Who watched "The Mole" last night? What did you think? I watched most of it, but it bored me when everyone was trying to figure out who the mole could be.

I'm so set to watch "Temptation Island" tonight. That just seems like a trainwreck of a show, and I can't stay away!

Do you think anyone will run around naked in "Survivor 2"?

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

Answers

I never saw Survivor, have not seen the Mole, and I refuse to watch Temptation Island, although I was happy to hear that it wasn't involving newlywed couples like I had originally heard (the person-with-whom-I-live-in-sin has it circled on the TV Guide, so our home will not be Temptation Island free).

But, even though it bears no resemblance to any reality I've ever seen, I am a hopeless Real World addict. I am humiliated by my addiction, but like smoking, I am helpless against the pleasure I derive from indulging in that seedy goodness. I do not tape episodes, and I don't think I've ever seen it outside of marathons, but if I stumble onto a Real World marathon on a Saturday afternoon, you can consider my ass planted on the sofa.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

Never watched "Survivor", have seen one or two "Real Worlds", don't plan on watching the latest entries.

I do watch "Cops" for some reason. I guess because Saturday night TV is pretty hopeless, and my daughter likes to dance to the "Bad Boys" song. She also dances to the theme from "Antique Roadshow", so we watch that, too.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

I'm sorry, but I find "reality tv" extremely moronic and nauseating (as well as being the ultimate oxymoron). What? This is entertaining? This is the modern equivalent of bear or bull-baiting with only hoped- for bloodshed. Why not be an honest voyuer and get a pair of binoculars and peep the neighbors. This is obviously a generational thing. The younger set seems to think this is fun and interesting, but I'd sooner watch jello set-up. My idea of good television is the Discovery or History channel. Ho-o-ork.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

I am a Reality Whore. I've watched Real World since the L.A. Season - and would have watched it before but we didn't get cable in my little country hometown- by the L.A. season, I was in college. In fact, I'm pissed that I missed the premiere of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge last night, I got in bed to wait for it and fell asleep. Good thing MTV will re-run it 8,000,000 times.

I watched Survivor "If I saw you dying of thirst on the side of the road, I would just walk by and let the vultures get you and do what they wanted with you", Who Wants to Marry a Millioniare, and some of Big Brother until it got sooooo bad. The Mole looked boring, I didn't see that, but I'll watch Temptation Island tonight and Survivor 2. Oh yeah, baby.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

My boyfriend once asked me how I can stand to watch Real World and Road Rules and I told him that it just makes me feel so much better about myself. You know? A person can get low self-esteem sometimes, then you flip on Road Rules and realize that you are not, in fact, the world's biggest idiot; someone has beaten you to the punch AND they're being filmed!

I was a total Survivor geek. I don't plan on watching S2, though, because I think there's no way they'll be able to recapture the suspense. Part of the fun of the first series was all the people on survivorsucks.com trying to analyze pictures of future tribal councils from the title sequence, CBS website people screwing up and posting the kicked off person early, etc. This time, they're already releasing wayyy too much information way early. It's all you see on E! network. I'm just not interested. Plus, it'll be going against one of my favorite shows (Gilmore Girls).

I continually watch "Emergency Vets" even though it sends me into a state of mental trauma every time. Oh, and "Making the Band" because I liked seeing them cry every week. (it was damn funny)

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

My love for the Real World/Road Rules/Real World-Road Rules Challenge maratons cannot be captured by mere words. It rivals my feelings for the issues of Glamour, Marie Claire, etc. that my upstairs neighbor is kind enough to pass onto me. I also have an alarmingly low resistance for Behind the Music marathons (Shania Twain again? I still watch! Faith Hill? Only seen it three times! Motley Crue? Sit back and enjoy!) and any other VH-1 generated Top 4,000 List.

I can neither explain nor deny my love for these things; it simply exists.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

I was a finalist for the Real World LA. Ironically, I haven't watched "reality-based tv" since.... Well, unless you count Making the Band, but I wouldn't really call that "reality"....

