Reality Show Challenge Episode One Part One

All right get the claws out and those tissues ready. I got the first different episodes of six reality shows ready to go and my fingers are all warmed up. For each area of criteria (Characters, Authenticity, Emotional Intensity, Conflict and Classy) an episode can score up to 5 points. For those of you who have trouble with math, that is 25 overall points. Let's see how each of these widely publicized shows do with my Reality Show Challenge!

The Bachelor

Idea of the show? 25 different girls compete for the attention of one man. The bachelor (in this case Ben) can choose to go on group dates, two on one dates or individual dates with the girls. If he wants to get to know them better they get a rose. If he feels they are not suitable he sends them home. Note that until now I have not seen the Bachelor but I did watch a Season of the Bachelorette until someone spoiled the ending and I got depressed (my top picks came in first and second though). Anyway the first episode with all the meet and greets was one of my favorite episodes because it introduces everybody. Which brings us to

Characters: 2.5 Are the girls always this catty and self serving? A more appropriate title for the show might be Survival. The competition so far doesn't seem to be who can win Ben's heart but who is unfazed by all the gossiping and backstabbing. Also with 25 girls, alot of them started to blur together. I did like Lindzi (who ended up getting the first impression rose mostly because she rode in on a horse) and Lyndsie (how can you send a girl with an accent home the first night?). So far they are the only stand-out characters I'm rooting for.

 As for the ladies who didn't make such a good impression on me? Well for anyone who has seen the episode they will know that almost the entire second half of the episode focused on the drama between some girl named Jenna and some girl named Monica who seems to be lesbian but I'm sure that will be brought up in another episode. Monica made Jenna cry hysterically (maybe I missed what exactly happened to trigger such an emotional breakdown) and Monica said that if Jenna "started" with her, she would claw her face off. I'm all for tensions but I like them to develop slowly not jump into things the very first night. 

Authenticity: 4 The episode would have seemed authentic (I mean alot of the girls acted as stupid as I would have namely Jenna) if it hadn't been for the altercation between Jenna and Monica. I mean was it really enough to render hysterical crying? Then again there are some sensitive girls out there so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Also I doubt Ben really wanted to keep Jenna around. The show probably asked him to create more drama (I'm very cynical when it comes to this stuff)

Emotional Intensity: 3 We spent alot of the episode dealing with Jenna's emotions but since her reaction  was way over the top I just was annoyed with her instead of feeling bad for her. I wonder if a relative recently died or maybe she's just on her period. Maybe that's why she made the comment about "sharing a tampon" with Monica.

Conflict: 2 The conflict was there all right. Too bad it was over virtually nothing. 

Class: 2 For a group of 25 women they did a good job at highlighting the behavior of some of the least classy. Offenses include trash talking anyone who is prettier than they are. I take this crime very seriously.

Overall Rating= 13.5/25

16 and Pregnant

16 and Pregnant is pretty self explanatory. It's about (drumroll) girls who are 16 and pregnant. Btw this episode was the last thing I watched before I fell asleep (actually I fell asleep several times before it was over) and so last night I had a very in depth dream that I was 16 and pregnant. No one was quite sure how I got pregnant (it wasn't a hot tub) but really all it felt like I was carrying around an exercise ball under my shirt. But enough about me. This episode was about Mackenzie (pictured below)

                                                                                                        

Characters: 2.5 It wasn't that the characters weren't likeable. Mackenzie seemed nice (for a cheerleader) and her family was supportive. Everyone was sort of boring. I guess pregnancy isn't as exciting as I thought it would be. With all the buzz the show generated I thought the people would be more interesting. And it is a little difficult to feel bad for a girl who didn't take birth control pills because she "didn't want to gain weight" I did get excited when her hot boyfriend Josh appeared but then he mumbled every sentence and seemed to have a thing against smiling so that was another disappointment.

Authenticity: 4 I have no idea about what goes on behind the scenes regarding what is scripted and what isn't. This show seemed pretty real (almost tediously so) but there are certain parts I had to think were pre-planned like Josh's post accident freak out where every other word was profanity. I had to think they just threw that in to spice things up a little. But who knows? I'm sure there are people who really don't know any other words.

