New at Reason

Tim Cavanaugh | December 15, 2004

Jesse Walker joins millions of disgruntled former viewers in tuning out Donald Trump's comedy of manners.

(Ed note: I stopped watching after Raj got the axe. Was I the only Raj fan?)

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|12.15.04 @ 1:05PM|#

Trump's a turd--ever since he tried to get the state to take the old lady's house for a limo staging area I spit whenever his name comes up.

|12.15.04 @ 1:28PM|#

I have to give Trump some credit; he's stayed alive in spite of the the trend turning against him--all the gambling goin' to Vegas and Indian casinos. Sure, the smart guys pick their battles, but he decided to swim against the tide, and he survived and there's something to be said for that.

However, I develop commercial real estate myself, and if I was just getting into the business, I'd rather intern for Sam Zell than work for Donald Trump. Getting the exposure from the show might do the contestants well, but winning the opportunity to work for someone else seems like a crock to me. Why would anyone with talent and drive want to work for someone else in the real estate development industry?

...For the contacts? Maybe.

If I ever have to work for anyone else again, I will have failed miserably. I've never watched the show--really I haven't--but the final challenge should be to identify a project, build a proforma, get preliminary approval for a loan, etc., and the final prize should be cash equity in the project.

...Of course, if you got that far, you wouldn't need Donald Trump for the equity, would you?

Johno|12.15.04 @ 1:29PM|#

You're not the only Raj fan. I could not believe the producers didn't find a way to keep him around. From his kooky bow ties to his kooky obession with the 2nd British Empire (he wanted to name his damn team "Dauntless" or "Juggernaut" f'r chrissakes!), he was more surreal fun than Trump himself-- and that's saying a lot.

His greatest moment was stripping down to his boxers and running around the upper deck at Arthur Ashe stadium while Anna Kournikova fired tennis balls at him with deadly accuracy (why can't she do that in competition?), all in the hopes of getting a date with the luscious Ms. K.

His second greatest moment was getting fired, walking out of the room, and hitting on Trump's fake-o secretary, using the "now that we're not working together..." line. Word is, he actually got that date.

|12.15.04 @ 1:39PM|#

(Sidebar comment, sorry:)
Who's the hot chick with the gun, and why does she keep pointing it at me?

|12.15.04 @ 1:41PM|#

I liked Raj. He was the only one who seemed like a normal person. The secretary incident Johno mentioned showed that Raj wasn't real obsessed with becoming Trump's newest buttboy. Raj lost and moved on. Everyone else wanted to win too much and they seemed like very unpleasant people. (Who really wants to work for a pompous ass like Trump?)

I watch the show because Trump amuses me. How anyone can take him seriously is beyond me. I also like wondering what the idiot bankers who lent him so much money (twice!) that he now owes way too much to ever be allowed to fail were thinking. (Gee, this Trump Taj Mahal looks like a sure winner, let's loan him another 100 million.) Or what his lackeys really think of him. His taste is execrable and his behaviour egregious. He's a real American.

QFMC cos. V

|12.15.04 @ 1:46PM|#

A Trump-related reality show which would be really interesting to watch would center around the hours-long process it must take to construct that elaborate combover artifact that rests uneasily on his head.

|12.15.04 @ 1:49PM|#

You had to see this one coming. People weren't tuning into Trump TV to see a battle royale of the entrepenuers, just like they don't tune into Survivor to watch the motherfuckers try to start a fire with 2 sticks in the rain. It's all background filler, a backdrop against which to set quasi-scripted, edited-to-death "human interaction drama". This is the underlying premise of each and every reality show, the rest is just stylized filler material. And while folks like us capitalist types might actually enjoy the thought of a pure commercial competition, most numb-headed zombie must-see-TV Americans are mostly just interested in ye olde catfight.

All the Trump Infomercial did was get closer to its roots.

|12.15.04 @ 1:51PM|#

Hey! What hot chick?

|12.15.04 @ 1:52PM|#

I've never watched it. I find Trump's personality to be grating enough as it is when he ocassionally pops up on the news.

