Reality T.V. Rife With Imitation

Reality television is a forum of "What if?" questions. For instance, what if a group of people was deposited in a house and had to deal with each other for a set period of time? Or, what if happily married couples were separated and surrounded by attractive members of the opposite sex? In short, the concept is really all that is needed for a reality show. From there, it is only a question of logistics (where to get the participants, where to film, what kind of a budget is required, etc.) and editing. While this might make it easy to get a show from brainchild to air date in a short period of time, it leaves the genre open to all kinds of imitation, even idea theft.

Shortly after NBC announced that it was developing "The Contender," a reality show of the boxing variety, the FOX network announced its new series, "The Next Big Contender," based on the same concept. The catch was that FOX's show would start running before "The Contender," a fact that has angered NBC officials to no end. Obviously, ripping off reality T.V. ideas is no new thing. Every network seems to have its own version of every hot reality concept in circulation, from greed-filled romance to plastic surgery. But no network likes to be scooped on its own idea.

However, it may have been inevitable that matters would progress to this state. Because so little concept development is involved in reality shows, the real question is who can put an idea into action sooner once it floats to the surface. Drama-type shows require a lot of careful planning; for example, finding appropriate actors, writing and rewritings scripts, and making sure the story remains consistent. It takes a lot of effort, and not many are willing to put that kind of effort into an idea they didn't come up with. In the realm of reality T.V., however, this ceases to be a problem because the only question is who can get through all the grunt work faster.