Emotional Intensity: 2 For a show about such powerful topic, the show really flopped when making an emotional connection wit h the reader. I think the saddest part of the show was when Mackenzie realized she couldn't return to being a cheerleader after she had her baby. Even the part when Josh was in a car accident really didn't worry me. And to be honest she didn't seem all that worried either. Even Josh's mom seemed pretty calm (which made me question whether or not the accident was genuine)

Conflict: 2.5 Besides the obvious conflicts that come with being pregnant at sixteen (no money, who will watch the baby? etc) there wasn't much conflict. Mackenzie and Josh had their disagreements but the tension between them was more subtle than a flat out fight. The fact that they weren't always at each other's throats made for a refreshing change but the plot moved along extremely slowly.

Class:4 I was surprised by the class in this episode (although I'm sure not all episodes are like that) I like how Mackenzie tries to be a good mom to her baby, I like that she still works hard at her schoolwork and I like  that she accepts that this is her problem not her family's. I like Josh for standing by her and even giving up riding in rodeos for his son. These characters had a lot of class for a small town in Oklahoma.
Overall Rating: 15/25 

 The Real Housewives Of New Jersey

I just finished watching my first ever Real Housewives episode and I just gotta say...Whoa. That was kinda of intense, somewhat disturbing and pretty funny (in a disturbing, intense way) Up until now the only experience I've had with "housewives" is with my mom and she fits the dictionary description pretty well.

1. A married woman whose main occupation is caring for her family, managing household affairs, and doing housework (dictionary.com)

These ladies on the other hand...I doubt any of them have ever done a bit of housework in their lives (hopefully none of them read this because I'm actually kind of scared of them)

Characters: 3 So I kept getting the characters all mixed up with each other since all of them looked Italian except one and all of them were big on top and skinny in the middle. They looked like the cast of Jersey Shore thirty years later. They acted like the cast of Jersey Shore thirty years later! It was entertaining but (and I will say it again) disturbing. I don't know how they have so much time for all this drama. My mom barely has time to put her feet up. But I must admit though they were selfish, spoiled and whiny (especially the kids) they got my attention. My favorite is Melissa. She actually seems to care about her family. My least favorite but most interesting is Theresa. Even though she can act the total...well you know, I feel bad for her. Her husband treats her like trash and her kids do too. Obviously someone should have spent a little less time watching Daytime Soaps and a little more time reading books on how to discipline. (Pictured below are Melissa and her husband Joe)

Authenticity: 4 After seeing the Jersey Shore,  I realized that there is a level of stupidity I did not know existed. Which basically translates to: in reality television anything can be real! I think all the name calling and gossip is most definitely real because honestly these people don't care. As I get to know the characters better I can probably figure out what is real and what isn't but for now I want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Emotional Intensity: 3.5 The real emotional "intensity" stemmed from Theresa and her struggle. I don't know if viewer's were intended to feel frustration watching the show but I did. She says "I love you" to her husband and he mumbles something that will put him in line for most unromantic husband of the year. Plus I feel really bad for those kids. It's bad enough growing up on a reality show but when your parents are as self absorbed as Theresa and her husband...you don't stand a chance.
Conflict: 3 The conflict I think most of us were supposed to be focusing on (the fight between Caroline/ Melissa and Theresa over the things Theresa wrote in her cookbook. Btw who writes personal stuff in a cookbook?) didn't catch my attention nearly as much as the tension with Theresa in her family. I think its sadder and more intense then any drama between friends. And also so much more painful and realistic. (Pictured
Class: 3.5 When the episode started I thought the episode would maybe get a 2 at the most but although some of the girls seemed hellbent on stirring drama there were a few characters that tried to remain above it all (Caroline and Mellissa. Well it seemed like they did anyway) Of course it's a reality show so you can never really tell. But Theresa's husband definitely stole the show when it came to the least classiest character in the whole cast. He's got it down to an art. If the show ever wants to score above a 3.5, then they need to ship him off to Europe or something.

Overall Rating: 17/25

So that was our descent into the realm of reality tv. Let me know what you think and what you thought of my ratings. And tune in for part 2!