Anyone else notice the advertisements for Rev. Al Sharpton's reality show? WTF is up with that?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/2004-06-29-sharpton-tv_x.htm

Jesse Walker|12.15.04 @ 1:54PM|#

Evan: While you're right about the Survivor/Apprentice formula, I think it's notable that the first season was much more of a commercial competition -- and it did much better in the ratings.

Of course, it also had a more likeable cast. But one reason they were more likeable is because several of them actually seemed to be skilled at more than just survival.

|12.15.04 @ 2:08PM|#

Evan Williams,

Yes, the editing itself makes the conflict seem far more common than it likely is.

After a while, doesn't sticking people in a remote locale while making them do stupid people tricks just get fucking boring? I guess you can say that the Amazing Race is mobile and goes to interesting locales, but they are going to run out of interesting locales sooner or later (though the definately non-PC commentary about Senegal was pretty hilarious last night).

|12.15.04 @ 2:11PM|#

I was gonna say something about the hair, too, Brian. OMG, it is just horrible.

Evan, that's funny, but I never thought about it that way. Whenever I watch things like Survivor, it *is* to see someone start a fire with 2 sticks, in the rain. Same reason I like Fear Factor. And in Fear Factor, I actually dislike the cat fighting and drama bullshit.

|12.15.04 @ 2:21PM|#

Lowdog,

Why do you like to watch people eat worms? :)

|12.15.04 @ 2:31PM|#

I liked the first season better as well. Not that the first season didn't have its politics, and not that the second season hasn't had its moments of solid competition, but the emphasis seemed to favor competition in the first season and politics in the second.

Raj's finest moment was getting fired and then asking the receptionist out. My wife follows the gossip and tells me that Raj is now dating another contestant.

In an era when heterosexuality is supposedly under siege (or so say the religious conservatives), Raj was a proud defender of heterosexuality! ;->

|12.15.04 @ 2:41PM|#

"After a while, doesn't sticking people in a remote locale while making them do stupid people tricks just get fucking boring?"

Frankly, it sounded fucking boring when they first advertised it so I've never watched it.

As to the Donald, I've always thought of him as a self-promoter and that the basis of his fortune was that he was able to borrow money faster than he had to pay it back. I, like Fabius, am mystified as to why bankers find him so creditworthy, but I think it has something to do with the public persona he has so carefully crafted.

|12.15.04 @ 2:43PM|#

Was it really Trump who said:

� �I don�t like excuses. You�re fired!� ???

Quotes from http://www.trump.com/corporate/index.html

��very stormy and cold winter��

��A blizzard during the Presidents Day holiday weekend��

��the Iraqi war��

��the opening of the Borgata��

��return ramp necessary to get from the Borgata to the Trump Marina was not completed��

Reminds me of John Belushi who said, "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

|12.15.04 @ 2:45PM|#

If Raj, a man more interested in himself and his outfit, is the defender of heteros then we're all in trouble.

Highway|12.15.04 @ 2:49PM|#

Gary, even Amazing Race has gotten stale, and I think it's mostly because they've done the same thing: changed the focus from the contest or game that's being played to the personal interactions of the people playing it. As my wife, who is far more interested in reality shows than I am, states: You can see that crap on Jerry Springer. If all you're going to show is a couple that shouldn't be together arguing about crap over and over again, it gets tedious.

I think people really are drawn to the actual competitions, and not just eating the most disgusting thing you can find. Sports consume a large portion of our daily lives. People find competition in everything. Sure, some segment likes to see people argue about things, but it's usually as a side event to the main competition. If the NFL was going in the same direction as these shows, the focus would be on the players and coaches not getting along, instead of the games on sunday. Thankfully, they realize that people want to see the game, not the melodrama.