I just don't think I -- cynical and bitter as I am -- can stand to watch Temptation Island, even though I know it's going to be a glorious frolick in the dregs of humanity. I just can't believe that the guy who brought us "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire" was 1) given a second chance, 2) took that chance to come up with TI, and 3) was actually APPROVED for the damned thing. Scary.

But you can bet I'll be all over any Mighty Big TV recaps of it.... :)

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

Oh, wait... Behind the Music counts as reality TV? Okay, then, change my answer... I watch LOTS of reality TV! *snicker*

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

I absolutely cannot stand so-called "reality TV" and refuse to watch any of it. With minor exceptions: I like "Cops" and I see about 5 episodes per year, and I might watch at least the first "Temptation Island," only because it is so explicitly seduction-centered. :-) Who cares about surviving when you can be seduced?

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

I recall sitting on the sofa and after a commercial for Temptation Island saying, "Oh, boo hoo. I'm young and sexy and I had to spend time on a beautiful tropical island being seduced by other young and sexy people. Then they made me take thousands of dollars and it cost me my long-term, committed relationship of one whole week."

You know the show will be week after week of "I love Buffy. I would never have thought about kissing Betty normally. Damn that expensive champagne."

Are we supposed to feel for these people?

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

I've always been into adrenalin-rush kind of stuff so I'm a cops junkie. But the producers figured out really early on that anything truly exciting would make more bucks on video. So since it is much tamer than what she watches over at her dad's house, my daughter and I have always watched it. I've always sung bad babies, bad babies, what we gonna do? to her during the song. I flip it if it has crying kids 'cause that would upset her. I use to ride with a girlfriend who was a cop. I like the excitement (like when she accidently went the wrong way down a one way street, so she turned on her lights to make it look like she did it on purpose). Hey, it was a small, pretty boring town. And, I always figured it was better to be in the front seat rather than the back.

I just discovered all the reality medical shows on TLC. I'm not a total junkie so I do watch the Discovery or History channel or NPR, that is, if it doesn't conflict with a new episode of ER, Providence or Judging Amy :). So I'm into the medical/crime stuff. The interpersonal shows make me too uncomfortable. I'd rather see physically hurt people being helped than people being mentally hurt.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Well, I watched about 5 minutes of it, flipping through channels. The part I watched was near the end. Each member of the couples got to put a bracelet on the ONE person that their significant other absolutely could not "date" Um, huh? 'xcuse me, Dude, You can't date ANY of them if you're my significant other, I don't care if they have a bracelet or not...just saying. Anyway, it was about as disgusting as expected.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Someone on another board made a point that went somewhat along the lines of this, "Uh, if you're being paid to seduce someone, what do we call you again? Oh, yeah. A prostitute." I still want to know if the drinks are free. The great social equalizer, you know. A case of Molson's, and you too could be mine.

I'm a reality whore, too. I watched The mole (I think it's Jim) I'll watch the tape I made of TI and I'll be there for S2. I like crap. I like a lot of other things, too. My husband had the very nasty habit of mocking whatever I was watching that he figured was 'beneath' him, and his intellectual superiority. His sister does the same thing. "Oh. You're watching 'The Simpsons'? I'll just let you watch it BY YOURSELF, then." Piss off. Mirth doesn't do it anymore, because he got tired of being yelled at. There's only so much, "How can you watch this crap? It's stupid. Stupid people watch this shit," that a girl can take.

Junkyard Wars, people. Now *there's* some good reality programming. ("Build a working space shuttle. From a VW Bug. And Tinsel. Go!")

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Turns out I didn't watch Temptation Island last night after all. I don't miss it.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Junkyard Wars rocks! I admit, my partner has to get past my whining "isn't there a rerun of Friends on somewhere?" before getting me to settle down and watch it, but I truly do love to see what those people can do with a couple of tin cans and a box of styrofoam pieces.

