2008 Woodie Awards
The reality of primetime television's success
Ashley Bonora
Issue date: 2/2/06 Section: Features
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It's a Monday night around 8:00 p.m. You're sitting in your room flipping through the channels and you come across a show that looks semi- appealing, "Skating with the Celebrities." Do you watch it, or immediately change the station? Well, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.
The first thought that pops into your mind, where did this television show originate from? It sounds familiar, and the answer is simple, "Dancing with the Stars." It's that reality show that incorporates some suave dancing, and a lot of semi-washed up actors, or unfamiliar actors who are looking for a way to make a comeback. For example, John Larouquette, an actor known for his random roles and TV appearances, was the runner up last season. He was defeated by Kelly Monaco, a celebrity in the soap opera world. No one would have ever been fully reintroduced to these performers, had this show never been aired, and become such a big hit.
It was just that, so producers of that show created a new spin off called "Skating with the Celebrities." This show, unlike its predecessor, integrates figure skating, rather than, well, dancing. In every way, shape, and form, this show is exactly the same as the one previously exposed. New stars come out to celebrate the art of figure skating where they are paired with a professional skate partner and a coach aiding them with choreography and training.
The big bang into reality television shows was "Survivor," back in 2001, where Americans were shipped to tropical, desolate islands to survive, wild island life. This includes doing challenges in order to gain immunity from being voted off, ultimately eliminating your chances of winning the grand prize, one million dollars. From there, the idea of mock reality has learned to exploit both entertaining, high-quality talents, or those poor unfortunate souls who are only embarrassing themselves for the sake of our amusement.
The second show that threw America into the world of reality television was "American Idol." In simple terms, this innovative talent show lets America determine who is the next "American Idol." But is any different than "Skating with the Celebrities?"