For those craving a break from contrived network shlock, reality TV, at its best, may be a strong alternative. The genre has expanded its 3put-people-on-an-island/in-a-house-and-film-them2 philosophy to feature everything from game shows to real-life dramas.
However, game shows with as much guile and suspense as a typical beach novel are hard to find. Although the surreptitiously conniving behavior on The Mole II: The Next Betrayal involves the viewer in an intriguing mystery, Dog Eat Dog, should be spaded. Featuring idiotic challenges performed by the contestant selected as most likely to fail, Dog resorts to cheap insults and ridiculous stunts for entertainment, leaving viewers looking for the remote.
Though not exactly high-brow fare, American Idol actually works and has become a breakaway hit this summer. The show deftly harps upon our voyeuristic tendencies, and we even get to call in to vote for the next pop sensation, like, errr, O-Town. A similar attraction existed toward The Hamptons, a virtual vacation in the playground of the rich and disillusioned. The documentary-style miniseries managed to capture the essence of this much bally-hooed bastion of excess. And, well, Bachelorettes in Alaska was Bachelorettes in Alaska.
Yet, for those hoping for something a bit more serious, a handful of real-life dramas have popped up this summer. The compelling Crime and Punishment and State v. satisfy those who can1t get enough of that Law and Order thang. Other dramatic series such as Boston 24/7 and Houston Medical examine lives that network execs want you to believe are more exciting than yours.
Don1t believe them, though, because the fleeting nature of reality TV is such that some really happening gal on Houston Medical this year could very easily become next summer1s winner on Bachelorettes in Kandahar.
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