Save your tears — business is business on reality TV
I was relieved of my duties for live tweeting Bachelor in Paradise this season. It’s not because I did anything wrong, it’s that the ratings of the season premiere were too low and people didn’t seem to care about the show.
I’m still watching BIP, I’m just not following along in real time and spewing every sarcastic thought I have in the moment.
I barely paid attention to last night’s episode where an emotional Colton was confronted and then ultimately thrown for a loop when his former TV love, Becca, from The Bachelorette reappeared for some unknown reason. Scratch that: I know the reason. Producers brought her in to cause shit with Colton who wasn’t over their breakup. Mission: accomplished.
Many viewers, Bachelor Nation as… well, only Bachelor Nation calls themselves, were outraged by the deception.
How could they bring back Becca? That’s so terrible to do to Colton. What’s the point of her being there? He’s going to be emotionally beaten down.
My response to all that: Well, duh.
See, I’m not heartless when it comes to people having feelings. Really, I’m not. But you have to remember that these people go on a show where the ultimate goal is fame and money. Seriously. It’s a huge generalization but, let’s face facts: people want the free vacation, free booze and stardom that can come from being on a show like this. If love happens, meh, so be it.
Remember, I chat with celebrities on the radio. I use the term loosely when it comes to Bachelor cast but they don’t even pretend to hide why they go on a show like Bachelor in Paradise. LISTEN to Daniel Maguire tell me why he does reality TV.
When these people are thrown for a loop and blindsided with a dramatic revelation, it doesn’t make me a bad person to sit on the couch and be giddy about the awkwardness. I didn’t plan the villainous twist in the storyline. I’m the one entertained by it. I’m the target. I’m the audience. I’m the ratings.
Producers are the ones who have no regard for the contestants they play with. There is no hope for actual love. Love doesn’t bring ratings. Drama does.
Look at the first season of Big Brother when it was the viewers who voted out the contestants. That was the most drama-free season of a reality show ever. There was no conflict. A bunch of strangers played house for a summer. Yay. From that point on when the Big Brother concept was changed around, there’s been fireworks every season. And look at what magically happened with ratings for the next 19 seasons. Amazing.
So, as cringe-worthy as Bachelor in Paradise might be and as much as people are crying foul that the nice guy is being tortured with the return of his ex and being face-to-face with a woman who isn’t over him, the love triangle is already set up and it’s only two episodes into the season.
As for the reality of the reality show, listen closely to how the editors actually form a sentence for one contestant. It’s like cutting out words from a magazine and taping them to a piece of paper to make a complete thought. LISTEN HERE TO THE EDITING. (And it’s not just on a Bachelor show. LISTEN to what they do to a Kardashian robot on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.)
I’m not here to break the story that reality shows are scripted and only produced for the viewers’ entertainment. We figured that out years ago. I’m here to say, as harsh as it might sound, these fame whores know exactly what they’re getting into when going on a show like this.
If they are stupid enough to let producers manipulate and manufacture a program at their expense (and they even sign waivers that spell it out quite clearly), then we shouldn’t feel sorry for what they go through. If you don’t have enough self respect to stay away from a show like this, why should we feel you deserve better?
I’ll keep watching the show, but at my own pace. Though I can tell you that two hours of watching such trash TV is taking its toll on me. Thank god for the hefty paycheque I get for following a show season after season. It’s little consolation but I’ll take it.
