TV’s “Quirkiest Couple,” Huh?

Is there a wider-reaching oxymoron in 21st-century entertainment than the term reality TV? 

I know that’s hardly news, but it bears repeating, especially when it looks to co-mingle– in a purely fictional way, if that makes any sense– with TGD for at least the next couple of episodes. When it comes to seeing Real People in Real Situations onscreen, does reality TV fit the bill? 

Sometimes, but not often. Even if your only experience with the genre is witnessing the last 5 minutes of The Bachelor before TGD takes over on Monday nights, surely you know the cliches of the genre: lush settings, larger-than-life expectations, outrageously dramatic confrontations. 

If you’re like me, you roll your eyes at the ridiculousness and go on about your day. (Unless your daughter happens to watch the show and leaves it on in the kitchen while you’re doing the dishes, and you can’t reach the remote to change channels so you leave it on, and then ask your daughter what the deal is with the guy dressed for a luau while everyone else is red-carpet ready, but don’t judge me, this conversation never happened, got it?)

But nothing on TV stays for long without a sizable audience, and The Bachelor has been on the air since 2002. And produced numerous spinoff series. And knockoffs. And spinoffs to the knockoffs. So much, in fact, that you couldn’t be blamed if you thought every component of reality TV fell under the same, house-of-crazy umbrella. 

It doesn’t, of course. Among many other subdivisions, there’s “reality” as contests/game shows (The Amazing Race, American Idol), “reality” as pseudo-voyeurism (The Kardashians), and even “reality” as, well, reality (COPS).

 In fact, as this article indicates, this genre that seems to have been invented in the 1990s and grown exponentially in the 2000s…actually dates back to the earliest version of Candid Camera, which launched in the late 1940s. When simply having a basic black-and-white television made you the coolest family on the block… or so my mom told me.

Anyway, you may have noticed that ABC’s promo #2 for 5x16 “The Shaun Show” has a certain LOOK to it… less TGD, more Reali-TGD? It took me a minute, but after realizing the manufactured “drama” at the end of the promo was even more silly than some of the regular ABC efforts to hype problems between #Shea that aren’t there…

And then also taking a closer look at the “source” of this particular quote…

Yep, ABC went the extra mile on this one!

Meanwhile, many fans have given some thought to the whole plot twist (does this count as a plot twist?)... I’m sharing some of those thoughts throughout the remainder of this post.

As a freelance writer, I’ve conducted way more interviews by phone (and a few by email) than I can count. As a writer/producer, I did a lot of sitting alongside a camera (as you see Sophie doing in the promos), asking all kinds of questions to all kinds of people. As far as interviews for anything resembling reality TV goes, two come to mind: 

1) For a segment of America’s Most Wanted (which aired during the 2010s in the US on the Fox Network), I spoke with a local cop who had survived being shot during a pursuit, but sustained life-altering brain injuries that effectively ended his career as he knew it. (The criminal had been caught at this point; I think they were airing a follow-up on this young officer in particular.) For that interview, the most nerve-wracking part was asking certain questions that, it turned out, he was unable to answer because of his impairment. (I think the higher-up producers of the show had sent us a variety of questions to work with.) He’d get a confused look on his face, then look off to his wife standing nearby… and I’d discuss the question with her, and we’d either skip it altogether or try a different wording. Mostly I was worried that I’d inadvertently traumatize him in some way, but I think his injuries were such that he honestly couldn’t remember anything traumatizing. It was sad, but fascinating.

2) And somehow, someway, I found myself interviewing one of Charlie Sheen’s adult film star “friends” for an episode of E! True Hollywood Story over a decade ago. Mind you, I wasn’t asking questions about her so much questions about Sheen, and their relationship… but still, modest-old-me prayed her acting skills would mask her discomfort (the subjects I was asked to draw questions from felt downright intrusive, as you might imagine). It was enough to make me wish I was back at a previous gig, interviewing inmates at a federal prison. (Another story for another time, my friends!)

