Gone but not Forgotten

I have been watching Reality TV for a long time now. I still enjoy many of the old standby's like Survivor and Real World...and even the Bachelor on occasional seasons. However, there are some reality shows that were on just a few brief seasons and then were never to appear again. And you know what? I miss some of them. A majority of the shows were were very popular in their day but just ran their course...very fast. However, it would be great if some network would show re-runs of them or even recreate one.

1. Average Joe. This show premiered in 2003 on NBC and its premise was to take a very pretty girl and put her in a Bachelor-type dating show but instead of handsome, buff men, she got a bunch of "Average Joes." She didn't know this when signing up for the show, so was essentially bamboozled. However, in my opinion, these so-called Average Joes were more on the nerdy side, then on the ordinary side. The girl was obviously duped from the beginning, but sucked it up and went with the flow for the remainder of the show. And just like the Bachelor, the relationships at the end of the show, were not long-lasting.


2. Joe Millionaire. Also premiering in 2003, but on Fox, this show also took the Bachelor-style route of women competing for the attention of one man. However, they were led to believe that the man they were vying for was a successful Millionaire. Which of course, he was not. Evan Marriot, our Joe Millionaire, was really a poorly educated construction worker, with a low-income. At the finale, the winner was told Evan was not a millionaire and if she actually decided to stay with him, was surprisingly also awarded a million bucks along with Evan.

 3. Temptation Island. My favorite of the bunch, this show was gold. Made it 2001, this show put a bunch of couples on an island together. And then separated them. The men went to one island and were met with a bunch of single women and the women were sent to another island with a bunch of single men. The goal at hand was obviously to test how strong their relationships were by having each significant other tempted by hotties of the opposite sex and see if they could resist their attractions and stay faithful to their loved one. 

4. Road Rules. Somewhere along the years, MTV ditched Road Rules and just stuck with Real World but added the Real World/Road Rules Challenges which I think they assumed took on the role of RR because of its high intensity challenges. Road Rules was a reality show that took a group of people, and instead of putting them in a home and filming them 24/7, they were given a RV and had to drive around the country (different ones each time) completing numerous challenges. I loved it. I wanted to be on it. But alas, it is no more. The Challenges are great and filled with drama and entertainment, but its just not the same.

Obviously more reality shows have entered our lives over the years and are everywhere. Some are great (Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, etc...) and some awful (Ice Loves Coco, Mob Wives, etc...) but I still sometimes reminisce of those of the early 2000's. Entertaining. Trashy. Juicy. And straight up addicting.