UPN’s ‘Manhunt’ a Maggot for Real, by Melinda Smith: One of the early attempts at a new reality show once the reality TV boom began with Survivor was Manhunt, aired on UPN. The idea behind it was a good one, but the execution was beyond terrible. Allegations surfaced of the show being fixed, having new shots added after the competition was over, threats to contestants if they didn’t help out, and more. Melinda gives us the details on this well-deserved Reality TV Hall of Shame induction.
Are You Hot? The Answer Is No, by Sting7: WANTED: Insecure contestants who have to have their attractiveness endorsed by B-list celebrities. Benefits include subjective criticism, exploitation, and soulless production values. Those who cry get extra attention! Leave your self-esteem, what little you have, at home! At long last, Are You Hot? is inducted into the Reality TV Hall of Shame.
Setting People Up to Fail: Bunim-Murray Productions, by Jen Shrader: Usually the Reality TV Hall of Shame inducts people on reality shows or the shows themselves. But occasionally, others are put into their proper place. This is one such case, where the producers are the ones who deserve special mention. Bunim-Murray Productions cast Donnell for Road Rules knowing there was no way he could succeed. It was foolish, dangerous, and above all – shameful.
Love Cruise: Ship of Fools, by Sting7: Juust sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a wretched ship. Pack full of pretty petty folks, who took us for a trip! Who knew vipers and snakes could float? Take a brief look back at Love Cruise: the show that promised romance, but could only produce rancor!
Marred by America, by Bruce Barker: Married by America was supposed to be a show in which America voted for who should hook up and get married "sight unseen." It was bad enough that what actually happened had little to do with what we'd been told. But what really tipped the scales into a Hall of Shame induction was the way the show treated the people who were on it.
An Entire Season of Shame: The Anna Nicole Show, by Dale Sherman: We've already inducted Bobby Trendy and Anna Nicole Smith as individuals, but The Anna Nicole Show has a whole cast of shameful character in shameful situations. And if we didn't already think so, there are plenty of viewers and readers out there who have written in to share their thoughts, which we bring to you here as well.
The First Network Inductee: UPN and Its Treatment of ‘Under One Roof’, by Susan Schechter & David Bloomberg: UPN has the distinction of being the first network inducted into the Reality TV Hall of Shame. They managed this by canceling Under One Roof not once, but twice. Yet they actually kept the scandal-plagued Manhunt earlier! Read on for details of the induction.
A Shameful Show: Chains of Love, by C. Brian Devinney: Of all the programs that rely on exposure of human flesh for ratings, perhaps the most un-erotic has to be the dreadful UPN reality series Chains of Love. For this reason and many others discussed here, it is the first show inducted in the Reality TV Hall of Shame.
