Reality TV Rant
What is the deal with ex- Survivor contestants appearing on other reality TV shows? Last night, while watching the Academy Awards, I saw an oft-repeated ad for the newest season of The Amazing Race. The ad featured "Boston" Rob and Amber from Survivor. All right, I'll admit that I used to be a Survivor junkie. However, I detoxed two seasons ago after the end of Survivor:All Stars. Anyhow, for anyone that's not familiar with the Survivor series, Rob and Amber hooked up during the All Stars series. They ended up placing first and second and to top it off, Rob proposed to Amber on live TV during the finale. Cold hearted snake (in the eternal words of Paula Abdul - hah!) that I am, I did not find this romantic. It only made me realize just how much these people crave the spotlight... I mean, they'll do anything to attract attention! These 2 subject themselves to 2 seasons of Survivor, they get engaged on live national TV, advertise their wedding plans in People magazine. And now they're appearing in another reality TV show! Which brings me back to my original point...
So Rob and Amber will now be appearing on The Amazing Race. The ad was rather amusing. The voice-over guy says something to the effect of "... featuring Rob and Amber!... and other memorable couples." as in, who cares about the other contestants, we've got Rob and Amber! Between the 2 of them, they have already won over $1 million and a couple of cars, if memory serves me correctly. But don't quote me on that one. What's next?!
As I was flipping through the Montreal Gazette this afternoon, I noticed an ad for an upcoming episode of Fear Factor (the most awful reality TV show ever made, in my humble opinion - I mean, how long can anyone possible enjoy watching people retch on inedible substances they are being forced to ingest?) Anyhow, smiling out at me from that ad was none other than Ethan and Jenna, another famous (although lesser so) couple from Survivor who were also in the All Star series. Here's the kicker: they are BOTH previous Survivor winners. I don't want to sound ungracious, but hopefully Jenna can put on a happy face during this round on TV. Throughout her 2 previous Survivor experiences, she was constantly worried about her dying mother. Understandable, but why go if you're so worried? Anyhow, she actually quit All Stars to be with her mother, who died shortly after. Anyway, now she can get back on reality TV worry free! Wow, that does sound pretty heartless.
I guess it just boggles my mind that these people live their lives hopping from 1 reality TV show to another, and at times, neglecting the important things, such as family. Are these people so starry eyed that they're willing to subject themselves to... whatever, just to get some recognition? And is that how you really want to be remembered? As being filthy, starving and hairy on some island or choking an a pig's uterus? Come on! Well, I'm sure that some Survivor contestants are approached by different networks to be on their shows because they are already familiar to most of North America. I suppose it's an effort to help boost their ratings. Oh my. I suppose eventually we'll have to start recycling all of our reality TV stars and we'll always see the same people appearing over and over again! We'll have a new class of celebrity: Reality TV Stars... they could have their own awards show!