# What's the best reality show you've ever seen?



## J.R. Thomson (Mar 30, 2011)

Just finished "Out of the Wild: Venezuela" and it was awesome. I think it's the best reality show I've ever seen.

What's the best reality show you've ever seen?


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

I love Amazing Race, but LOVED The MOLE when Anderson Cooper was the host.  Solitary was quite good as well.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Survivor. It's the longest running reality show for a reason.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Depends on what your definition of 'reality show' is, but I'd have to say the I liked _Flying Wild Alaska_ the best.

Mike


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I think it counts as a reality show, but it's almost part documentary as well. There's a show on BBC called _Mastercrafts_ which only has one six episode series so far. Each show takes a look at a different old world trade that is still being practiced, though in far lesser numbers, throughout the UK. They take three or four normal people who would like to learn the craft for various reasons and put them through a six week crash course with a master to learn these things that people apprentice at for years and years to learn. At the end one is judged the best and their work is featured prominently somewhere and they generally earn a chance to work at the craft for a bit longer.

So far they have done episodes on Green Wood Furniture (a very handmade sort of furniture that uses uncured wood and hand tools), Thatching (as in making a roof from straw), Blacksmithing, Stained Glass, Hand Weaving (the fabric panels from threads sort), and Stone Masonry. I was already really interested in stained glass, but I surprisingly found myself wanting a go at blacksmithing as well. Thatching and Green Wood Furniture were both far more interesting than I thought they'd be, too. If you can get hold of the series I highly recommend a viewing. This is the sort of thing I wish we got on Discovery and TLC instead of Amish Mafia and Honey Boo Boo.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

See, for me, the concept of "good" in conjunction with "reality show" is kind of mutually exclusive. And "best" is right out. 

Though, if _Mythbusters_ counts, I could get behind that. 

Oh, and _Top Gear_. Those guys are a hoot!


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

Best is really a matter of opinion but my favorites are Project Runway, Next Iron Chef & SYTYCD. 

My favorite guilty pleasure is Design Star... terrible but I love it.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

T.L. Haddix said:


> Would Dirty Jobs count as a reality show? Or Mythbusters? If so, disregard my earlier comment.


If those count, they would probably be at the top of my list, too. 

(Mythbusters is one of only two shows I have set up for automatic recording on my DVR -- the other being The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.)


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

I am a reality show hound, and get caught up in almost all of the major ones.  I just looked at the video you provided and it looks like that is my new must see show.  Thanks for sharing!


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## GreenThumb (Mar 29, 2009)

"Out of the Wild: Venezuela" was excellent!  So was the Alaska season.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Deadliest Catch with Mythbusters a very close second. 

I think SYTYCD would go under competition shows, but it's my hands down favorite in that category.


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## Ergodic Mage (Jan 23, 2012)

Pawn Stars has some great historical and interesting pieces that just sucks me in for hours. It's the only reality tv show that I watch, the rest put me to sleep.


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

Thank goodness for DVRs otherwise I'd be in trouble.  I guess I'll have to track down the Alaska season, as well.


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## HarryK (Oct 20, 2011)

Scheherazade said:


> This is the sort of thing I wish we got on Discovery and TLC instead of Amish Mafia and Honey Boo Boo.


Amish Mafia is the best show ever made!!!

OK, not really. It really is crap. I did catch that "green wood furniture" show though...and wow, almost made me want to run out and try some of that stuff.

Honestly, I'm really not a reality show person. I do admit to enjoying an episode of Hell's Kitchen now and then. I like Gordon Ramsay in small doses. Kitchen Nightmares was actually pretty good though. I'm talking about the original BBC version of course, not that annoying one that ran on Fox.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

I don't know if An Idiot Abroad on the science channel counts, but I love that show!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Mythbusters FTW!

Life with Ed on the Green Channel was pretty fun


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## GreenThumb (Mar 29, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I think it counts as a reality show, but it's almost part documentary as well. There's a show on BBC called _Mastercrafts_ which only has one six episode series so far. Each show takes a look at a different old world trade that is still being practiced, though in far lesser numbers, throughout the UK. They take three or four normal people who would like to learn the craft for various reasons and put them through a six week crash course with a master to learn these things that people apprentice at for years and years to learn. At the end one is judged the best and their work is featured prominently somewhere and they generally earn a chance to work at the craft for a bit longer.
> 
> So far they have done episodes on Green Wood Furniture (a very handmade sort of furniture that uses uncured wood and hand tools), Thatching (as in making a roof from straw), Blacksmithing, Stained Glass, Hand Weaving (the fabric panels from threads sort), and Stone Masonry. I was already really interested in stained glass, but I surprisingly found myself wanting a go at blacksmithing as well. Thatching and Green Wood Furniture were both far more interesting than I thought they'd be, too. If you can get hold of the series I highly recommend a viewing. This is the sort of thing I wish we got on Discovery and TLC instead of Amish Mafia and Honey Boo Boo.


I would love to see this show. Been searching, but having trouble finding a way to watch. I tried Netflix, Amazon Instant Videos, and BBC. Amazon doesn't sell this series on DVD, either. I did find some youtube videos, and think I can patch the series together there. I am determined.


