Is It Really Reality?
OK, I apologize
for this, another post on Reality TV.
I should
post on things that I do on a typical day…Hmm that would be watching TV, a lot
of TV, even reality TV.
Well, a lot
of you probably don’t watch reality TV and you are probably a little curious
about it. As a public service I will let
you get a glimpse into what you are lucky enough to be missing.
Recently I
have been hooked on “Married at First Sight.”
This show is an experiment in relationships. Three experts sort through thousands of
applications and choose three couples who they feel would be good matches.
These couples
then get married.
The first
time they meet is at the altar.
What could
go wrong?
Are you
sorry you don’t watch?
I didn’t
think so.
Anyway; I am
hooked watching these couples learn to avoid the many pitfalls of marriage
while they get to know each other. This is
I believe the fourth season and so far, I think three couples have remained
married.
That’s…pause
to do the math…a twenty-five percent success rate for the relationship experts.
The experts
seem to like matching people that have vastly different personalities. They seem to think that couples will grow
together through communication skills and exercises that the experts assign to
them.
One year
they matched a dude that I could tell in one minute was a giant pot-head with a
non-pot user. That match up lasted
around three weeks. Duh! Well done, experts!
This year
one couple has been together now for six weeks and has not yet been
intimate. They are sleeping together
every night, but they are not “sleeping together.” She is not quite ready. He is backed up so much he is ready to
explode. I am guessing this match will
not work. They have one more week to decide to, as the show keeps reminding, “Will you stay married, or will you get a
divorce.”
One thing
about this show that floors me is how bad the experts are at arranging
matches. I think that given some basic
knowledge about all the applicants I could successfully match couples at least
fifty percent if not more…remember, these are all people who apply because they
want to be married!
Last night I
was espousing (I almost
said exspousing) this theory
to Mrs. Cranky.
“I am pretty sure I could match
couples better than these experts, they are terrible! Every one of these couples has had huge
fights and it has been six weeks of nothing but drama. How could they pick such horrible matches?”
“You know this is a TV show don’t
you?”
“Yes.”
“Would you watch if all three couples
hit it off at once and were just happy and lovey-dovey every week?”
“No, that would be boring.”
“Maybe the experts know what they are
doing after all.”
“Oh yeah; good point.”
It's beyond me. Whatever happened to true romance? How can you possibly judge a partner in such a short space of time? There are people who are poor judges but I guess they wouldn't enter into such marriages.
ReplyDeleteThat's a show I've never watched and never will. I don't like reality shows at all.
ReplyDeleteDo they want to be married, or do they want a shot at fame and being on TV? That’s what i wonder, especially since people are still applying even though they know most couples don’t make it.
ReplyDeleteWell, if the couple's were interesting people, I might still watch. I think the same is said for the Real Housewives shows......that they purposefully argue for ratings. Personally, I enjoy it more when they get along.
ReplyDeleteYou should practice your guitar while watching that show. You could write hit country songs.
ReplyDeleteJust the names of the average reality show prevent me from watching any of them. I want escape from reality and if people are going to fight, I want it all neatly and happily resolved in an hour's time.
ReplyDeleteSounds to me as if this show is less about the couples actually making it and more about ratings...A pot head and non pot user had to be an interesting mixture, either she was going to become a pot head too, or she was going to reform him, or most likely it was going to end up splitsville, I think you called this one from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about the drama.
ReplyDeleteI think Mrs. C called it!!
ReplyDeleteShe makes a great point. A bit surprised at the number who have stayed married but then the old fashioned way only has a 50% success rate.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE reality shows, but I gave up on this one, because it was on about 3 nights a week. I couldn't keep up. I only have that kind of stamina for Big Brother.
ReplyDeleteI think it was Season 2 that I saw, with Sam(antha) and Neil. She was just in the news for getting married (to someone else). She was kind of mean to Neil. I was hoping they could make a go of it.
Yeah, sounds like 'reality' to me. . .
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or is this just the worst possible idea for a show EVER??
'Cuz you know, our culture just takes marriage WAAAAAYYYYY too seriously, right?
i agree with mrs C that everything is fixed already and dramatized to play with the psyche of people who think they are watching a thrilling show
ReplyDeleteI don't watch the show, but I sometimes wonder about those arranged marriages where the couple meets on the day of their wedding. I realize it's a fairly common practice in India. I had a few co-workers from India, one young engineer who went back to India a few years ago to marry a girl his parents back home had picked out for him. I don't know what happened to him. Another engineer from India and her husband have been married for over ten years, just had their second baby, and seem like the most romantic couple. Maybe parents have a better idea whom to pick for their child than TV experts.
ReplyDelete