GamerDude talks more television this week, with the focus this time on "reality TV."  He talks about when the show Survivor started in 2000 (yes, 22 years ago!) and how he loved the concept, at first. He discusses how shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race seemed to start casting their shows to check off certain boxes: the villain, the try hard, the old one, the boisterous one, the family one, and how it seemed to signal a change from just casting "real" people.  He talks about shows like American Idol, AGT, and The Voice, and how the "reality" of getting input from the viewers often seems offset by what the producers want to have happen in a show.  He also talks about The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, and other shows like Wife Swap and the Real Housewives franchise, which seem to be about people wanting to be on TV, rather than dealing with anything ordinary people might consider as "real."

He also talks about The Ed Sullivan Show, which could arguably be considered to be one of the first reality shows, and then focuses on Candid Camera, and explains why it is the first reality show, and why it is so good.  He talks about why catching real people, reacting as themselves to odd situations is the best kind of reality show, because people being themselves is more entertaining than watching people trying to act out a part they may have carved for themselves.