I watched Temptation Island. I wasn't going to, but I did, and gods help me it sucked me in quickly and thoroughly. The idea of putting my relationship into such a precarious, manipulated situation scares the bejesus out of me (therein lies the appeal of the show, I guess) BUT the idea of taking a 2 week, penalty free vacation from your relationship to dabble with no repurcussions...well, that doesn't sound nearly so scary. I wonder if those people were looking at this as a "relationship test" or more as a "what goes on vacation stays on vacation" kind of thing, where you get free throws with people you will never see again. How would you talk yourself into doing this sort of thing?

Look at me, it's the next day and I'm still thinking about that damn show. Damn Fox and your bad tv...oh, how I love thee.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Robyn, I was thinking the same thing. What was going through these people's heads when they decided they wanted to go on television and have their indescretions taped and shown to the world? I think some of them were thinking "Damn this relationship isn't going anywhere. I wonder if we should break up. Huh? What's this? A free trip to Belize and two weeks at a resort with beautiful men and women we can hook up with? Sign me up!" Not thinking of what could/would happen after they got there.

I can let it slide with the first two casts of The Real World, because that was really the first show in the U.S. to deal with "reality" programming and they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. But if anyone now doesn't understand what they are getting into, they are complete morons and deserve everything they get.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

I got the same vibe from two of the couples, the girl with the orange hair and the blonde, those two couples definitely seemed to have gone into it just to have fun, have a wild time, and get a free vacation (whether or not it turns out that way will be cool to see). But the black couple and the dark-haired couple (Kara? what kind of dude is named Kara?) gave me the creeps. They were so serious about it, I think that Kara was just looking for an excuse to break up with her and that black couple...they were just scary. Nice relationship. I think she was just looking to make it inevitable that she'd have to dump him--she knows she should have done it long ago, but this way, the whole world will know, so she'll have to do it.

Yes, I do get this involved in the lives of strangers on stupid TV shows.

How hilarious was it when the orange-haired girl blocked the girl with the red dyed hair-that was so funny. They all seemed to be blocking people who looked just like themselves.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

I know! And how hilarious that her boyfriend (who I found extremely attractive, by the way) dropped the bracelet in front of the guy he found threatening, but his girlfriend walked right up to the girl with the pink hair and laughed, said sorry, and hugged her! What's the first thing a smart girl does with a girl she finds threatening? Makes an alliance, that pink haired girl should feel some guilt now at working to break up the relationship of the sweet girl who hugged her. Dammit, I MUST remember to start hugging the girls who flirt with my man...

And I guess it is the black couple who got thrown off the show for having lied on the application about having a child.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Reality TV, reality TV. Sigh. I never watched the Real World, I never watched Road Rules. Never. I swear. I thought I was good, I thought I was pure. Then, last summer, it happened. I became addicted to Survivor. Hey-de-hey-de-hey-de-ya-ho-de-ho. It was terrible and traumatic. I fell in love with Greg. I plotted. I made predictions. I actually won a 20 dollar bet after Rich won. During these evil times, it became easy to catch a few episodes of Big Brother here and there when nothing else was on. Next thing you know, you're a Big Brother whore! I fell in love with Curtis. I made mean comments about Jawme. I imitated Britt and George. I was cruel and I loved every second of the show, except the parts that focused on George de Chican Mann and his lovely bride Treesa.

After this low point in my life, I thought myself cured. Wrong! Survivor will return, with a mess of new people to love to hate. The Mole has started up, and I know I'll be addicted to it. The Mole, in case you were wondering, is either Wendi, Steven, or Kate. I think I was developing a small crush on Manny, but see where that went? Poor Manny, we really loved you and you'll always be a part of us. Just like Will Mega and Sonja Christopher. By the way, I'm starting a Send Manny to Paris fund. Please make a donation. I know it looks like you're making a deposit into my bank account, but I swear you're not.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Real Life versus Reality TV: Ugly, skinny and pretentious fluff can't get laid in real life (apparently), so she "buys" a kid: Calista Lockhart. (The only reason I know this , is because it was in an AP report.)

