REALITY SHOW HOSTS

So I have to admit I just finished watching the season finale of VH1’s Ego Trip’s The (White) Rapper Show. Yes, yes, besides movies and Packers games, I watch the occasional reality show. I know they’re stupid. But at least the producers know their shows are stupid and don’t make any attempt to fool the audience into thinking these shows are emotionally satisfying or socially redeeming. Almost all shows on TV are simply delivery devices for commercials. Reality shows are no different.

But I find myself on a tangent.

I made the mistake of catching the first episode. Then, at the halfway mark of the season, I hadn’t missed a show because it’s on at a convenient time, and as we all know, they bombard the TV schedule with reruns all week long. So at this point I couldn’t stop until I knew who would be dubbed the best white rapper and take home the $100K reward and recording contract. I know now who won, but for those of you who don’t know, I won’t ruin it.

One thing I noticed as the season drew to a conclusion is that the host, MC Serch, formerly of Third Bass fame, was a good TV personality. ‘Cause let’s face it, most of the participants on reality shows are bumbling spazzes. A good host lends cohesion and an honest voice to an otherwise soap opera on crank.

And so it seems reality shows are more and more headed in this direction. That is, combining the unpredictability and craziness of reality characters with the rules and saneness of a competent host and show formula (a competition). The more I think of it, a lot of the prominent reality shows on TV follow this formula. And thank God, because in reality TV’s infant stages they came dangerously close to being too real. People were drunk on camera, having sex, running around screaming, backstabbing, and doing who-knows-what other ludicrous things.

So even though I not a big fan of white rappers, I got hooked into the show because of MC Serch and the show’s setup—in that it concentrated the most on the competition at hand and not the drama between the characters, although this played in to an extent.

Does anyone else have a favorite reality show host? How ‘bout Robin Leach for the current season of The Surreal Life? Just when you thought that show couldn’t get any more surreal they add Robin Leach to the mix. . . .