MTV started it with The Real World and Mark Burnett brought it to everyone with Survivor… Reality TV, you can’t get away from it - not that you want to.

When Survivor first hit the scene, I was interested and watched it regularly. Over the next couple of years, some of the worst shows came out of the Reality TV genre. Anyone remember Temptation Island? But, there are some good ones out there… so, what are my favorite reality shows?

In no particular order…

The Amazing Race
A great show as it shows real people in competition. It also give you a nice travel type overview of many different countries and their customs.

Top Chef
I think what I enjoy about this show (and it’s sister Bravo Network show below) is that the winners and losers are decided pretty much on straight merit. If you can’t cook… you’re gone.

Project Runway
Like Top Chef, if you can’t design and produce your garment, you’re done. There isn’t much of a popularity contest going on (other than from the producers end of things).

The Biggest Loser
Unlike many other reality shows, The Biggest Loser lets you in and see the vulnerabilities of real people struggling with something that affects both their self esteem and their physical health.

That’s about it for the ones I like… how about the ones I hate?
We’ll save that for another day.