Tim Cavanaugh|12.15.04 @ 2:49PM|#

Obviously, Raj was appealing mainly because he was such a pretentious goofball, somebody I enjoy on television but probably wouldn't want to hang out with in reality. But I thought he was one of the more competent contestants. In the episode with the ice cream vending, Raj's conceit of having them wear bowties and shorts was "gay" in both the original and current senses of the word, and clearly made a big difference in bringing home the win.

I think it's Trump who dropped the ball this season. His firings were poorly selected, and drained the pool of all but the blandest elements. What was so bad about Stacy J, anyway? She does a bit of business with a magic 8 ball, and all the wanks on her team start whining about how "crazy" she is and how they felt "threatened" in their personal "space." Fucking babies: Trump should have seen right through that.

Warren|12.15.04 @ 2:51PM|#

The problem with reality television, is that it's all television and no reality. It is utterly beyond me, how so many people can become so interested, in such poorly acted characters engaged in such juvenile plots.

|12.15.04 @ 2:54PM|#

I think it's Trump who dropped the ball this season.

I agree! He may have had better rationales than he revealed on camera, or maybe the best parts got cut during editing, but many of the decisions seemed capricious.

And the pattern became pretty obvious: The team decides that they don't like the project manager, they cause trouble for the project manager, the team loses as a result, and then Trump fires the project manager for not being able to control them.

Maybe it didn't really play out that way. Maybe that's just how they made it seem with selective editing. Either way, the result was much less exciting than seeing people put together an idea and try to make it work.

|12.15.04 @ 2:57PM|#

Favorite Trump moment: In an interview with Bawbwa Wah-wah on ABC's 20/20 a few years ago, he was asked if he had any regrets in life and he replied that he regretted never pursuing a romantic relationship with Princess Di because he coulda had her.

Jesus H. Uglyfuck.

|12.15.04 @ 3:09PM|#

Highway,

If the NFL was going in the same direction as these shows, the focus would be on the players and coaches not getting along, instead of the games on sunday.

I thought that's what the first hour of yapping was all about? :) Also, I thought I would never say this, but I miss Nantz and Sanders at CBS' "The NFL Today." Sharpe may have been a great TE for the Broncos, but man does he suck as a talking head.

|12.15.04 @ 3:12PM|#

B.P.,

Even if that is the case, why would he want her? :)

|12.15.04 @ 3:19PM|#

I was never a Raj fan, myself; I had all kinds of Jen M love until the last episode where she turned into a shrieking shrew. And Trump liked it. HATE!

The thing that drives me nuts about The Amazing Race is their tendency to cast at least one couple per season that's always fighting and insulting each other. It's not exciting drama to see a husband berating his wife; it's uncomfortable. Almost equally annoying is the viewers who blow that stuff out of proportion -- for example, this season there was a scene where the husband shoved his wife away when he was trying to get directions and she was yelling at him to write it down. Someone (proclaiming themselves to be a NY lawyer) actually went to his guestbook and claimed their intent of trying to get him arrested for domestic abuse on the strength of that footage. Yee-ikes.

Now Project Runway -- THERE'S good reality TV! Austin is my new TV boyfriend.

|12.15.04 @ 3:19PM|#

Gary Gunnels, you are sooooo right. Why would he want her? I mean aside from being dead and all that, why would anyone want her?

Plus it was such a classy remark.

On another note, if Trump is such a hot ticket why is his empire in BK reorg?

|12.15.04 @ 3:29PM|#

TWC,

Well, I don't worship Diana, so I don't really see the attraction to her (in life or in death). Now I guess Trump could go to that little island where she is buried, dig her up and have some fun... :)

I don't believe all of his assets are in Chapter 11.

Ellie,

Well the entrepeneur and his wife this season definately fit the "people abusing each other" category (though they consistently get second place, which is kudos for them I guess). The point is of course to stick people in stressful situations and watch them meltdown.

|12.15.04 @ 3:37PM|#

Jesse Walker said,

"Evan: While you're right about the Survivor/Apprentice formula, I think it's notable that the first season was much more of a commercial competition -- and it did much better in the ratings.

