Tom Shales Quotes

For better or worse, in the 21st century, reality shows are the variety show.

Reality shows are all the rage on TV at the moment, but that's not reality, it's just another aesthetic form of fiction.

Oh, I love reality shows.

Reality TV has taken over.

TV networks are dying. The death throes of religion give us jihads. The death throes of television give us reality shows.

I barely ever watch TV, but when I do, I usually only watch MTV shows, like 'The Real World Sydney.'

I love trashy reality TV - all of it.

'Survivor' was, to me, an absolute reaction that the audience was having to the sort of staid nature of narrative drama on television.

I watch every reality show out there.

Reality TV is a totally different animal than the infomercial world.

Television is kind of a disappointment. I often want to watch it, but I find it quite hard - I don't like soaps, reality TV or celebrity chefs.

'So You Think You Can Dance' comes on as a high-minded leap up the evolutionary ladder from other reality shows - on this one, you're supposed to learn something, and the guest judges are fellow dance professionals rather than actual celebrities.

Personally, I'm not into reality shows - I can't even name a reality show that I was a really big fan of, altogether as a whole, not just from MTV. Like, if ABC has another reality show, I'm like, 'Oh God, another reality show.' But people love them. 'The Hills', 'Laguna Beach'... those do extremely well. It's just a personal preference.

If there's room for 30 reality shows, surely there's room for two amazing costume dramas.

All great reality shows have a very, very similar format. That's why it was so easy to parody.

I love the 'Housewives.' I don't watch 'American Idol' or 'X Factor.' I guess I don't like network reality: I like my Bravo; I like documentary programming - I love 'Intervention' and some things on TLC more than others - but the 'Real Housewives' to me are really revolutionary, in terms of giving camera time to women of a certain age.

For me, I feel like reality TV is anything but these days.

Television studios bet the farm on reality shows, where they didn't need any actors and movie studios had no plans for any quality movies that required the presence of me.

There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving only its hardiest show-offs. Instead, it has metastasized like toxic mold, filling every nook and opening new crannies.

I made a rule not to be on reality shows.

My entire schedule gets turned around for 'The Bachelor' and 'Bachelor in Paradise.'

Now we've gotten accustomed to reality shows where the goal is to see people acting foolish.

I used to watch 'The Bachelor,' but it's lost my interest now. The reality shows are getting worse and worse. They're out of control and have been for some time.

I never watched reality shows. I was obviously very aware of them because they're everywhere, but I was not somebody who watched them.

I was a part of the reality show wave in 2002. Back then, no one had seen non-fiction on TV, and we had no reference point, so we all were just excited to see cameras around us.