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Hey Luchina, get out of my head! I told Jim (after I watched the tape today) that the girls seemed to be blocking the chicks who were most like them. Now, I'm no relationship expert, but if you're going on tv looking for adventure and to screw up your relationship, why would you be doing it with someone just like your partner? I'd be going for the exact opposite type. 'Man, I've got that at home. Now him, he's different and crazy and exotic. Yay.'

I am totally getting old. I was watching these people make their introductions and thinking, "Yeah cute, ok, but an artist? No. Hot, but a musician? Nooooooo. Hot. And a lawyer. We have a winner!" Nothing wrong with a little security, people. See, the exact opposite of what I have now. :) ) My days of hot, starving artists who sponge off me are over. If I was one of the boys, I would absolutely be going for the woman who is a pediatrician and a former Playboy model. How could she improve on that? Own a country, maybe. A doctor. In Playboy. Yeahhhhhhhh........

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Whoa now, I take exception to anyone saying that the reason a person might adopt a child is because she's "too ugly to get laid." That's completely out of line and supremely misogynistic. Are you familiar with Calista Flockhart's medical history? Are you familiar with her sex life? Are you familiar with the terms of her adoption? Saying that she "bought" a child is really ignorant.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Right on, Maggie.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

I loved Survivor....it's stupid I know. but it did make me laugh. I plan on watching Survivor 2....too bad they can't just eat each other. I think survivor should be turned into a official weight lost program. I do hate big brother and temtation island...I was bored. Pretty people on an island w/ no morals - most of them ...yeah reality tv. atleast on survivor there was a grumpy old fart..(he should have won)

PS: I plan on adopting - a choice I have made ( and not because I can't get pregnant or laid ) I'm glad other people have opted for the adopting choice too

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

Fucking Word, Maggie.

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

I am adopted. I'll check with my mom to see if she still has the receipt. Can she exchange me? I was not bought. I was fought for.

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

I don't care what any of ya'll say. An unmarried weekly-tv star (of either sex) who adopts a child needs their motive and their head examined. The whole idea sucks big-time.

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

You're entitled to have that opinion, but you're completely off-base with your "too ugly to get laid" assessment. I don't know you any more than you know Calista Flockhart, but if I were to go on what I know of you, I might assume that you're too miserable and misogynistic to get laid.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2001

Maggie, I'm an investigative reporter who specializes in the unsolved murders of Jane Does. I spend hours of my time and money out of pocket covering stories that no one cares about because the faceless victim was a runaway-throw-away or a "hooker" or a "doper." Even the police lose interest in these cases quick because no one else cares. A lot of these victims are young kids that no one misses. The magazine I own gives money to Crime Victims programs, the Women's Shelter and the local ASPCA. I have a wife and three daughters (one adopted) who think I'm swell. What have YOU PERSONALLY done for the unloved of the world? Misogynistic? I don't think so.

Lockhart, et. al. are spoiled rich people who think they can have anything by buying it. I have no respect for so-called actors who star in fluffy, shallow TV programs. I'm sorry. Like I said, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2001

Agree to disagree, blah, blah, great. I'm glad you do all that stuff, Bubba, that's wonderful. But the fact remains -- all most people on this site knows about you is what you post here. And I really don't have any problem with you otherwise, but when you post shit about some woman being "too ugly to get laid," it makes you sound like an insensitive asshole. All women, no matter how physically attractive they are, are constantly bombarded with societal messages that their worth is tied in with their looks, and your moronic remark really is not helping any of us in that respect. Does that make it any clearer for you?

I would say that at least one thing Maggie has done PERSONALLY for the women of the world is to try and combat ignorant statements like your Calista Flockhart one. So thank you, Maggie!

