From the TV companies point of view reality TV is great because it is cheap to make and easy to script – in many cases the programmes almost script themselves. All you need to start with is a clever idea. And reality TV programmes are popular even if the content seems contrived and shallow. Maybe that reflects much of modern society?
And I admit it is easy to get hooked. If you follow any programme – particularly those involving a competition – for several episodes, the people involved start to develop personalities and is hard not to identify with moments of triumph and failure. I am sure that the producers deliberately orchestrate these programmes to make that sort of “capture” more likely and I would be surprised if that did not extend to the development of contrived story lines containing appropriate moments of high drama.
One programme I do watch is Master Chef Australia, the latest edition of which is about to reach the final moment. Unfortunately, it is relatively easy to Google overseas programmes like that to find out how they finish which really destroys much of the interest (The answer to which is don’t do it!). That aside it is a programme I watch because I am interested in cooking and I think the contestants show real and in some cases remarkable levels of skill. Some of the dishes they are asked to concoct are remarkable to the point of being ridiculous. The contestants who get to say the final 5 are all excellent cooks and most go on to some sort of career in cooking.
So how contrived is a competition like that?
If you listen to the contestants talking while they cook it is hard to avoid the conclusion that they are under instruction to create a moment of drama to capture the audience. I have lost count of the number of times contestants have almost walked out of the room or “thrown their toys out of the cot” because of all the things going wrong, and then triumphantly and amazingly getting it all together at the last minute and producing a masterpiece. Give me a break!!
There is also a suspicion that a huge amount of preparatory activity goes unrecorded so that the final TV product is a smooth piece of filming.
But the critical question is that of how contrived some of the results are. I think some contestants are more “attractive” to TV than others and the judges are I think prone to having favourites, so II suspect there is a selection process going on which goes beyond the ability to cook. And because all of the scoring is secret, ie we don’t see anything until all the contestants have presented, there is a suspicion that at least some of the results are partly contrived or involve some collusion. This is particularly so when you find out how close some of the scoring is and how often the score that makes the difference is produced at the final moment i.e. from the final judge. But I guess it all adds to the high drama and adds to the audience appeal.
By Bas Walker
This is another of Bas Walker’s posts on GrownUps. Please look out for his articles, containing his Beachside Ponderings.