but to think that Big Brother, I'm a Celebrity, Wife Swap etc. are based on "the reality of people's lives" and not deliberately set up by the producers to get what they want, then selectively edited, is just nuts.

Agreed. Well said that man.

(Edit) Dang. Beaten to it. The sentiment remains though

I think it's a good laugh. I don't sit down deliberately to watch it but if it's on and I'm doing nothing then I'll watch. It's all faked, you'd have to be a bit stupid to think it wasn't. The camera angles, the different shots, they all take time to set up and prepare for. Clarkson has gone on record more than once explaining that half the time you see the cars being driven it's a researcher and not him.

Reality TV is based on the reality of peoples lives,as it happens,your interpretation of what you see is based on the reality of what happens in your small world.

Now that's a bit of odd pseudo-psychology! It's not based on the reality of my life, none of it is remotely like my life and I'm not sure what you're getting at. The reason it's apparently appealing is because it's not real, it's a super-concentrated mix of weirdos put in one place for the amusement of others. And it's as boring as hell.

The reason it's apparently appealing is because it's not real, it's a super-concentrated mix of weirdos put in one place for the amusement of others.

Like singletrack Forumities, are you all real.