Is This Real Or What?

The Heene family, the ones who allegedly phonied up a balloon thrill ride for their six-year old son that the world ended up witnessing, aren't the first to seek fame and fortune on reality TV.  And they won't be the last, either.

The genre has largely replaced sitcoms and dramas as go-to programming for TV networks that are fighting a losing battle against cable.  And it makes up half the schedules of most cable channels.  Ever wonder why MTV and VH1 no longer show music videos?  Or why The Learning Channel has become simply TLC?  Look no further.

Without reality TV, we would never have known (or cared) about the pseudo-lives of Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, the Kardashian sisters, Denise Richards, the Osbournes, or any of those Real Housewives.

There are some who have made careers out of being on reality TV:  Boston Rob and Amber parlayed their success on "Survivor" into competing on "The Amazing Race".  Elisabeth Hasselbeck, now a co-host on "The View", began as a "Survivor" contestant.  And the woman known simply as Omarosa made her name on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice".

Reality TV has also ruined lives.  Richard Hatch, "Survivor"'s first winner, went to prison for tax evasion.  Jon and Kate Gosselin are getting a divorce, putting their TV show and their eight kids in jeopardy.  Anna Nicole Smith died under mysterious circumstances.

All of these people willingly submitted to having their lives recorded 24/7 for fame, fortune and our entertainment.  What we get is the privelege of watching the adults act like idiots and children behave like animals, whether they play to the cameras or not.  It's what happens when the cameras go off that the problems begin.

Of course, these aren't really their real lives that we're watching.  Some of it has been tricked up to make it more interesting for TV, which saves the participants countless hours of acting lessons.  Unless they already are actors.

Don't think public television is above all this.  Way the heck back in 1973, PBS aired a documentary titled "An American Family", which chronicled the lives of the Loudons and became the template for what was to come years later.  It also ended up ruining the lives of the Loudons.

Ultimately, these shows live and die by how many people choose to watch them, the way it's always been done since the days of Milton Berle.  That's right.  We are the ones who help keep the minor celebrities and parents with multiple kids in business with our remotes.  We are also the ones that can send them to join the millions who are already on the unemployment line.  For one thing, Fox recently announced that it is dropping its Reality Channel next spring.

That's reality, folks.