Reality Television

This summer's reality TV programs, which have drawn critics as well as viewers, are more than just shows giving us an intimate view of other peoples' lives. They reflect a change in this wired economy -- a new example of "people power. " Inside CBS' "Big Brother" house or on its "Survivor" island, there are no professional actors and scriptwriters to pay. Instead, producers have adopted the idea of the "self-organizing" community. They're the ultimate dream of any business -- an enterprise in which the public makes the product.

Reality television has taken over the airwaves, and millions of Americans can't wait to tune in each week to find out the latest trials and tribulations of "Joe Millionaire" or Trista on "The Bachelorette. " Could television viewers soon overdose on reality TV shows, or are they here to stay? Alex Michel of "The Bachelor" joined "Crossfire" hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala to weigh in on the phenomenon of TV romances. CARLSON: Let's get right to the motive. Why did you do it?

At first, R&B singer Monica wanted no part of reality television. "I assumed [producers] would not want a reality show about my life as it really is, because my life is drama-free now," said the Grammy Award-winning artist. "If they wanted drama, they would have had to have caught me 10 years ago." The singer, whose full name is Monica Denise Arnold, has overcome some terrible experiences. She witnessed the suicide of a despondent boyfriend and was involved with rapper C-Murder (whose real name is Corey Miller and who is the brother of rapper Master P)

Kirstie Alley has always had a public battle with her weight, but next year, the actress will get real in a new way: in a reality television show on A&E. The network has ordered 10 half-hour episodes of the as-yet-unnamed series that will open the once-private doors of the Emmy-winning actress's life, A&E announced Tuesday. The reality series is scheduled to air in 2010 and will be produced by FremantleMedia, the hit-making minds behind "American Idol." Over the 10 episodes, cameras will trail Alley as she juggles producing a feature film, sticking to a new weight-loss program and raising her two daughters True and Lillie, all while looking for love.

The gate crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi want to be famous as stars of reality television. I am all for that. Give them a reality television series and call it "Trial and Jailtime" in the D.C. criminal justice system. This despicable, desperate, duplicitous couple disgraced the Secret Service and embarrassed the president in his home. They totally overshadowed the president's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the leader of an important ally. The incident made the Obamas' first state dinner, honoring the prime minister and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, fodder for comedians -- and it certainly raises security concerns for other world leaders visiting at later dates.

Sitting around watching television might not be as useless as you think. Certain shows have been remarkably accurate in their forecasts of the future. The list suggests that British TV producers are far more prophetic than their American counterparts. But that's OK; when someone invents Warp Drive, I'll revise the list. 1. "The Troubleshooters" (1965-1972) This drama about Mogul, a British multinational oil company, had its finger on the pulse. Three days after BP struck oil in Alaska, viewers saw Mogul do the same -- in an episode that had been filmed months earlier.

If you're looking for passion, you may be pleased with "And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself," premiering this Sunday on HBO. The film is a true story of an American movie crew who made a film about Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. In short, it's a movie about a movie. Actor Antonio Banderas is the leading man of this epic. He joined CNN anchor Daryn Kagan on Thursday to discuss the unusual project. KAGAN: In looking at the story of Pancho Villa, where you have a crew following a real presidential candidate, even though it goes back to 1914, this is kind of like the birth of reality television.

As the anti-establishment provocateur behind the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren once reveled in fueling outrage on the front pages of the British press. Yet British newspapers were united Thursday in recognition of a man who had, according to the Times, "metamorphosed into something close to a maverick national treasure." The Daily Telegraph called him a "great English eccentric" while even the Daily Mail, a newspaper which perhaps best represents the suburban conservatism which McLaren spent his life trying to antagonize, admitted that in his later years "it was easy to forget that McLaren was pop's ultimate iconoclast."

In the beginning, it was all about the children. Before there was the hit reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," there were just Jonathan and Kate Gosselin, an information technology analyst and registered nurse marginally known as the parents of what was believed to be only the second set of sextuplets born in Pennsylvania. Volunteers took shifts helping the young couple, who also had 3-year-old twin daughters at the time, in a home where schedules and detailed instructions were posted all over.

The White House released copies of President Barack Obama's original long-form birth certificate Wednesday, seeking to put an end to persistent rumors that he was not born in the United States. The certificate states, as Obama's advisers have repeatedly said, that the president was born at Honolulu's Kapiolani Hospital on August 4, 1961. Doubters insist Obama was born overseas -- possibly in his father's home country of Kenya -- and may be constitutionally ineligible to serve as president.

You probably won't see any "Pan Am" glamour in the newest television program focusing on an airline, but you can still expect plenty of drama. TLC has ordered a new reality series that will take viewers behind the scenes at Southwest Airlines. Production begins this weekend at Baltimore Washington International Airport and Denver International Airport, just in time for the holiday travel rush. More airports will be added in the coming weeks. TLC promises "unprecedented access" that will reveal what it takes for Southwest to transport passengers in the era of packed planes, unruly passengers and countless air travel frustrations.