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## DanielleUidam (Jan 22, 2013)

I just love Survivor! Have been a massive fan, but I also really enjoy The Amazing Race


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

GreenThumb said:


> I would love to see this show. Been searching, but having trouble finding a way to watch. I tried Netflix, Amazon Instant Videos, and BBC. Amazon doesn't sell this series on DVD, either. I did find some youtube videos, and think I can patch the series together there. I am determined.


Yeah, I had to have someone send me the files which I imagine they got through a torrent. I don't like downloading things through torrents, but sometimes you're all but forced to. This is a good example of one of those situations. They really need to make television and movies as easy to legally download as they have books and music. Sometimes it's nearly impossible.


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

I just watched three episodes of Out of the Wild: Alaska.  Waiting to find Venezuela.  I really enjoyed it, but don't understand why people who are not in the proper shape want to go on these epic excursions when they know they are not fit and are going to slow everyone down.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Survivor XXVI: Caramoan Islands: Fans v. Favorites starts February 13.  Some seasons are better than others, but still my favorite true reality show.


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## Steve Silkin (Sep 15, 2010)

There's a reality show on French TV called 'Nu et Culotte' ('Naked and Nervy,' or maybe 'Naked and Ballsy') and it has to be seen to be believed. Two guys plan a trip with a starting point and a destination. Then they hit the road naked. The first thing they try to do is get clothed, of course. There isn't a camera crew. One has a shoulder mounted camera and the other a hand held. Then they offer to work for whatever anyone will give them to help them on their way ... bicycle, boat, artwork that they can trade for food with the next people they meet, etc. ... As you can imagine, each show quickly becomes less about our guys and more about the people they meet who want to help them make their trip. It's so beautiful.


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

I have always watched Survivor and the Amazing Race....I have just begun watching Face Off on the Syfi channel.  It is not the first season, but I am finding it so interesting and the artists just amazing.


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

is American Idol reality show? I am not much of a TV fan... I did watch some survivor episodes in the beginning.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I work in reality TV (don't hate me) as an editor.  A few things I've worked on have been mentioned above - some with praise, others not so much.    And the only thing I watch is "The Amazing Race."  I also loved "The Mole" when Anderson Cooper hosted it.  It was a fantastic show.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

The Amazing Race is fun, probably one of my favorites, but CBS makes it impossible to watch if you're recording it. They always have football or something going on before it, the game invariably runs later than they expect, then my TIVO has half an hour of 60 Minutes and I miss most of The Amazing Race. I know I can tell it to record longer, but it's just not worth the hassle. So I just don't watch it anymore. I doubt it matters much to them, but if they want people to watch their shows they need to schedule things better. When it starts late _every_ week maybe the schedule needs to be changed to adjust for it. Rant over.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Scheherazade said:


> I doubt it matters much to them, but if they want people to watch their shows they need to schedule things better. When it starts late _every_ week maybe the schedule needs to be changed to adjust for it. Rant over.


They probably don't since it doesn't add to their ratings. Its too bad they really don't know how many people watch their shows. People don't watch like they did in the 50s


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Chad Winters said:


> They probably don't since it doesn't add to their ratings. Its too bad they really don't know how many people watch their shows. People don't watch like they did in the 50s


Yep, and they still base their ratings on a scale that seems to think we do. People are finding more and more ways to watch shows when they want where they want, both legal and not, but the networks aren't taking them into consideration. There are huge segments of the population not being considered when it comes to what's doing well on television and we're seeing a rise in horrible television because of it.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

It's true about how CBS airs "Amazing Race."  I literally have my DVR programmed to record it for an hour longer for when the football game runs over and the show starts...whenever.  But it eats up so much of my DVR space!

Also, did you know that "Amazing Race" was almost cancelled after the first couple of seasons because of low ratings?  And it was Sarah Jessica Parker - at the time a major celebrity because "Sex and the City" just became a huge hit - appealed to Les Moonves, president of CBS, to not cancel it because it was one of her favorite shows.  So he agreed to let it go for another season or two - and the ratings improved and the show was saved.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Never been a huge fan of SJP, but I'll thank her for that one!


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

The best show I ever saw is no longer aired. It was one of Mark Barnet's first productions, and it was called Eco Challenge. It was a week long race in a remote area (one year was New Zealand, another was Borneo), involving different terrains and modes of transportation. Teams of 3 or 4 people from all over the world competed. The winning team usually took 5 days to complete. Many didn't finish. The geography was spectacular and the obstacles huge. I think Eco Challenges are still held, just not televised, that I know of. We used to watch the episodes on the Discovery Channel.

My favorite right now is Gold Rush. I'm learning a lot about mining for gold way up north, and shaking my head at what these people put themselves through.


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## Lee44 (Sep 9, 2012)

Scheherazade said:


> The Amazing Race is fun, probably one of my favorites, but CBS makes it impossible to watch if you're recording it.


I totally agree. I did the same thing, record for an extra hour. It seems to be the only show that I know of that doesn't have a consistent start time. By recording an extra hour I seem to always get the entire Amazing Race.


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

I enjoy _Undercover Boss_. Always an eye opener to see the CEOs get down in the trenches and learn what things are like for the regular guy.


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