The contestants all looked reverent at a scam-revelation by the actorcounselor, as if they forgot they were on a game show. Two women dressed in wedding gowns jousted for attentions of a good humored dwarf, who married one of them at episode's end. Or so the show would have you believe. I give Springer credit. He knows he's running a number on the audience and that gives him a certain measure of credibility.
Reality TV is nothing new.
Back in the 1955, there was Queen for a Day. Quizzed by host Jack Bailey, real poor people recited real problems to win a washing machine or some other device. The comic strip Dilbert recently raised a reality issue. Heavy stuff for a cartoon. No wonder it is so popular.