Of course, it also had a more likeable cast. But one reason they were more likeable is because several of them actually seemed to be skilled at more than just survival."

Yes, the likeable cast was no doubt part of it. However, I would venture that the primary reasons behind it is that people got tired of The Ego, tired of the same old reality formula, tired of the shameless infomercialization. These repugnant reality shows have a rather short halflife; most of the time, the only thing keeping them around is the complete lack of anything else on the idiot box. My fiancee, unfortunately, used to watch Survivor every season; she finally quit it this season because, in her words, you can only do the same thing so many times. Same with Amazing Race. And the interesting thing is that each show has its own individual halflife, yet, as the genre as a whole progresses and is flooded with more and more regurgitated crap, that reduces the tolerance that audiences will have for the individual shows. I think that it is this, rather than the lack of actual commercial competition, that has caused the Neilsen drop. If Trump Infomercial, Inc. had come out 6 or 7 years ago, it might have enjoyed the same lasting success of Survivor. But people grow tired more quickly, and unless its a truly unique concept that grabs people, then, people will only watch it for so long before they exclaim, "it's just another reality show".

|12.15.04 @ 3:40PM|#

"Sharpe may have been a great TE for the Broncos, but man does he suck as a talking head."

You're right--Sharpe sucks.

There's some other dead-weight out there too. Why Aikman has to speak during a game is beyond me. McBride shouldn't be allowed on the airwaves either; I mean, at least people liked to hate Cosell.

|12.15.04 @ 3:51PM|#

Evan Williams,

One thing reality shows have going for them is that they are pretty cheap to produce (or so I've read in Variety); that maybe one reason why the networks like them.

|12.15.04 @ 3:54PM|#

I still don't understand why shows like Big Brother or The Bachelor or The Family are still on the air.

|12.15.04 @ 4:36PM|#

I like Ken's idea: "...the final challenge should be to identify a project, build a proforma, get preliminary approval for a loan, etc., and the final prize should be cash equity in the project."

Gary, Ken, at least Primetime isn't doing the pregame any more. "It would be really exciting if the Skins beat the Eagles, so I'm going with Washington!" Doofus.

|12.15.04 @ 4:53PM|#

Fred,
Hey! What hot chick?

Over there on the right. I think her name is "Concealed Carrie".

|12.15.04 @ 4:53PM|#

If the pages of Reason magazine were coated with a gold lame', bound with a velvet ribbon, and sold on a marble newsstand, then you'd have one hell of a classy magazine.

Warren|12.15.04 @ 4:56PM|#

Two more cents (and an extra nickle).
I get into the unreality TV over on the Discovery Channel. But they too suffer from the same syndrome. Remember when American Chopper was about cool motorcycles, and not forced dysfunctional family drama?

You don't? OK, remember when HALF of AC was about cool motorcycles?

Oh, and is there anyone who thinks Growing Up Gotti is anything other than despicable. How the fuck can anyone stand to watch a family of insufferable asses, spoiled rotten to the core on the proceeds of murder, theft, and extortion.

|12.15.04 @ 5:03PM|#

My fiancee, unfortunately, used to watch Survivor every season; she finally quit it this season because, in her words, you can only do the same thing so many times.

Sigh...so I guess there's hope for my 33 YEAR OLD (and Reason subscribing) wife and her MTV Real World obsession? That alone makes TiVo worthwhile.

I agree on Sharpe, but think Aikman is ok - not the greatest speaking voice, but typically makes good points IMHO. Primetime was a 'tard as well.

|12.15.04 @ 5:10PM|#

I would be concerned if my spouse was only willing to do the same thing so many times.

|12.15.04 @ 5:26PM|#

"I thought that's what the first hour of yapping was all about? :) Also, I thought I would never say this, but I miss Nantz and Sanders at CBS' "The NFL Today." Sharpe may have been a great TE for the Broncos, but man does he suck as a talking head."

And how. I can't deal with the mush mouth enunciation. You know who else drives me nuts? The bald guy who does live coverage on ESPN's Sunday night game. Every play is the most amazing thing he has ever seen, and "I tell you what, that guy is just a football player," makes me violent.