Choi Sung-Bong is polite and serious. The 21-year old star of reality TV show "Korea's Got Talent" hardly ever smiles. Little wonder when you realize how life has treated him so far. Left by his parents in an orphanage aged three, he ran away at the age of five as he was being bullied. Choi tells CNN, "If a little kid is being abused, the only thing he can think about is probably to get away from that situation. My life changed then. " For the next 10 years, Choi lived on the streets, sometimes in a container box in the red light district of the city of Daejun, sometimes in night-club stairwells or public toilets.

Monday, August 15, 2011, is a day that should forever change the way reality television is produced. Chances are, though, nothing will change. What's so important about August 15? It was the day that put in full view the life-shattering impact that reality shows can have among couples and families on the brink. For one reality show couple, the news that day was about an ending point for a wild ride that led to separation. For the other couple, the news was about a fatality.

Last Sunday, CBS launched its new reality series "Same Name," in which celebrities are paired with average Joes who share their first and last name. The pair meets, then they switch lives for a few days to see what happens. It's simple, it's clever and leads people to ask, "Why didn't I think of that?" Reality shows follow simple plots with a twist that plays on today's current trends. Shows for this summer's lineup include, "Finding Bigfoot", Freaky Eaters", "Rocco's Dinner Party", "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant", "Mancations", "Celebrity Ghost Stories" and then, because hell why not, "Celebrity Close Calls".

I'll be honest, I love reality TV. Actually it's one of my guilty pleasure past times. Even before "Basketball Wives" I had my favorites, and I watched them faithfully. There is something appealing about seeing people deal with real life drama as you're watching. Now, as executive producer of "Basketball Wives," I know that's not exactly how it happens, but it's still fun to watch. What isn't so fun to watch, however, is this new generation of reality TV. It seems to be more about the drama and less about the storyline.

A helicopter with three people onboard crashed Saturday evening in Indiana, Pennsylvania, while filming a reality show, officials said. One person walked away and two others were taken to hospitals, authorities said. It came down about 8:30 p.m. outside an apartment building near Indiana University of Pennsylvania, according to university spokeswoman Michelle Fryling. The helicopter was being used by a production company shooting for G4 Network and its program "Campus PD. " Indiana Borough Police were facilitating the shoot, Fryling said.

For many brides to be, picking out the perfect wedding dress is the best part of planning their wedding, but for Amsale Aberra it was also a eureka moment. Unable to find a simple, understated gown for her wedding in 1985, Ethiopian-born Aberra decided to take things literally into her own hands and design her own dress. Working from her loft in New York she went on to launch her own bridal gown design business, called Amsale, expanding into couture evening wear that has been worn by the likes of Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Salma Hayek and Kim Basinger.

This year, TV fans bid a sad farewell to some beloved scripted programming, with long-time favorites such as "Law & Order," "24," "Lost" and newcomers such as "Rubicon" and "Terriers" leaving behind empty space in a lot of DVRs. At the same time, we couldn't get enough of reality TV, not just in the primetime line-up, but in our conversations around dinner tables and at office parties. This was the year that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin launched a reality show, her daughter danced "With the Stars," Snooki went to court for "Jersey Shore" antics and the Salahis prepped for that now infamous White House state dinner on "The Real Housewives of D.C. " But while reality TV and its participants may get the attention with publicity-creating headlines and, in some cases, ratings, that doesn't mean the viewing public is ready for an all-reality diet just yet, said TVGuide.

Reality TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman must stay in jail while his lawyers fight his extradition to Mexico on a charge that he murdered his wife at a Cancun resort, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. Magistrate Suzanne Segal denied Beresford-Redman's bail request, finding that there was a risk he would flee while the extradition process, which could take months, is under way in Los Angeles. A Mexican judge signed an "aggravated homicide" warrant last May accusing Beresford-Redman of killing his wife, Monica Beresford-Redman, "by asphyxiating her" at the Moon Palace Resort on April 5. Her body was found in a resort sewer on April 8. It took six months for the paperwork to wind its way through law enforcement and diplomatic channels before he was arrested at his Rancho Palos Verdes, California, home last month.

Former "Survivor" producer Bruce Beresford-Redman, accused of killing his wife, will stay behind bars at least another 12 days when a federal judge will hear his argument for bail. Beresford-Redman was taken into custody by U.S. marshals in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon on a warrant from Mexico, the U.S. attorney's spokesman said. U.S. Magistrate Suzanne Segal set November 29 as the date for his bail hearing, but his defense lawyer acknowledged getting him out while he waits for a decision on his extradition will not be easy.