning this season for new episodes.
Richardson said that while reality TV may appear to be an orchestrated, highly calculated play into viewers' tastes, the format's emergence is simply based on the bottom line.
"It's inexpensive programming," he said. "That's what's driving it."
Richardson said the advent of the Internet caused television audiences to shrink, which led networks to be more thrifty when producing new shows.
Without the need for hiring script writers or a multimillion-dollar cast, reality TV's relatively low overhead makes it a financially attractive option for networks needing to fill the time slots of shows with failing ratings.
Despite the genre's prominence in pop culture and the amount of advertising used to promote it, Richardson said he still doesn't consider reality TV as dominant a format as the time-tested sitcom.
"I don't see it as a major genre," he said.
Indeed, a look through TV listings for the week of Jan. 25-31 reveals that the four major networks, during the primetime hours, aired 13.5 hours of reality programming compared to 44 hours of sitcoms.
Even though reality TV might not have overtaken "scripted" programming in terms of its share of primetime, it still exerts a considerable pull on some viewers.
Richardson said that explaining reality TV's popularity is difficult.
"It just simply strikes fancy with people," he said.
McWhorter had a more specific idea about its success.
"People enjoy watching other people make idiots of themselves on live TV," she said.
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