By the time the Bravo series "Real Housewives of New Jersey" drew to a close during the spring of 2010, it had generated enough buzz, controversy, and water-cooler discussion to make devoted viewers forget the producers' original intention: They had intended this installment of "The Real Housewives" franchise to satirize the characters and lifestyle represented in cable hit "The Sopranos." As "The Real Housewives of Orange County" were supposed to mimic ABC's "Desperate Housewives," so the Jersey Girls were groomed to look, sound, and spend like real-life equivalents of Carmella Soprano. The New York Times summed-up, "[They are] loud, nasal, nouveau-riche wives who raise spoiled children and spend their husbands' money in vast marble and onyx starter palaces in Franklin Lakes, N.J. They boast about everything, including how soon they qualified for the black American Express card. As Danielle Staub puts it, "˜I actually got mine before Madonna did'." They even had the pedigree to support the role: Albert Manzo, husband of mater familia Caroline Manzo, is the son of Albert "Tiny" Manzo, whose body"”all 350 pounds of it"”was discovered in the trunk of his Lincoln Continental; in 1983, police described the body as "perforated" with machine gun bullets.

Confession time on MTV - I used to be fat! Cards and letters come pouring in begging to be on the popular MTV television reality show called "I used to be fat". Young people from all over need help with their weight problems and some are really compelling to hear. Most are well over two hundred pounds and have been overweight for many years. Being heavy is not only psychologically difficult it is also extremely bad for anyone's health, especially young children and teenagers. They need support from friends and family but also a clear cut plan to lose weight that will actually work for them. Diabetes and heart problems are among the most common illnesses to befall those who weigh more than average but in the case of teenagers there are issues of self esteem and the need to socialize with their peers involved, making it a vital issue faced by many younger people. While reality TV programs like "I used to be fat" on MTV may not solve all their problems, teenagers can gain self confidence by seeing it work for others if they follow advice, may work for them as well.

The Curse of Oak Island is a reality television show that airs on the History Channel. The show follows brothers Rick and Marty Lagina as they try to uncover the secrets of Oak Island, a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island has a long history of treasure hunting, dating back to the late 1700s, when legends of buried pirate treasure began to circulate. Despite many attempts over the years, no one has been able to locate any significant treasure on the island.

Not exactly on the cutting edge of "reality" programming, "If I Can Dream" nevertheless pushes the technological envelope as it works to make the real-life dramas imitate life as accurately as possible. The show still has potential to become "The Jersey Shore" with class and brains. In March, 2010, "If I Can Dream" debuted, showing specially chosen contestants pursuing their artistic, musical, dramatic, athletic, and creative gifts dreams, pushing themselves to break into the big time in their fields. In order to gain admission to the show's Hollywood, California home, contestants had to satisfy producers they really had legitimate shots at making their dreams come true. MySpace, PepsiCo, and Ford invested heavily in the project, gambling that it would revolutionize broadcasting by making optimum use of internet technology. At first, weekly episodes of "If I Can Dream" aired exclusively on Hulu. According to its website, "The "˜If I Can Dream' House is wired with 56 AXIS Q1755 H.264 cameras delivering content across 3 CDNs. Video feeds are available at both 500 Kbps and 1 Mbps. As designed, "˜If I Can Dream' will be the largest persistent live "˜event' produced by a media company."

"The Amazing Race" is a popular reality TV series that follows teams of two as they race around the world in competition with other teams. The teams must complete a series of challenges and obstacles in various countries and cultures, with the first team to cross the finish line winning a cash prize of $1 million.

"Kourtney and Kim Take New York" chronicles the continuing adventures of the unmarried Kardashian sisters as they work their strange magic on adoring fans in the Big Apple. Like magnets among loose nails, the girls draw a crowd wherever they go, cameras stalking every step. Viewers enjoy more of the intense Kardashian programming they apparently craved and demanded. On any given day, E! empowers you to keep up with some kind of Kardashian in at least three ways during approximately twelve hours of non-stop first-letter-"K" programming. If it weren't for the success of Chelsea Handler, E! News, renegade women fleeing the Playboy mansion, and "Fashion Police," the Kardashians would fill entire programming days. Apropos of "reality" programming, "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" has neither plot nor script, but it has plenty of "situations." Kim, more or less determined to remain single for an entire year, nevertheless has no qualms about exciting hook-ups with assorted styles and flavours of eligible New York bachelors. Kourtney, ostensibly the more level-headed and businesslike of the two, apparently lives vicariously through Kim. Together, they allegedly run a business in-between pictorials, promotions, parties, and "Patron"-powered club appearances. Moralists might worry, as "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," they corrupt an entire generation of impressionable "˜tween girls, but studies show thirteen-year-old boys are the Kardashian sisters' biggest demographic.