But, really, everyone sounds better singing the praises of the 12-1 Steelers ...

|12.15.04 @ 5:35PM|#

"...The bald guy who does live coverage on ESPN's Sunday night game. Every play is the most amazing thing he has ever seen, and "I tell you what, that guy is just a football player," makes me violent."

That's McBride! That's the guy I'm talkin' about. Hating a broadcaster that it's fun to hate is one thing, but McBride is just...

...indefensible.

|12.15.04 @ 5:41PM|#

If I remember correctly, they brought McBride in to CBS' pre-game show way back when to take the place of Jimmy the Greek. Everyone hated McBride then too...

...I'm yet to see a three man cover team that works, but that's not the problem with McBride--McBride is the problem with McBride.

McBride wants to be hated like Cosell, but he just can't pull it off.

|12.15.04 @ 5:51PM|#

Ken Shultz,

Cosell was worthy of despising; man do I miss him. :)

Jason Ligon,

Ever notice how Sharpe is always trying to "strike a pose?" Of the crew that they (CBS) has now I like Boomer the best.

______________________

Every so often I watch one of ESPN's shows where they have an open-ended discussion about sports, and they only reinforce the perception that sports writers and such are complete idiots outside the field that they write about.

|12.15.04 @ 5:59PM|#

"Every so often I watch one of ESPN's shows where they have an open-ended discussion about sports, and they only reinforce the perception that sports writers and such are complete idiots outside the field that they write about."

PTI is all you need. Everyone else is second tier. Wilbon rocks.

Sharpe has not only increased his posing, but has really stepped up the, er, color of his commentary. He is trying harder and harder to be Stuart Scott, but with a mouth full of rocks.

|12.15.04 @ 10:07PM|#

When I lived and worked in Atlantic City a decade ago, the street rap always was that the Donald was a poser, and Merv Griffin was the man in town with the real power and bankroll.

|12.15.04 @ 10:20PM|#

Everyone knows Merv rules the streets with an iron ... oooooooo! ... fist.

|12.15.04 @ 10:50PM|#

Speaking of Concealed Carrie over on the right there, is she wearing a sleeveless top? I believe she has the body for it -- she certainly has the right two bare arms.

|12.15.04 @ 11:07PM|#

The best "Former Denver Bronco Turned Pundit" is Reggie Rivers. He's written multiple newspaper columns advocating the decriminalization of soft drugs and at least one on decriminalizing prostitution.

|12.16.04 @ 4:44AM|#

If the NFL was going in the same direction as these shows, the focus would be on the players and coaches not getting along, instead of the games on sunday.

What's really awful is when sports departments try to "go wide" and snare viewers who are not regular sports viewers. ABC's Roone Arledge has a lot to answer for after inventing the "up close and personal" sidebars that went on for too damn long about Gina the Shotputter's blind one-legged Mom/coach. Sometimes a story was actually interesting, but while watching WWoS I would sometimes scream at the TV, "get back to the effin' game!"

NBC has taken this approach to a nadir when broadcasting the Olympic "Games."

I wonder how many Americans don't watch reality (sic) shows at all? I never tune them in. Does crap like Elimidate or Blind Date qualify as part of the genre, or are they more properly game shows?

A new Trump show, where freshly-minted lawyers and CPAs maneuver his companies through bankruptcy court might be amusing. :)

Kevin

|12.16.04 @ 12:05PM|#

A new Trump show, where freshly-minted lawyers and CPAs maneuver his companies through bankruptcy court might be amusing. :)

How about a show where the "winner" gets to run one of his casinos? "Who wants to lose a million bucks?!?!?!"

|12.17.04 @ 5:20AM|#

Kevin: I wonder how many Americans don't watch reality (sic) shows at all? I never tune them in.

Women probably watch them a lot more than men do. Most network TV is aimed at women, except for sports, and even there, as you noted, the trend is to "heartwarming personal stories."