no more "reality"...
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6519209.stm

Italy state TV bans "reality shows". Applaus! Applaus...! APPLAUS...!!! I don't care if it is a moral issue, or an economical consideration: "Hauptsache weg" .

Berlusconi being the exception.

Don't forget to kill big Brother, too, please.

Not every vulgarity needs to be delivered, not every shamelessness needs to be pleased, just because some mobs in the streets call for them. Better educate the mobs.

I wish Germany would follow.

I was very pleased hearing this news on radio.

Unfortunately, the state TV is less than an half of this sort of trash show; most of titles, including "Big Brother", "The farm" and others are Berlusconi's businness.

I had some look on this kind of shows, and the only pleasure for me was in seeing how famous adults are so less skilled than any boy scout.

Out of that, nothing is less real than a "reality" where a selected group of characters lives and groans in front of several cameras; a volounteer enprisonement, for money and fame, where just the duty for silly side games save people from utimate boredom.

Finally, Italy does something right ;)

Let's hope the UK follows Italy's lead.

Lets hope the U.S. follows. I don't watch tv but the wife does. Every time I think they can't come up with another reality subject they do.

Do like I do, make your own program. I just bought the latest "The Professionals" DVD box and the final season of "Twin Peaks". I always think twice before switching to current TV programs... Plan to get the old "Robin of Sherwood" series as well, at least the first two seasons before the protagonist changed (planning that since long... :-? ).

And no - no Star Trek series DVDs over here :lol: Only VHS recordings of the movies.

I have season one and two of Starsky and Hutch :rock::rock:

Reality shows are made for the brain dead and sad acts. And there is a lot of them in the UK thats why these shows rule TV. :damn:

I consider daily soaps, sit coms and reality shows to be a mental health hazard. Seriously, and talking as an ex-psychologist. If you eat bad food, you get weak and/or ill. But with mental and intellectual input, it should be different...? "Modernes Fernsehen verblödet."

No complaints here Skybird, you got my vote. :rock: :up: :rock:

If a university had tried to run a psycological experiment like big brother then they wouldn't have got permission on ethical grounds. Some serious regulation is needed for these TV programs!

Have they banned reality TV such as garden makeovers or house buying programs in Italy?

I agree totally. I have a classroom full of people who can tell you who won the last Star Search but few of them know how to do long division. :nope:

The answer to survive and enjoy TV is: https://www.tivo.com/

Yeah. I don't use my Tivo anymore. I might sell it sometime soon as well. It's hacked with an ethernet cable hanging out the back end so that you can transfer shows to whatever device you want. Only problem is, it's a 10 mbps cable so it takes forever to transfer a couple GB show. I mainly use my Tivo now to record video games off my computer (which is a cool use for it) now since that is all it is good for since my computer took over the Tivo job. Using XP Media Center 2005, you have none of the restrictions on what you do with a file as found on a Tivo (Without hacking the Tivo that is), and the guide data is free so it doesn't cost you anything to use it either.

-S

For some odd reason, restricting free speech is always met with cheers when we dislike or disagree with the speech in question. Since there is fairly widespread revulsion for reality tv, it is a smart political move to ban it. It accomplishes two things to do so: first, it is a popular short term political move, and second, it affirms the power of the government to make decisions about what gets shown in the media.

The problem always comes down to who decides what gets restricted. I wonder if this thread would be as positive if they were banning tv shows that show discussions of evolution, or images of naked women, or ads for alcohol? My guess is that for these kinds of speech the reaction would be more mixed.

I would recommend caution in applauding governments for exerting power over what gets shown in the media. Today, when they ban something you despise, and you agree with their exercise of that power, you are inviting them to use that power another day around something you care about.

Never give up your rights, even if it benefits you in the short term. Rights are bloody hard to reclaim once lost.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" - Voltaire