Reality Shows the Lowest Common Denominator?

I think it's fair to distinguish between skill-based programmes and voyeuristic tripe.

I agree at the beginning it was interesting and I always enjoyed the fact that it was impossible to hide who you really were. So or example Barrymore and Pete Burns were shown up as just utterly horrible bullies.

'et al' - no idea who Al is...

Big Brother and CBB did actually have a golden age.
Controversial I know!
The CBB with Barrymore, Galloway, Pete Burns et Al was some of the best TV I've ever seen.
I'm fascinated by human interaction, and there were some seriously interesting and entertaining people in that series.
However - yes, it's had its day.
And I loathe the attitude to animals on IACGMOOH.
It's utterly vile.

I agree Gill It is no coincidence that Trump made his name as the boss of "The Apprentice" in the USA.

These programmes are cheap tv, although I admit that programmes such as Strictly, Masterchef, Bake off do involves skills and hard work and as such are very different from the vacuous tripe such as I am a Celebrity, Love Island etc. I watch Bake off, and the Sewing Bee because they are skills I can do and want to learn more, and because they are good natured programmes where the contestants help each other. I agree about The Apprentice being out of date; a ghastly, hate filled show which brings out the worst in people. At the risk of a political point, The Apprentice sums up Thatcher's Britain with its shoving, grabbing, back stabbing me me me contestants and host.

I have watched Love Island and quite enjoyed it, and enjoyed talking about it with other people who watched it.

What I think is really the lowest of the low viewing are the "poverty porn" programmes. I have seen two of these which I watched because I know the towns they were filmed in, they were horrible, sneering and manipulative.

They're popular, so presumably people do enjoy watching them.

I don’t watch either programmes mentioned but judging by the clips I ve seen of the screaming, glitter obsessed and celebrity prancing of Strictly puts it in the same category

Some are marginally better than others I agree varian but on the whole they are over rated.
The one which grates on me most is The Apprentice, what a selfish bunch they all seem to be, time that 'show' was pensioned off.

All the sitting around doing nothing shows like Big Brother and Love Island just seem to me like the sort of people who wouldn't want to be stuck in a pub with.

I have never watched Love Island, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here or Big Brother, and so I may be wrong, but as far as I know they are about groups of show-offs doing nothing or doing silly things and saying silly things to entertain voyeristic viewers, pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Strictly Come Dancing and its Ice Dancing equivalent are about people working very intensively to aquire a skill and perform to a high standard. The same is true of some other shows like Masterchef. Surely these shows are much more worthwhile

I like to watch dance too and agree that there is skill involved as the non professionals develop over the weeks. However there was one series that I stopped watching..think it was because Debbie MgGee was trying to say she was not a professional dancer....

I have never watched Love Island but I gather there is no skill involved.

With Strictly the viewer is watching people learn. To my mind it doesn't matter whether they are celebs or not, I just love the dancing.

It is a similar type of show in that a group of people, celebs or otherwise, are competing and being voted for by the viewers. As I have only seen Strictly and not Love Island I am not in a position to comment in detail. Only can say the blurb in the TV guide did not make me want to watch LI!

I wouldn't put Strictly into the same category as Love Island!

What's really depressing is how popular they are.

Agreed.