TV Outcomes

The following blurb was on the IMDB.com website for Friday, March 9, 2007:

More Revelations About British Broadcast Scam

In what is fast becoming a scandal involving virtually all of Britain's major broadcasters, London newspapers today (Friday) revealed new allegations that programs featuring competitions in which viewers pay a telephone fee to vote on the outcome have been rigged. Alistair Graham, head of ICSTIS, which regulates premium-rate telephone lines in the U.K., accused some TV producers of engaging in "semi-fraudulent behavior" and confirmed that ICSTIS was currently looking into allegations of fraud affecting ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and the BBC. "If we have any evidence in which we believe there is a possibility that a criminal offense has been committed, we have very close links with the City of London police and I can assure you that we will refer such evidence to them to investigate." Meanwhile, the producer of the quiz show Brainteaser apologized Thursday after disclosures that the Channel 5 program ran bogus contests on at least five occasions and said that viewers who paid $1.50 to phone the program would receive refunds. The program is produced by the seemingly suitably named Cheetah television, a division of Endemol, producers of Big Brother. (NOTE: In Thursday's edition we incorrectly noted that Big Brother airs in the U.K. on Channel 5; it airs on Channel 4.)

Anyone who doesn't realize that these outcomes aren't at least partially rigged is an idiot. It is like people believing that pro wrestling is "real;" they are deluding themselves.

Big Brother, American (or other) Idol, Survivor and any other of this type of show is inherently biased: they want to be a ratings success. In order to be a hit in the ratings, you have to stage, control, and pre-determine some or all of the show. If you don't have the bitch/bastard that pushes everyone's buttons, you don't have the high drama. If you don't have the sweet and somewhat naive innocent, the hard-luck case, the overcomes-enormous-obstacles person, you don't have the audience's sympathy. You need decent people with no real charisma or charm to be cannon fodder.

Watch Survivor critically, and then flip to any drama on TV, and you can see incredibly similar storytelling devices in place. You see the same craftsmanship and plot hooks used. The producer's primary goal, after all, is to entertain.

Now, look back at the many articles over the years of "technical difficulties" with the phone lines for these call-in-and-vote type shows. Every one of them has had it occur at least once. Some have also had reports of subversive or inaccurate phone numbers displayed. Some have had problems where the East Coast would show one set of phone numbers and the West Coast another. Others have had "power outages" happen that make the tally inaccurate. What about the hints and suggestions of collusions between crew and cast on the shows? Does anyone remember the quiz-show scandals, both minor and major, of the 40s? The 50s? How about the 60s? Producers and creators have been manipulating these shows from the earliest days of television. Our "games," and their manipulations, are just a little more sophisticated now.

The volume of people who have left reality and game shows admitting that scenes were re-staged, re-shot, or edited in such a way as to be misleading or inaccurate is pretty consistent. Some have even hinted or accused the show's production of actually scripting outcomes or manipulating the contestants directly. This is the reason why the producers make the contestants sign some of the most stringent gag orders in the business; they don't want the audience to know just how much is fake.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-"reality" show. I couldn't care less what people watch, as long as I have the option of watching (or doing) something else. If you like these shows and are entertained, great for you. Just remember that entertainment is the point of the show. They have to keep the audiences coming back show to show and season to season.

Pro wrestlers are still incredible athletes even if the matches and outcomes are staged. Likewise, the producers of American Idol (or any other reality program) would not have a product if the contestants on them weren't talented, smart, engaging, and unique people. Even if the outcomes are partially or wholly pre-determined, the people chosen for these shows have talent-- it wouldn't work otherwise. It is just silly to think that the producers don't coax that talent, groom it, and script sequences to play to certain contestants strengths and weaknesses so that the show follows the general course the producers want. Do you honestly think that the producers really miss such glaring problems during the background check as always seem to crop up season to season with some contestant? Is American Idol, Survivor, and Big Brother really using such poor fact checking agencies that they can't find a DUI, a battery charge, or prison stay during a person's background check? Come on, we all know better-- or should.

In the end, these shows are entertainment and nothing more. If you choose to buy into the "reality" of what is presented, so be it. That's your choice. But to then be shocked when the curtain is pulled back and we get a glimpse of the man behind is somewhat absurd.