> My reaction to what you're describing (and I refuse to watch any of these new wave of "reality" programs, including Survivor, American Idol, The Bachelor/ette, or any of their ilk, although I have to say I used to love the old Star Search and wouldn't mind watching a few episodes of the new one) is basically the same as Matthew's. In general I think being brutally honest with these people is right and proper, but filming it to sell as entertainment is not. And it seems to me that this guy is probably being as brutal as he is precicely *because* it's being filmed and sold as entertainment.

> Personally, I hate seeing people get humiliated, usually even if they deserve it. It's part of the reason I absolutely despise almost all forms of the "practical joke" and TV shows like Candid Camera that revolve around it.

All of this post echoed my own feelings exactly. This is why I can't stand reality shows. The usual response from people who like such shows is "But all the contestants know what the show involves, and they're doing it because they want to". My response to that is "And that's supposed to make it BETTER?"

To take just one recent example -- the thought of a form of "entertainment" in which we watch women screech and fight and generally degrade themselves in public to win a husband they don't even know disgusts me. The thought that every woman on that show is there because she wanted to be, on the other hand, makes me despair. The worst thing about reality shows isn't that people get humiliated, although that's bad enough. It's the number of people who apparently will fight tooth and nail for what they see as the *privilege* of being humiliated.