Editorial: Too much reality for this TV viewer

I do like a bit of reality TV but I wonder if we do have too much of it on our screens.

On any given night you can generally watch hours on end of reality television - to list them would take the rest of this column.

I am a fan of MasterChef Australia and both the Australian and New Zealand versions of The Block as well as a few other reality shows I will not mention for fear of being mocked by my newsroom colleagues.

But I find it hard to keep up when it comes to the talent reality shows. There's the Idol phenomena, and the whichever country has got talent including New Zealand apparently, The Voice and now we have X Factor USA three hours a week.

I watched the first episode of New Zealand's Got Talent and was impressed but probably not enough to sit through months of it. As for X Factor it really gets on my nerves. If they just got on with the performances and left out the drivel, it may be a lot shorter and more appealing to watch.

And then there is the latest offering The Ridges. I watched a bit of the first episode on Wednesday night. After about three minutes I'd had enough. A mother and daughter sitting on a bed looking at all the women's magazines they have featured in and all the different hairstyles they've had - that's not quality television.

I went back and watched the rest of the show On Demand so I could be more informed for this column. Still not that impressed. The most hilarious part of the show was when both mother and daughter shrieked and jumped up on chairs after spotting a mouse which some reckon was planted. Good planting I say.

One can only be glad that New Zealand on Air is not funding this trash.

Despite what some may say, Sally Ridge and her daughter Jaime may be lovely people but do we really need to watch their every move.

With so much rubbish reality on TV now I think I'd much rather watch reruns of The Love Boat or Knight Rider or some of the other shows from the 1980s. Here's a thought - what about another hour of Coronation Street so we can start catching up to the UK.