American Idol, the Amazing race, Survivor, the Apprentice, On the LOT are some of the most talked about reality shows which has not only brought entertainment to the audiences, but also given its contestants international fame and fortune.
American Idol, a singing competition, created by Simon Fuller (The manager of the Spice girls and S Club 7), premiered in the U.S. on the 11th of June 2002. The show, inspired by the UK reality show Pop Idol, has created Grammy, Academy, American Music Awards winning singers as; Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken Jennifer Hudson, and other successful singers as Chris Dauhtry and Mario Vazquez.
At the initial stages, contestants from across the United States audition before the 3 main judges; Simon Cowell (Producer and Manager), Paula Abdul (former Pop star) and Randy Jackson (Record producer and Bass player). Those who are able to impress the judges proceed to the next stages. From the semi finals stage, the judges comment on the contestants' performances, as the elimination of the 24 contestants are determined through public voting.
Created by Elise Doganieri and Betram Van Munster, The Amazing race is an Emmy award winning reality game show for “Outstanding Reality-Competition Series”, in which teams of two, races around the world, to arrive first at each leg, in an effort to avoid possible elimination.
Each week a team is eliminated till three out of twelve are standing. At the final round, the team which arrives first, at the 'pit stop' (the final destination of each leg of the race), after performing the given series of tasks, are rewarded with 1 million US dollars.
The amazing race has many versions including Family edition and All star. It premiered in the US in September 2001 and has gained immense popularity around the world.
Premiering on the 31st May 2000, Survivor, created by Charlie Parsons, is considered to be the mother of American reality television because it was the first high- rated reality show on television at the time of the first airing. Hosted by Jeff Probst (former news reporter and game show emcee), 16 contestants are isolated in a remote location, and compete against each other till only one remains as the soul survivor.
At the initial stages, the contestants are divided into Tribal groups of 2-4 and have to work as a team to survive and successfully complete the 'challenges' which are given each week. The messages explaining the challenges are left at a location near camp, which are popularized as 'treemail'. The tribal team, which finishes the last, has to vote off one of their team mates at Tribal Council. At the later stages, the contestants compete individually.
Survivor is a reality game show, which is produced at different parts of the world during each season, with the name of the destinations used, included on the title (Survivor: Africa, Survivor: The Australian outback) and, the ultimate survivor walks away with 1 million US Dollars.
The Apprentice which premiered in the US in 2004 brings together a group of 15- 18 businessmen and- women to compete with each other for a one-year, $250,000 job at a company of Donald Trump, the host and a producer of the show.
The show also known as the “Ultimate Job interview,” has popularized the catch phrase “You're fired!” and has many international versions including an Indian version called; Business Bazzigar airing on Zee TV.
The latest addition to the trend of reality game shows is On the LOT, which is a production of Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. Premiered on the 22nd of May 2007, 'On the Lot' is a show where 18 filmmaking finalists compete to claim a million dollar deal at Dream Works studios owned by Steven Spielberg.
The show is similar to that of American Idol where each week, a contestant is eliminated according to the public voting and 3 judges; Carrie Fisher, Brett Ratner and Garry Marshell express their opinion on the short films made by the contestants. The program comprises of a 1-hour show where movies are screened ("Film Premiere"), followed the next day by a half-hour results show ("Box Office").
Though reality game shows are criticized, often for the voting systems and judgments made, it still remains at the top of the favourites lists among the young audiences around the world. Since the premiering of Survivor, reality game shows have expanded to all fields; from the business, to the world of Modeling (America's Next Top model) without failing to impress the audiences of all ages.
Pulkit Singh
BA (Journalism)
