Omg tell me about it!!! Like, on one hand, some of those challenges are really stinkin’ cool- did you see the one where they had to stack layers of sandblasted glass to create a 3D image? Those kind of challenges I think work because it still focuses on their artistic ability. But marking a giant canvas by sparking two live wires? What the heck!! Of course the artwork is going to look rudimentary and shaky!
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Sounds cool. But, no… I actively avoid the show. Frankly, I’d watch it if it weren’t for the stupid format. Because, in my mind, it’s almost always somewhat fascinating to watch an expert do what they’re an expert at. Even if you’re not interested in the topic itself. But then, in this case, the “show” jumps in and ruins that for me, so I won’t even watch it.
- Tom
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Lol that’s why I record it, so I can fast-forward through any unwanted drama 
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Yeah… I’ve suggested that to my wife. But she won’t have it. She enjoys the narrative. Me, I’d skip to watch the process, skip to see the result, press stop, then delete.
- Tom
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That’s pretty much what I do for skin Wars and Face Off…lol
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No comment.
I’ve spent a number of hours with the executive producer of one of the shows you mention (helping a friend pitch a TV show). They are sometimes dramatically surprised by who wins, and then have to figure out how to edit the show to feel like it’s a narrative that matches the mood of the country.
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So is my innate suspicion showing? Chuckle!
(Susan Boyle should have won that thing.)
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I enjoy Face Off. Well, I used to. It’s gotten to be “more of the same” for me though. My wife and younger daughter still watch it. I really loved the chest of drawers character somebody did a couple of seasons ago. One of the best I’d seen. It helped that the model played the part incredibly well. But, man… That thing could have been in the next Tim Burton movie without a doubt!
I’ll have to check out Skin Wars.
- Tom
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I think the biggest perversion of a show I recall in recent times was America’s Worst Driver. It was a rip-off of Britain’s Worst Driver and Canada’s Worst Driver, but for all the wrong reasons.
The Canadian version actually tries (it’s still running in it’s 12th season!) to help rehabilitate bad drivers through challenges and driver education, pointing out to the bad driver/contestants what they’re doing wrong and trying to correct it. Good drivers are judged by a panel of an RCMP officer, racing instructor, psychologist and the show host to be ‘graduated’ from the show, while bad ones are kept for more assistance.
The US version lasted one season and pretty much took the opposite approach: It’s a competition to compete (not complete) a task, and losing drivers are evicted off the show. And even the ‘winners’ that remain are horrible.
It’s almost like they made American Gladiators With Cars. Ugh.
I still miss Junkyard Wars, though.
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Loved junkyard wars!
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Loved the early ones, but as time wore on, the producers got lazy in “salting” the lots… Oh look, there’s a Lycoming 0-360 engine 10 meters in front of the compound. Wonder if I can use that?..
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I think reality shows for (initially) non-US audiences seem more willing to let the inherent drama of the situation play out in preference to emotional dramatics among contestants, but that might just be the subset I’ve watched. (Liked junkyard wars a lot, even though it got pretty much standardized.)
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The earlier English version ‘Scrapheap Challenge’ is an amazing show. You can see some episodes on YouTube.
Could not watch ‘Junkyard Wars’ for too long though it was too ‘hype hype hype’ for my taste. ‘Scrapheap Challenge’ let the machines do the talking.
Anyhoo… i loathe TV and only use it for watching Australian Rules Football, the Cricket and Scrapheap Challenge.
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about the only reality TV I ever enjoyed was survivor man i very mich enjoyed watching les stroud . All other “reality” tv is junk
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Hadn’t heard of scrapheap, I’ll have to check that out, thanks!
I don’t watch much TV either…
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Actually, outside of a few American Idol winners (Clarkson, Underwood, etc), not many reality singing shows have ever put out any major earners into the industry. Quite a few mid-to-low listers. I love the small print at the end of America’s Got Talent - The one million dollar prize is dished out over such a long period that when I figured it up it came out to about 40K a year - not that I wouldn’t mind getting and extra 40K for the next 25 years, but yea, it usually doesn’t really profit the contestants that much.
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For a performer who was really committed, that kind of guaranteed longterm income could make a huge difference – it could mean that they might not ever have to take another lousy job just to make ends meet.
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I totally agree, and in the case of AGT, your short gig in Vegas can be a great platform along with the TV exposure of the show. I was just agreeing that in the end the show benefits the producers far more than any of the contestants (of course). And the only contestant that wins anything is the last one standing 
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