Thursday, April 6, 2006

NADIR: Are we at an historic low point for the reality competition genre? Just a month and a half after the glorious end of Project Runway 2, we've got the traditional "big three" of reality tv on simultaneously . . . and I don't think I've ever had less interest in any of them.

For The Amazing Race and Survivor, the problem seems to be predictability. The elite have been established, and there's not enough in the way each game is structured this year to shake things up. For Idol, of course, it's the opposite problem -- good, popular performers are disappearing for no reason at all, while jokes like Bucky, Ace and Pickler not only remain in the game but aren't even threatened.

Let's talk about fixes:
  • For Survivor, I just feel like the traditional 16-20 people, 2-3 tribes formula is played out, and when the game is played well by the dominant team, it should be boring to watch. We got lucky the past two seasons -- with Fireman Tom & Ian v. The Tribe That Couldn't Win followed by Judd, Hogeboom, Steph and Danni, we had two drama-filled seasons with great characters and good gameplay, but it's not inherent in the game that it'll always be interesting. (Remember PornBoy Brian? Hell, were it not for the Rupert/Fairplay season, Survivor might be on hiatus right now.) The lack of inter-tribe shakeups pre-merge this season may have been fatal, because there just was no reason for anyone other than Bruce to even consider dual loyalties once united. Maybe it's time for some theme casting -- an all law enforcement or armed forces edition? an all-lawyer edition?
  • For American Idol, look: the goal of the show is not to produce the next great superstar. (If that happens, great, but it's not necessary from Fox's or 19Entertainment's perspective.) The goal of the show is to get you to watch the next episode. So from their perspective, unpredictability is good, because if you knew that Bucky and Ace were going to leave in the next two weeks, you'd probably skip 'em and come back later. But seeing potential winners leave early, year after year, is unsatisfying. Two solutions come to mind: first, and most obviously, pick genres of music with contemporary relevance that allow the best singers to shine. Second, consider adding an immunity-like element to the game itself, either by protecting each week's top performer the following week, or by giving the judges the power to "protect" an at-risk singer -- perhaps, each judge gets to use the power once during the season?
  • And, finally, the Race, and there, I'm a bit flummoxed. This season is showing that maybe too much bunching is better, from an excitement standpoint, than too little bunching. The top two teams have been so well-protected by the race structure lately (and the teams at the bottom given such little opportunity to gain ground) that the race meritocracy I had long sought turns out to be . . boring. It's surprising -- I had always assumed that the nature of the Race was such that as long as you picked eleven decently interesting teams of two and sent them around the world, it was bound to be compelling television. Ain't so.

Meanwhile, the show that has ended up being indestructible and irreplaceable is America's Next Top Model, in its sixth straight great season. Unlike Idol, the judges are in charge of elimination -- and that means that one's body of work (and not just that week) always matters. It's a show that casts well, features relatively consistent challenges that are fair approximations of the career being sought, and is blessed by two of the greatest personalities in the genre in Tyra Banks and Miss J. Alexander. (I'll say it again: I'd love to see Tyra host Survivor or The Apprentice.)

For Survivor and TAR, there's still hope that once we get down to the last 2-3 episodes and the truly elite teams, that things will be entertaining again. (Idol, however, is dead to me, and the Daughtry/McPhee finale will be a non-event.) In the meantime, let's hope that someone comes up with the next great reality concept, because the old favorites just feel played out right now.

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