Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Scripted reality


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) -- Dane 2007  talk 01:59, 15 August 2016 (UTC)

Scripted reality

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This article confuses between two different concepts: scripted, fictional TV shows that take the appearance of a reality show, i.e. mockumentaries; and reality shows where contestants are told what to do behind the scenes by producers. You may think that that's essentially the same thing, since they're both fictional, but one obvious difference is whether the people appearing on the show have the same names and occupations as the people they're "portraying". A show with actors is not the same thing as a show with real-life friends pretending to get into an argument.

In the article's defense, it's a confused term in general - as evidenced by the article's two references, which give the opposite definitions of the term.

It seems that the term "scripted reality" has more popularity in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, where it's used as a synononym of "mockumentary". Those countries have more pseudo-reality-TV shows that are played as serious dramas; in the English-speaking world, the pseudo-reality shows are almost always comedies, so the existing "mockumentary" term is a more natural fit.

I see no reason to keep this article as it is; the majority of it just reads like a personal essay. I would be fine with deleting it, or turning it into a redirect to reality television, or to mockumentary, or making it a disambiguation page. As far as I can see, there's no real information here that isn't already contained, and explained better, in those two other articles. Korny O&#39;Near (talk) 15:36, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Television-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 16:05, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Fictional elements-related deletion discussions. Shawn in Montreal (talk) 16:06, 18 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Keep -I think the topic of the page isn't confusing two topics, but instead referring to the controversial aspect of reality series like VH1's The Surreal Life (see here) or MTV's The Hills and Jersey Shore (see here), in which the authenticity of the "reality" part of those shows is questioned because writers provide story lines, pre-decide specific situations or arguments/discussions and even give lines for solo-interviews/asides. I think it's an important sub-genre of reality television that should most likely have it's own page, if not just because the Reality television article is pretty detailed and lengthy itself. Burroughs&#39;10 (talk) 19:19, 21 July 2016 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, the Dutch-language, French-language and German-language equivalents of this article all use the other definition of "scripted reality", i.e. a true mockumentary featuring professional actors. Korny O&#39;Near (talk) 00:26, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 00:22, 25 July 2016 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 00:37, 8 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Keep The topic is notable – see The Television Genre Book, for example. Andrew D. (talk) 14:58, 8 August 2016 (UTC)
 * The term "scripted reality" doesn't seem to appear in that book. Korny O&#39;Near (talk) 15:23, 8 August 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.