Reality TV

In honor of tonight's season premier of Dancing with the Stars, here are my thoughts on reality TV.  Generally speaking, I'm not a fan.  How much not a fan am I?  Well, there's a House rerun on that I've already seen at least 3 times, but I'm watching that and writing this blog instead of watching Dancing with the Stars.  I admit that I used to watch some reality TV shows, but I tend to get tired of them pretty quickly.  A quick glance below tells me that is not the case with the general TV watching public.

According to TV.com, the top 10 most popular reality TV shows are:

1. Survivor
2. America's Next Top Model
3. American Idol
4. The Amazing Race
5. Undercover Boss
6. Bad Girls Club
7. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
8. Mythbusters
9. Keeping up with the Kardashians
10. America's Funniest Home Videos

While I'm not surprised by most of the top shows, the list does have some surprises mixed in.  There are shows that I can't believe people watch, shows that I can't believe people still watch, and even shows that I didn't know were considered reality TV.

I didn't know America's Funniest Home Videos was still on the air.  Seeing as how it came in at #10, I might be the only person in America who didn't know that.  While The Bachelor comes in at #42, The Bachelorette only managed to get to #96.  I guess watching women fight over a man is more interesting than watching men fight over a woman.  Jon and Kate Plus 8 managed to come in at #89, which I found surprising because I thought that show no longer existed after Jon and Kate split up (maybe I should read more tabloid news).  And then there are the shows that I didn't know were even considered reality TV, namely 20/20 (#57) and Dateline NBC (#61). 

Some of the shows I used to watch managed to make decent showings: Kitchen Nightmares (#18), Deadliest Catch (#27), So You Think You Can Dance (#34), Hell's Kitchen (#36), What Not to Wear (#45), and Top Chef (#82).  I also admit that I've watched a couple of episodes of Undercover Boss.  One was good, one was not.  I haven't decided whether I'll be watching any more episodes, but considering I've missed the last two weeks, I'm leaning towards no.

And in case anyone is wondering, Dancing with the Stars comes in at #11.

For TV.com's full list of most popular reality TV shows, click here.