Andie and Alex gave their opinions on the state of reality television a few weeks ago, but the discussion isn’t over. Their arguments opened something inside of me, something dark and repressed, like the first time I saw “The Proposal.” I thought I should share what I’ve found on the state of reality television.

The 20th season of “Survivor” premiered last Thursday, and somehow I still care. “Survivor” was the show that launched the genre of reality TV, and in the past decade, it has changed the television landscape. This show is a brilliant representation of somewhat primal human behavior when set outside of civilization. This new season brings together heroes and villains of 19 seasons past.

Reality shows fill up my time and schedule with reason: They make me laugh, gasp and cry (not really). I love reality shows because they are entertaining without being pretentious. They know what they are, and they don’t pretend to be anything different. I should clarify, though, which reality shows I’m talking about.

As reality programming comes to dominate the television arena, requisite stereotypes of characters have emerged. It seems that every show has a few main staples that no good reality show […]