Author Topic: You-know-who exalting and condemning reality TV (Read 5430 times)

Robair · « **on:** July 30, 2003, 07:01:29 AM »

I'll probably catch holy hell for this from some of the people on this board but I just read the treatise from a popular game shows website about the death of Bob Hope, and NBC's coverage of it. I wasn't in favor of how they handled it, either, but there's a big hypocritical streak here. Listen.

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What did NBC do Monday night in prime time? A two-minute video of Hope's career to his singing \"Thanks for the Memory\" on the Carson show. A two-minute video which obviously had been edited and ready to go for months, only the date of his death to be edited into the finish. Two minutes! We had Erin Brodie. We had Joe Rogan. We had some father whose kids are turning his chance at a second marriage into a game.
Do you mean to tell me a rerun of Fear Factor and two docudateries were more important to NBC than to spend one night focusing on the man who made them millions and was arguably The Franchise for the network for most of his television career? That's what television has come to, folks.

And obviously, when you get to his front page, he'll talk all about Hope, and without taking another breath he'll breathlessly tell you about the competition over at \"Last Comic Standing\" and \"Big Brother\". Tacky and two-faced. Just like \"Extra\" spends three minutes on Hope and can't wait to get to the Ben and Jen garbage, Beev-o does his piece on Hope and then starts shoveling the reality show crap in our faces.

Enough is enough.

Brandon Brooks · « **Reply #1 on:** July 30, 2003, 08:31:52 AM »

[quote name=\'Robair\' date=\'Jul 30 2003, 06:01 AM\'] Tacky and two-faced. Just like "Extra" spends three minutes on Hope and can't wait to get to the Ben and Jen garbage, Beev-o does his piece on Hope and then starts shoveling the reality show crap in our faces.

Enough is enough. [/quote]
Hypocritical of him, yes.

But I have another bone; in terms of the networks (NBC), what do you expect them to do? Hope died Sunday; are they to throw out their schedules and rush a documentary on air? That's not smart or feasible. I believe (I hope) NBC will get around to getting a retrospective on about Bob Hope within the next few coming weeks. Then Steve will have a gripe. But he's just complaining for the sake of complaining at this point.

Brandon Brooks

melman1 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 30, 2003, 09:24:56 AM »

Since NBC has aired two Hope retrospectives recently, and A&E has done a two-hour \"Biography\", what more can be done? There's no point in yet another compilation of movie, USO and NBC clips, is there?

It'd be nice if Johnny Carson could be lured out of retirement to host a tribute show - ideally, using the format of his old Tonight Show, and just have his friends come out and share stories - but it probably won't happen.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #3 on:** July 30, 2003, 09:39:46 AM »

[quote name=\'melman1\' date=\'Jul 30 2003, 08:24 AM\'] Since NBC has aired two Hope retrospectives recently, and A&E has done a two-hour "Biography", what more can be done? There's no point in yet another compilation of movie, USO and NBC clips, is there?

[/quote]
Isn't NBC the one who aired Hope's 100th birthday special? If so, I think they've done more than their share for right now, esp. since most, if not, all of his X-Mas specials were always on NBC, and considering how recent his death was.

DrBear · « **Reply #4 on:** July 30, 2003, 09:54:07 AM »

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And obviously, when you get to his front page, he'll talk all about Hope, and without taking another breath he'll breathlessly tell you about the competition over at \"Last Comic Standing\" and \"Big Brother\". Tacky and two-faced.

Surprise! I gotta go with the Prof on this one. Thats what he does with his site is post updates on Reality World (not affailiated with Realty World). And I see nothing wrong with him - in a labeled column, designed to be comment, saying he doesn't like something even though his site covers it. It's when he throws those opinions into an interview with somebody who has no connection to the genre - say, a Tom Kennedy, just to bring up a name.

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in terms of the networks (NBC), what do you expect them to do? Hope died Sunday; are they to throw out their schedules and rush a documentary on air? That's not smart or feasible.

