Reality Steve Inteviews Wes Hayden - More On Reality TV

Reality Steve (RS) whom I had the great pleasure of chatting with personally by phone during the much discussed Jason/Melissa/Molly Bachelor fiasco has just snagged an interview with the much hated Bachelor Wes Hayden from the current season of The Bachelorette with Canadian Jillian Harris.

It should be noted that while Wes is definitely hated, he still doesn't hold a candle to the "most hated bachelor" in the history of the show, Jason Mesnick.

(Image of Wes Hayden From ABC.com - The Bachelorette with Jillian Harris - All Rights Reserved - ABC.com)

As I said in a previous blog, I was always positive Wes was the victim of extensive editing, which based on RS's interview he definitely was. Ditto for Ed, Michael, Jake and all the other bachelors with prominent air time from the current Bachelorette season.

I have my own "real" experiences with reality TV from a number of prior events including working on a proposed show a few years ago with a hairdresser and a TV producer. During the proposal for the reality show, which never made it to filming due to a series of conflicts, it was made crystal clear that the show would be basically scripted to guarantee a significant number of "interesting scenes" in order to drive high ratings.

Bottom line, if you don't have viewers who cares what happens on the show then ultimately the networks, who need ratings to sell advertising, just don't care.

I have also known Hollywood hairdressers who participated on other reality TV shows and the same expectation is always present.

Think about it. If reality shows were 100% reality based, they would probably be completely boring.

Which is why, in my opinion, the Bachelor and Bachelorette shows are filmed in such exotic locations. I will confess I watch the shows not only because I blog about the episodes, but because I love to see the different locales they visit.

I can honestly say after watching Jillian's experiences I would consider going on the train excursion through Canada. I never considered the possibility before but I do love trains and the images broadcast via the different episodes were breathtaking.

Were the shots from the train real? Probably. The interaction with the Bachelors and Bachelorettes? Probably not so much.

Which summarizes reality TV shows. They are not reality. They are very loosely based around a premise ranging from dating to living in a jungle. Regardless of the realtiy setting, the characters are pre-determined, staged, edited and hyped to encourage viewers to watch, interact and write about the show in their blogs, on forums and to be picked up by the Entertainment News teams.

What could be better for a reality show than to be "exposed' by ET or discussed on Ellen, Oprah or The View? Even RealitySteve's exposure to behind the scene workings is a huge bonus for ABC. At least RS is making people aware of the shows, even if he is blogging about the ultimate Conspiracy Theory or heavy scripting or unveiling true dating villians.

The viewers who scream foul and post hatred about whatever network is running the dirty reality show of the moment - and right now ABC seems to be the Reality Show Villains - are all playing their parts from the perspectives of the producers and directors of those said shows.

I love to remind people about various scenes from the movie EdTV. In case you didn't see it, EdTV was a fabulous film about one of the earliest reality TV shows which followed the life of Ed. Hence the name EdTV. One of the primary producers in EdTV was none other than actress Ellen Degeneres who was brilliant in her part. If you haven't seen EdTV go rent it and watch it very closely.

The reality about Reality TV is that it needs bloggers like Reality Steve and villians like Wes and former reality TV show participants like Trista, Ryan, Brad Womack, DeAnn, Jesse and all the rest. For Reality TV to thrive and continue to bring in new viewers and post top ratings they need fans and haters to keep it pumped up.

If you really hate ABC's The Bachelor and Bachelorette and want it to really die, stop watching the show, stop Tivoing it, stop blogging about it, writing on the ABC forums and ranting about it on other blogger sites. Stop talking about it to your friends and over coffee at Starbucks.

Bottom line, if everyone stops watching and talking about it, the Bachelor and Bachelorette will die. The same is true about any Reality TV fare you currently watch, love to hate or wish to expose to the world for the fraud it really is.

I still watch The Bachelor and The Bachelorette because I am a long time journalist, blogger and free lance writer for several magazines. I have to keep track of what is happening in the world of celebrities, TV, entertainment and the blogging world. That's my job.

However, I know that Jillian will probably never find love on The Bachelor and that Wes was edited along with everyone else on that show. How much I don't really care since they are usually assigned "parts" before the show even starts.

The only thing that continues to amaze me about The Bachelor/Bachelorette series is how geniune Trista Rehn Sutter is and how well her season of The Bachelorette was put together. I think Trista and Ryan are a rare couple who found a happy ending in light of all the editing and manipulation and scripted drama. Good for them. I have always liked both of them and am happy for Trista.

However, in TV, what works in one season, becomes old and boring in the next.

Right now I am watching SoapNet's The Southern Belles: Louisville and enjoying it. Yes, I know it is one part soap opera, one part reality TV and one part total BS but I love watching the five young woman, their various hairstyles and the fashions and accessories they showcase. I doubt they are really friends, I suspect their boyfriends are mostly fake and I'm not even sure they really live in Louisville. But I still love the show and know it is, what it is, a reality/soap/entertainment focused show.

If you still don't know what's I'm talking about try making some UTube videos that are entertaining and gets lots of views. Then you will understand what the reality TV producers, writers and directors have to do to turn it up a few notches.

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