Not A Candidate To Star In A TV Reality Series
I used to get sucked into that television vacuum otherwise known as reality TV.
Go ahead, judge me. But I found it quite entertaining to escape my own reality for 30 minutes to an hour or, occasionally, many hours for a television marathon. It was a guilty pleasure to watch some dysfunctional family, drama or colorful characters compete.
But let’s get real. Take The Bachelor. It’s hardly reality for one guy to date a harem of 20 beautiful women at the same time, live in a mansion, go on dream dates planned by a TV producer, fall in love with two women in two months, then dump one and propose to the other – all in the same day.
Yes, I’ve come to realize the only thing most of them are truly competing for is screen time. Fame and fortune, not finding Mr. or Ms.
Right. Still, shows like this offered a bona fide break (a mindless one, at that).
Even a reality competition I like, The Voice, has Hollywood help. I won’t burst the bubble about the talent discovered by the show, but I know for a fact that they even “cast” the studio audience. Yes, heaven forbid cameras take a shot of someone who is not a perfect 10 during a performance. Seriously, producers assemble their audience by appearance.
How about Hawaii’s most famous reality TV family, led by patriarch Dog “The Bounty Hunter” Chapman? Critics say it looks like there are crystal meth addicts everywhere and portrays a dark side of paradise. Well, as a newscaster, we happen to hear a lot about that, so maybe my view is skewed about Dog’s version of paradise.
But to be fair, how would you come across if cameras followed you around 24 hours a day? Consider that scary proposition. I sometimes would wonder while watching my latest reality addiction, “How would I look if my every move was recorded?”
I’m not paranoid of the whole “Big Brother is watching” concept. As a TV news anchor/reporter, I’m used to being on camera. But broadcasting my tougher gig as working mother of two little ones and wife? No, thank you.
Sure, I share tidbits here in MidWeek about that part of my life. I don’t sugarcoat the struggles of balancing work with family, or the challenges of raising children in this day and age. The good, the bad and the ugly.
How would my version of reality TV come across to others? I don’t think viewers would be lining up to watch. It hits too close to home.
tjoaquin@hawaiinewsnow.com