Am I an anomaly in terms of producer-types… fairly sensitive, definitely introverted, and not particularly pushy when it comes to getting answers out of people? Perhaps. (And again, perhaps that’s also why I’ve spent much more time interviewing business owners and C-suite executives in the past 10 years.) But I’d like to think that Sophie on TGD is going to get the balance right by the time she puts The SHEA Show together in its entirety. 

With all the negative stigmas that now come with “reality show people,” it’s easy to see why the initial reaction from so many TGD viewers was (is?) ummmmmmmm OK? I think? But really? I’m just not sure about this. 

But what an unexpected way to scoot along the wedding process, huh? Just when things seemed to stall out (again) after Shaun slipped that placeholder engagement ring onto Lea’s hand, here we are with a legit– in TV terms, anyway– way to get this ceremony happening sooner rather than later! 

Dang, it gives Shaun’s line from “Dry Spell” about “no brakes… only accelerants” a whole new meaning… 

Anyway, I’m with JfromtheJ on this matter (see above tweet): it’s a clever idea on the show’s part, and for all the understandable concern that this is the kind of twist that could ruin a couple… I have a hard time believing that’s what TGD is looking to do here.

Something that remains interesting to me about this genre of TV is the fact that so much of what’s known as documentary-style programming now falls into the reality TV category. Sophie considers herself a documentarian, first and foremost… we actually heard Shaun “offer” (heh) a critique of one of her documentaries early in the “My Way” episode. Docs historically have been known for representing hard-hitting journalism, or (as my time spent working for a PBS affiliate reminds me) sleepy subjects… remember Lim telling Andrews she thought he spent his time watching films on the making of pencils? Yeah… exactly that. 

But, maybe thanks to the reality genre itself, documentary-style ANYTHING has become a lot less sleepy in nature. That doesn’t mean it’s automatically too slick, or invasive, or uncomfortable. It just means there’s a lot more thoughtful creativity going into the storytelling in many instances.

There are many shows that have done this well through the years; I have my favorites and you surely have yours. But for the purposes of TGD’s reality show dive, I feel the need to mention a particularly wonderful series out of Australia called Love on the Spectrum (it airs on Netflix in the US). Have you heard of it, or watched it yourself? As the title reveals, it follows a number of young adults on the autism spectrum as they venture into the dating world. Here’s the trailer for its second season:

Obviously, Love on the Spectrum is not The #SHEA Show– the ASD/NT factor alone sets Shaun and Lea apart. But I wanted to mention it as a semi-relevant reminder that stories can be told with great care and consideration if they’re in the right hands.

Having said all this… I suppose it’s time for a reality check (no pun intended). What are some of our biggest complaints about TGD, especially when it comes to Shaun and Lea?

• The writers take shortcuts (often big ones) to resolve problems.

• Consequently, the viewers are sometimes forced to fill in the blanks themselves.

• Also, Shaun and Lea both wear WAY too much while in bed. (Well, they DO.)
  

So yes, when I started thinking about the ways this documentary journey could go, I couldn’t help but think how far a simple set of questions-for-Sophie-to-ask-during-the-process could take us. Questions like Lea, when did you realize you were in love with Shaun? Or Lea, can you explain your reluctance to be with Shaun romantically, and how you dealt with that? Or Lea, what did your fallout earlier in the year with Shaun teach you about the way you both need to conduct yourself in this relationship for the marriage to last? 

(OK, so all my biggest questions are directed at Lea. Aren’t yours?)

Will we get the answers we’re yearning for the most? UGH. I really hope so, but we know how prone TGD is to over-stuffing an episode. How much POTW stuff, and Parnick stuff, and everyone else-stuff, will be fighting for airtime alongside both #Shea AND the making of The #SHEA Show? Especially if they DO bring the wedding our way in the remaining episodes of S5? 

It’s a lot. It’s an awful lot. And it’s hard to keep from wanting to brace ourselves for what we’ll want, but ultimately not get out of the documentary idea. 

Still, the potential for greatness is remarkable. Let’s hang onto that… at least until TGD 5x16 is in the books.

(Speaking of 5x16— I’d love to hear your thoughts on “The Shaun Show” in the comments section!)