Smart, I'll leave to their programming people; I can see the point on not running something. But it's certainly feasible, especially if it's run by the news division. And with Hope in failing health for more than a year, there could easily have been a show ready to go. Heck the N.Y. Times' obit was written by Vincent Canby, who died last year. Nice to get a byline well after you're dead ... does that mean a post-mortem check?

JasonA1 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 30, 2003, 11:19:37 AM »

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And I see nothing wrong with him - in a labeled column, designed to be comment, saying he doesn't like something even though his site covers it.

Well, to use your italic technique here: it wouldn't be a problem, if Steve wasn't the only person working on the site. Because he's the only guy with say on what goes into the site, he can easily remove all reality show coverage if he feels that badly about it.

-Jason

clemon79 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 30, 2003, 11:32:26 AM »

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Jul 30 2003, 06:54 AM\'] And I see nothing wrong with him - in a labeled column, designed to be comment, saying he doesn't like something even though his site covers it. [/quote]
But the coverage of Reality World isn't the point....the point is that he lambested NBC for \"only\" having two minutes on Bob Hope in the can and ready to fire, and then TURNS AROUND AND DOES THE SAME THING on the front page of his site.

If Beverly wants to wax poetic about Hope in his \"opinion\" piece, that's certainly his option. But to trumpet it across the face of his game-show site, and then launch into his so-sensationalistic-it-makes-Extra-look-like-MacNeil/Lehrer \"gameucrappery\" garbage (How in the BLUE HELL is Last Comic Standing any more of a game show than Star Search is?) is purely hypocritical, as Robair said. If he wants to gripe that \"that's what TV has come to\", that's fine, but that shouldn't stop him from (in fact, it should ENCOURAGE HIM TO, isn't taking the high road part of those good happy Christian beliefs he can't seem to keep to himself?) holding journalism to a higher standard.

Of course, The Perfesser wouldn't know a high standard of journalism if it kicked him in the {BLANK}.

TheInquisitiveOne · « **Reply #7 on:** July 31, 2003, 12:37:25 AM »

I have to go with Robiar and Chris Lemon on this one. Slamming NBC (and rightfully so; NBC has devolved into \"bottom of the barrel\" television) for their tawdry memorial of Bob Hope for some more crap TV is one thing. To do the exact same thing on your website makes you no better than NBC.

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How in the BLUE HELL is Last Comic Standing any more of a game show than Star Search is?

I agree with this statement. This is the one thing that can turn me off from visiting SB's website regularly. I am familiar with the \"citizens' right to know\" principle, but seriously...there are some of us here who can tell what is a game show and what is NOT. Having a woman and her two friends (all of whom have personalities as deep as a puddle) find a man in a relationship that has a 80% probability of failure...all of this produced by Simon the Coward...is NOT a game show. Encouraging the stereotype that \"women get married for the money\" by trumpeting it on television is NOT a game show. Having your parents TELL you whom to date is NOT a game show.

You have the idea...it is garbage. Complete and absolute garbage.

I will not slam anyone here who watches this type of stuff or considers them game shows. It is entirely in the eyes of the viewer. What steams me is that the networks are using every negative aspect of human nature in order to turn profit, and that is just ugly.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I had to express my intense hatred (not dislike, hatred) for this so-called \"reality\" television.

The Inquisitive One

(By the way, I am only 21 years old, but I have tons of respect for Bob Hope's work and charity. He shall be greatly missed.)

Brandon Brooks · « **Reply #8 on:** July 31, 2003, 01:06:52 AM »

Devil's Advocate:
Not everyone is as atute as you are. I know many people who know I'm a game show freak ask me, \"What do you think of those reality shows? Do you like Survivor?\"... like reality shows and game shows are related. I'll say \"they aren't game shows, but I like some.\" Response: \"They aren't?\"

That being said, Beverly caters to an audience, one that is not limited to us geeks. I'm inclined to think that a lot of his viewers think that these reality shows are game shows. And you don't really know how many emails he gets/has gotten about him wanting to feature these shows on his site. He could just be delivering what's asked of him.

... Or not.

Brandon Brooks