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2001

You're right - my remark about "getting laid" was insensitive and I apologize. It was a mean-spirited reaction to Lockhart's adoption. I get really angry about celebrity adoptions. Sorry.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

I'd say something about she's cute enough for me and I'd give her a spin but I don't want to get castrated for such an insensitive remark either Bubba. But still if you've got the cash, you can get anything anytime. lumberjack

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

That's cool, Bubba -- believe me, I do understand temper (see evidence above). Anyway, apology accepted, and thanks!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

Just whose "reality" do these shows attempt to depict?

I think SNL accurately hit it on the head last night with two "promo" spoofs - "Herpes Island" (bunch of men surrounded by ten lovely ladies... but ONE of them is infected w/a veneral disease) and "Temptation Trailer" (a family of 10 locked in a trailer for a month - who will remain unscathed by incest?)...

I know for some, this is just guilty pleasure or a way to feel superior to all the people who would sell their dignity (if they had any in the first place) for some cash or for fame (however dubious). I dunno - I have no voyeuristic tendencies, I know petty, mean, scheming behavior exists and I don't choose to spend my leisure time watching this on TV... tough enough watching political news, lately!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

Haven't posted before, so HI! I haven't often looked in the forums here, but this one caught my eye. I REALLY enjoy Real World/Road Rules, much to the dismay of my husband who can't stand them! I don't actually watch to feel superior. Sadly, I think I watch to remember how chaotic it can be to be in your 20's to be young, attractive, and sure you know so much. I was there once (not on TV, just in my early 20's), full of my own issues and revealing my insecurities to the world without even realizing it.

I don't find the shows with older people as interesting because they are often more guarded, more deliberate, more calculating. They know better how to mask what they don't want you to know. They younger people in RW/RR just let it all hang out and I find it very interesting commentary on human nature. It is just do dang entertaining! And we all have had the drama, the rejections, the self discovery - it is fun to watch it in others.

Basically, I was psyched to see the new RW/RR challenge on last week. I like the pre interviews where they discussed how the show affected them and where they are now. That James guy put it so well when he showed how excited he was to have travelled the world and done so many fun things.

OH, last point, that is another BIG difference between RW/RR and the other shows. RR's goes on some AWESOME adventures and that is fun to watch. And RW always has a GORGEOUS fun place to live. What was up with that UGLY depressing Big Brother house? That SUCKED, I felt depressed watching them.

I haven't watched much of the other shows, just couldn't get into it, so for all I know they might be getting better.

Marion

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2001

For the most part, I find "reality TV" very boring. I've never watched a whole episode of Real World, Survivor, or Big Brother, and I have no intention of watching The Mole. I would like to think it's because I'm "too good" to be intereseted in such anti-intellectual shows, but my ever-present, although unwanted, attraction to soap operas tells me otherwise. That and the fact that I watched the first episode of Temptation Island and was totally into it. But then I remembered that West Wing comes on at the same time and day as Temptation Island, and now I can happily return to my delusions of being "too intellectual" for reality TV. (My full-time job does a good job of keeping me in denial about my soap opera addiction.) Cotila

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2001

Real World, GAWD how I have loved that show. But the charm has worn thin. For the past few shows, it seems like they pick out one or two people and focus on them a LOT, some people you never see. And I'm just suspicious about how there's always someone you could just about guarantee will cause problems. And I have been feeling very manipulated by the editors; I've never looked into the "behind the scenes" stories from cast members, but I'd be interested to learn how they massage the reality of it all.

I watched some Survivor, hesitantly and sporadically so I never really got sucked in. Big Brother was just so STUPID and I just hated the format with that weird announcer lady. Whatever. When the new shows came out this year I just had to laugh. They ALL sound like SNL skits to me. And I can't help but think of the movie Running Man; how far are we really from life & death game shows I wonder?

