Reality TV: an accurate portrayal?

I am being lazy and writing posts whilst sitting on the sofa and watching telly.  It’s just struck me that the two shows I have been watching are about people at work:Mary Queen of Shops and now Emergency Bikers.

I think shows that portray a real life are a great research tool for exploring different careers.  Sometimes it’s hard to visualise what a typical day will be like and what better way to get to understand this than by following someone carry out that job?

The problem is that these shows are produced for a reason: to entertain.  To do this the editors and those producing the programme will naturally select the most dramatic situations.  What you get isn’t necessarily a true reflection of what the person does all the time.

Even less reliable are the dramatic programmes that for the purposes of being a credible story have enough accuracy about them to make you think it’s a “real” situation.  I’m thinking about hospital dramas especially here, like Casualty or Holby City.

So before you decide that being a forensic investigator is the career choice for you, do please remember that a team cannot possibly have as many beautiful people in it as any CSI programme!