The Emmy B-Team: Reality Shows

It looks like I have yet another tradition on my blog. Last year, I had the idea of coming up with what I called my Emmy B-Team. The idea was to create an alternate ballot of all the leftover shows and people from the nomination list that weren't nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Last year, I did this as an experiment to determine how badly the Academy picked their nominees. As it turns out, the B-Teams were altogether embarrassed by the actual nominees and I learned that the Academy doesn't do such a bad job. I've decided to make this list again this year. The main difference this time is that the goal is to highlight other deserving names that were submitted to the list more than proving that the B-Team is better, although that will still be a part of it. Thankfully, the Academy did a pretty good job picking this year, so my job is even harder this time.

I make it no secret that I watch little or no reality TV. I'm not "above it" or anything. I simply don't get much thrill out of it. I like writing and directing more than editing and characters, I guess. Reality TV isn't going anywhere though. We're now up to four major awards for the genre. Let's see how the Emmys are doing recognizing them.

Previously:
The Scruff

* Indicates a show that I haven't watched this season.
# Indicates a show I've seen before, not this season.

Structured Reality Program

Actual Nominees:
*Antiques Roadshow
*Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
#Mythbusters
*Property Brothers
#Shark Tank
*Undercover Boss

B-Team:
*Catch a Contractor
*Impractical Jokers
*The Profit
*Repeat After Me
*Storage Wars
*Who Do You Think You Are?

This is not an inviting category for new blood and it looks like this is all about brand appeal.  Antiques Roadshow gets this year's Angela Lansbury award for always being there and never winning. Mythbusters is getting there too. Undercover Boss and Shark Tank are formidable in their own way. And, when you look at the B-Team, it's a step below. Impractical Jokers? I'm pretty sure I only know about that because I watched TruTV for 2 days to watch the NCAA tournament. Storage Wars. Is that the original of those shows or one of the 20 copycats? Catch a Contractor. I think that has Adam Carolla. It's only teaching me that all contractors are awful shysters.
Winner: Actual Nominees. Because they have all the shows that I've actually heard people talk about.

Unstructured Reality Program

Actual Nominees:
*Alaska: The Last Frontier
*Deadliest Catch
*Intervention
*Million Dollar Listing
*Naked and Afraid
*Wahlburgers

B-Team:
*Barely Famous
*Married At First Sight
*Comic Book Men
*Running Wild With Bear Grylls
*Somebody's Gotta Do It With Mike Rowe
*Arranged

And that B team isn't even including Duck Dynasty, which I didn't even know was still on, any Kardashian Shows, or whatever form of The Real World came out. Yeah, remember the hot blonde from The Big Bounce and D.E.B.S., Sara Foster? Apparently Barely Famous is all about following her and her sister around, so that's getting my vote over the brilliantly named Wahlburgers. The Mike Rowe of it all puts Somebody's Gotta Do It over Deadliest Catch. As great as I'm sure Bear Grylls is in Running Wild, that's not beating Naked and Afraid (I'm pretty sure that show pitch could get picked up by any network for the next few decades). I'll go with Comic Book Men over the tough guys of Alaska: The Last Frontier because I like Kevin Smith better than snow. Million Dollar Listing and Arranged are kind of the thematic antithesis of each other (taking too much time to decide vs. being forced into a decision). And, Intervention probably follows anyone willing to be on Married at First Sight. I've completely lost the thread of where I was going with this so...
Winner: B-Team. I'd watch more of those shows if I had to choose between the lists. I admit that I can't call this an objectively better group though.

Reality Competition

Actual Nominees:
*The Amazing Race
*Dancing with the Stars
*Project Runway
*So You Think You Can Dance
*Top Chef
*The Voice

B-Team:
#American Ninja Warrior
#Last Comic Standing
*Face Off
#American Idol
#RuPaul's Drag Race
*Survivor

American Ninja Warrior is more fun, but The Amazing Race is a well-oiled machine. The Voice is the more popular/better singing competition show these days. RuPaul's Drag Race is more entertaining than Project Runway. I know several people who watch and love Face Off, which I can't say about Top Chef. I like the idea of Last Comic Standing better than So You Think You Can Dance, but only one has Cat Deely. Dancing With the Stars and Survivor are both pretty exhausted by now.
Winner: Actual Nominees. The highs in the B-Team can't prop up the lows the way the Actual Nominees can.

Reality Host

Actual Nominees:
*Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars)
*Jane Lynch (Hollywood Game Night)
*Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn (Project Runway)
*Cat Deely (So You Think You Can Dance)
*Anthony Bourdain (The Taste)

B-Team:
*Erin Andrews (Dancing with the Stars)
*Padme Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio (Top Chef)
*Jeff Probst (Survivor)
#RuPaul (RuPaul's Drag Race)
#Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman (MythBusters)

I'm not sure why Heidi and Tim can get dual nominated, but Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews are split. Regardless, Tom over Erin. I'm calling Anthony Bourdain vs. Padme Lakshmi & other guy a toss up. I've enjoyed RuPaul over Hiedi and Tim the few times I've watched either show. Adam and Jamie have this hosting thing down better that Jane Lynch at this point. And, if we're going with lifers, Cat Deely > Jeff Probst.
Winner: B-Team. It's a toss up, really. In this case, I'm picking the team that didn't get the head start.

I'm fairly certain that the only lesson to be learned with this is that I do not watch enough Reality TV to make an informed decision. I'd love someone to dispute these picks. I'm always happy to learn...unless it requires me to watch these. I'm not going to do that. I watch enough TV as it is.