THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF LOCAL TV REALITY SHOWS

Some were genuine and engaging. Others were exploitative and sank to depths never experienced before on television

THE year 2011 was a TV lover’s paradise. It saw a generous number of locally brewed reality shows being flighted.

e.tv led the rest with the rather highly entertaining, people-behaving-dysfunctionally genre of reality television shows that really spoke to local audiences.

Some were genuine and engaging. Others were exploitative and sank to depths never experienced before on television.

But Kenny Kunene’s So What? and Rolling With Zola were quite interesting. Who can forget Kunene’s cheek and genuineness? What about Zola’s rawness?

I can’t say the same about Blame It on Fame, though a lot of my colleagues beg to differ on this one. There was something annoying about these. The problem was that I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

They were too cosmetic for my liking. They presupposed that all women are shallow. I must say the volatile content helped create a buzz and spiked viewership ratings for e.tv.

In a world ruled by soaps it was hard to imagine the reality shows reigning supreme. Media gurus now believe that reality shows and interactive viewing will be the order of the day, giving soapies a run for their cash.

Though you know these shows have scripted personality clashes and manufactured controversies, we still enjoy the larger-than-life characters interacting and reacting in provocative ways.

It looks like the overall sentiment of how reality television has done statistically can be summarised by saying: amazingly well!

It seems the general public has quite an appetite for reality television.

SABC hit back with Jozi Moving The City. But it did not generate the same excitement. The show was dreadful almost beyond comprehension: tasteless, poorly acted, abominably written and clumsily directed. With the bar set so high, we cannot wait to see what this year holds for us.

Source: Sowetan – Zenoyise Madikwa