I'd like to see a Real World-style show, but with middle aged parents and their kids. Like four or five families of three to six people each. Homework. Laundry. Dishes. Board games. Exciting adventures could include the grocery store or miniature golf. THAT would be amusing.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2001

I had only seen the first episode of Castaway on BBC America, but it looked so interesting. About 20 people, including couples and children, and they are living on an island off the coast of Ireland or Scotland for a year. I'm hoping to find the schedule for that show so I can watch and see how it went. I would like to see how people get along when they have to grow their own food and teach their kids and stay on an island for a year.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2001

Hey, Nicole!

I stumbled onto an episode of that British Survivor a couple weeks ago and was intrigued. I didn't know the name, nor the schedule but it did look good. Adding another culture to the mix makes it even more fun to watch...in some ways.

I know what you mean about RW and yet I still enjoy it. The reviews at Mighty Big TV were good and led to an interview with a cast member from the last show and it was very interesting to hear about the behind the scenes aspect and they ways they saw the deliberate maniuplation.

Just decided to watch Survivor II and so far it has really been fun to watch, my hubby even likes it and he hates RW. So there ya go!

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2001

I'm one of those people who hates watching only part of a movie or mini-series. Sometimes I think I'd like to watch reality TV, but since I'm always missing the first eps, I never do watch it. After all the hype about Survivor, I was determined to watch Big Brother. The first episode was so freaking boring, I didn't watch it the week after. I only saw a bit of one of the last episodes, in which the Asian guy and the small-town woman couldn't stop their polite arguing. Then they showed everybody cooking dinner and I had to change the channel before I fell asleep.

Temptation Island sounds like something that would just depress me. I can't watch Jerry Springer and all that stuff because it makes me mad or sad. I figure TI is just more of the same.

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2001

I just wanted to repond to the last person who watched Big Brother b/c they missed Survivor. Big Brother is horrible and doesn't even compare. I agree that it was REALLY boring. I'm not a HUGE Survivor fan, but I find it mildly entertaining when there is nothing else to do. I just didn't want you to think they are all like Big Brother. :)

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2001

("The last person" would be me, Gwen, the moderator of this site. Just so all the new people know.)

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2001

I'm sorry, Gwen, I just hadn't looked at who had written the last comment I was addressing. :)

I guess I should introduce myself - I'm Martie. I stumbled onto your site while looking for some SNL information and have been reading it ever since. It's very entertaining. And informative. I liked reading the entire string about whether marijuana should be legalized.

And I will try to address people by name in the future! :)

MG

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2001

Kiss ass! (wink) James

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2001

The few parts of survivor I've seen want to make me puke. This is TV?! I feel sorry for the people who watch this crap and think they're being entertained. Of course I thought daytime soaps were about the most assinine fare going too! People have enough trouble in their lives without getting all wrapped up in someone elses problems especially when these problems are made up to sell cosmetics and blenders. James

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2001

James, I think that's why people like Survivor - b/c they have so many of their own problems and so they enjoy watching others' problems! It helps them forget their own, even if only for an hour. It may be sick, but I really think it's true.

I watch a lot of TV but only what's on when I feel like watching. I don't organize my life around any TV shows (although I have before and may again if something good enough comes on). Anyway, I don't blame people for watching, but I do wonder why it's so addictive to so many.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

I'm totally into Temptation Island. It's so lame that I have to watch. But because it's on before Once and Again, it helps to remember to watch that show, which I really like.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

What is Once and Again?

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

That's that show with Sela Ward. It's on at 9pm central time zone on ABC. It's by the people who did My So Called Life.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001

Okay, I just realized how sick I truly am. I was SO PISSED when Temptation Island just ended and they didn't show who the women chose as their dates.

So pissed that I had a mini tantrum, witnessed only by my partner, over the utter unfairness of FOX withholding all of the episodes and doling them out 1 by 1 weekly. Shit, I pay enough for cable, I want to watch them all in one night!

Maybe I should spread my tv focus out over a few more shows. I don't think Temptation Island and The Sopranos should have to bear the intensity of my love alone.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2001