Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for January 12, 2025

There’s no “fact checking” anymore anyway…

And canceled Firefly.

The real reason is that reality shows are cheap to make. And as H.L.Mencken wrote, nobody went broke by underestimating the taste of the American public.

To be fair, AI would probably come up with the same conclusion. Whatever makes money without taking any chances.

So-called “reality shows” feature people who can’t act trying futilely to act, people who can’t write, the same, people who can’t direct, the same, and people who can’t produce, the same. FUTILE. And watched by people who can’t think …..

Actually, this makes perfect sense.

That’s how I assume David Zaslav got his position. Still wonder what dirt he has on the board members because nobody that incompetent should have that job otherwise.

If it wasn’t true then it should be.

I believe that – explains so much

Both Meta and X are trump friendly now

Yeah. Whoever thought of following the Kardashians around with a camera didn’t have a brain, but sure made money.

I’ll believe it. My son was in one…the director told him: “Stand here and look like you’re doing this.”

TV free since ’82; pray tell, has humanity destroyed TV, or has TV destroyed humanity? My working theory has been “yes”.

Ummm actually, that explains a whole lot about “reality” television.

Sounds about right.

Is Zuckerberg an alien looking to conquer Earth? Gosh, I don’t know. If only there was a way to fact check such claims.

TBH, I don’t think Wiley is wrong.

Reality shows are just modern Village Idiot Parades.

Reality TV came about when networks needed to fill airtime during a writers strike, so they needed unscripted shows. Unfortunately, it showed how much cheaper it was to make dreck like that and we haven’t been able to get rid of them.

Now who else do we know who wears a blue suit and a red tie?

Hmmmmm…

Reality TV is like spam: cheap to produce and there are people gullible enough to fall for it.

Perfectly explains all those baking and cooking shows.

Probably heartless as well.

I wondered how they came up with ‘Survivor’ and all the dreck that has followed!

I’ve only seen the commercials for those shows. Seems they have gone out of their way to include the ‘less well’ equipped. They remind me of Candid Camera, but include more people with hat sized IQ’s

Our TV broke down 5 years ago. We didn’t bother to replace it. From the comments here it looks like we didn’t miss much.

Sadly, this fits.

We have a TV. There are some great programs, if you look for them. Sadly the ratio of crap to good is 95/5. Oh well.

Anything with Richard Attenborough, always top shelf.

“Reality” shows are nauseating.

I trace it back to supermarket tabloids. Clever to put them in supermarkets, near checkout stands. The supermarket/grocery story is a place that people rely on and generally feel good about — the products are safe, the environment clean, etc. They provide seasonal items in time for the seasons. They have things you need, when you need them. And, while you may grip about the costs, you trust the products. If the ground beef package says 94%, you know it only has 6% fat. Packaged products show ingredients, calories, ‘use by’ dates, etc. You can feel [please don’t squeeze] produce and select what you want. The store provides [well, until recently] a lot of service — carts to put your purchases in, bags for your purchases and people to pack them and even help you load your car. So, a ‘newspaper’ at the check-out stand seems like something you should be able to trust.

Ergo, “reality” shows, shown during family-friendly time [7-9 pm], on your friendly local station [following its coverage of state and ‘local’ news, school football scores [and featuring high school football or basketball game every Friday night], should be just as trustworthy. . . [Yes, I know that family-friendly time was not made a policy until ’75, but it was a common practice before that.]

I would just change the last line by Captain Eddie to “Reality Politician’s” …..

I would agree. The only “reality” shows I watch are “Who do you think you are”, “Relative Race” and “Finding Your Roots”

I have only one channel…Fox News!

When I see a misreality show, I miss reality.

From the first program to the present day, I have never watch one minute of a reality show. Brainless indeed.

Facts? We don’t need no stinking facts. Beliefs are much better.

What else are you going to have on TV 24/7? There’s weather and the yule log burning in the fireplace.

Facts are now defined by belief, not by reality.

…and kiddies,this how we ended up with a “reality” star as President of the Disunited States.

Now it makes complete sense.

The newest “Reality” show begins this January 20th. The entire world will be watching.

I watched about 10 seconds of ‘naked and afraid’ one time. That was enough reality show for me…

Just enough brains to realize they are the cheapest form of serial entertainment to produce.

That explains the Apprentice show!

Forget fact checking. We need a reality check!

That has to be %100 true!

By George, he’s got it!

And thus was the “vast wasteland” of TV renewed and reinvigorated, taking us to new depths of stupidity.

.. and they’ve tied him down so he can’t get away -looks like we’re stuck with him for at least the next 4 years.

I just thought that the way the USA got a leader. Most county leaders fit that mould too.

I thought this would be danea in school again.

Explains things right there…

Looks like a perfect candidate for Demented Donnie’s cabinet.

This is the only thing that makes sense.

Yeah, gotta say… this sounds entirely believable to me.

no lies detected

True story bro!

True Hollywood management is built to spec. Brains are an expensive option.

Eddie is absolutely correct about reality shows.

Mike Rowe invented reality TV

You have to be brainless to watch them too. The Kardashians proved that.

Love this one!

You don’t “fact check” the Reality Show Con Artist. You don’t disseminate the lie in the first place. A responsible media would tell the TRUTH first and then say these people are telling a story that isn’t true. All the media is doing by “fact checking” is repeating the lie, which, studies have shown, makes it more plausible to people. That is all the Grifter in Chief wants. That is why he told the Georgia election commission, just say it and we will do the rest. You absolutely don’t repeat the lie and then “fact checking it”.

It would explain a lot, really.

I’ll agree, reality TV is braindead, what makes you think the 3 major networks coming out of NYC care about anything other than Don Draper selling soap anyway???

Who took the brains of the people who watch them?

Well, has a MAGA-cap. And an orange blob on his shoulders. Makes up stories for which others bear the price. Hmmmm…

Specifically THE APPRENTICE

I have never understood why it’s referred to as “reality” television since it has NO relation to “reality” at all…

My wife was “briefly” addicted to " the biggest Loser" which supposedly was about people losing weight, but I referred her to various articles about the show and now there was nothing “real” about the living nor their weight loss and how most regained all their weight over time and point out that most people can accomplish weight loss if constantly monitored – but that “reality” doesn’t work that way over time- and as a registered nurse she should know that – she admitted I was right but the fantasy is fun.

There is a reason that all “successful” women’s magazines are an equal mix of diet plans and dessert recipes and that every “successful” male program has virile males attracting beautiful females and every successful “reality” program has vieerings that think that "I could do that, too…

We live in a fake world of UNREALITY where unreality is not ONLY possible, but probable – Trump is not a fake in most people’s world he is how his minions would LIKE their world to work – with all the money in the world and NONE of the “nasty” realities of reality – Donnie John is not reality, he is the antithesis of reality…