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What was the first, ever 'Reality' show?
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doormouse
12-08-2016
Was it Big Brother?
Rhumbatugger
12-08-2016
There was a programme called 'The Family' in the seventies I think, where we followed a greengrocer and his extended family through their dramas.

I think that might have been the first identifiable 'reality' show. But I'm by no means sure.
dirtyrat
12-08-2016
The Flintstones
Drew_Hatch
12-08-2016
The Real World?
gjc
12-08-2016
According to Wikipedia "Reality TV" goes back as far as the 40s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realit....E2.80.931950s
2la
12-08-2016
Airport
Wainy84
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Rhumbatugger:
“There was a programme called 'The Family' in the seventies I think, where we followed a greengrocer and his extended family through their dramas.

I think that might have been the first identifiable 'reality' show. But I'm by no means sure.”

Watched that a few weeks back.
Rhumbatugger
12-08-2016
Seven up?
Leathertrouser2
12-08-2016
It was indeed "The Family" at least by official standards it was the first ever reality programme. Following a normal family round 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so "Big Brother" just not so big even though for its time it was considered (and still is by some & I can understand why) ground-breaking and the viewing figures CH5 could only dream of.
Rhumbatugger
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Wainy84:
“Watched that a few weeks back. ”

where on earth was it on Wainy?
Wainy84
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Rhumbatugger:
“where on earth was it on Wainy?”

Good old youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZArtrC5rpVs
Rhumbatugger
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Leathertrouser2:
“It was indeed "The Family" at least by official standards it was the first ever reality programme. Following a normal family round 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so "Big Brother" just not so big even though for its time it was considered (and still is by some & I can understand why) ground-breaking and the viewing figures CH5 could only dream of.”

Thanks Leathertrouser
Venetian
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Rhumbatugger:
“There was a programme called 'The Family' in the seventies I think, where we followed a greengrocer and his extended family through their dramas.

I think that might have been the first identifiable 'reality' show. But I'm by no means sure.”

That's the one I would have said. Set in Reading in think?
doormouse
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Rhumbatugger:
“There was a programme called 'The Family' in the seventies I think, where we followed a greengrocer and his extended family through their dramas.

I think that might have been the first identifiable 'reality' show. But I'm by no means sure.”

Oh, thanks! That sounds interesting.
doormouse
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Leathertrouser2:
“It was indeed "The Family" at least by official standards it was the first ever reality programme. Following a normal family round 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so "Big Brother" just not so big even though for its time it was considered (and still is by some & I can understand why) ground-breaking and the viewing figures CH5 could only dream of.”

Originally Posted by Wainy84:
“Good old youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZArtrC5rpVs”

Great stuff! I'm going to look for that.
Rhumbatugger
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Venetian:
“That's the one I would have said. Set in Reading in think?”

Yes.

It made odd 'celebs' of a few of them - well in the sense that people were interested in what had happened to them, and people knew who they were.
Venetian
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Leathertrouser2:
“It was indeed "The Family" at least by official standards it was the first ever reality programme. Following a normal family round 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so "Big Brother" just not so big even though for its time it was considered (and still is by some & I can understand why) ground-breaking and the viewing figures CH5 could only dream of.”

For sure, but there were only three or four TV channels at that time. Christmas specials, like Morecambe and Wise, got about 25 millions viewers on Christmas Day [most of them drunk or asleep by then admittedly].
Leathertrouser2
12-08-2016
Just to add a few more confused heads, I do believe the BBC did a follow up series.
doormouse
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Venetian:
“For sure, but there were only three or four TV channels at that time. Christmas specials, like Morecambe and Wise, got about 25 millions viewers on Christmas Day [most of them drunk or asleep by then admittedly].”



The good old days.
Wainy84
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Leathertrouser2:
“Just to add a few more confused heads, I do believe the BBC did a follow up series.”

Here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4COeBQn6BY
doormouse
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Wainy84:
“Here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4COeBQn6BY”

Thanks for that!
Steve9214
12-08-2016
Big Brother was probably the first with the "Live coverage" concept, but as that quickly fell by the wayside, if you just look at a genre of pre-shot edited documentary style program

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Family
1971 an American Family was filmed over several months

In the UK a version was made in 1974 following the Wilkins Family from Reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fa...1974_TV_series)

Although it could be argued that Seven-UP could be the earliest example of this - although the participants did not interact with each other until much later episodes in the series

In 1978 some strangers were put together in a recreation of an Iron age settlement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living...ast_(TV_series)

Wiki article on the genre, covering many countries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television

Therefore in the UK, I would say the first example of putting strangers together in one enclosed location, and filming them, was 1978 "Living in the past"
doormouse
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Steve9214:
“Big Brother was probably the first with the "Live coverage" concept, but as that quickly fell by the wayside, if you just look at a genre of pre-shot edited documentary style program

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Family
1971 an American Family was filmed over several months

In the UK a version was made in 1974 following the Wilkins Family from Reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fa...1974_TV_series)

Although it could be argued that Seven-UP could be the earliest example of this - although the participants did not interact with each other until much later episodes in the series

In 1978 some strangers were put together in a recreation of an Iron age settlement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living...ast_(TV_series)

Wiki article on the genre, covering many countries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television

Therefore in the UK, I would say the first example of putting strangers together in one enclosed location, and filming them, was 1978 "Living in the past"”

Wow, excellent stuff! I'll save this to my favourites. Looks very interesting. Thanks Steve!
digiqueen
12-08-2016
Originally Posted by Rhumbatugger:
“There was a programme called 'The Family' in the seventies I think, where we followed a greengrocer and his extended family through their dramas.

I think that might have been the first identifiable 'reality' show. But I'm by no means sure.”

I remember 'The Family'. Think it was classed as the first 'Fly on the Wall' documentary.
starry
12-08-2016
Competitive reality is a subgenre really, and that probably started in the 90s as a new type of gameshow.
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