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Take away the whole Friday night issue, which does kill general viewership, what day doesn't have an impact on the quality of the show.
It's the same basic formula they've used for years, focus on some asinine crap in the house where guys get stir crazy or just look to make a name for themselves (the Junie Browning/Jeremy May deal. Episode 2 had the guy in the pink hair pissed off at someone else because of no particular reason. Then the someone else gets pissed at the pink haired dude because he's pissed at him......ULTIMATE FIGHTING ROCKS!
Obviously, it's a reality show and as long as there are networks putting them on air, there will be stupid bullshit because they think it attracts the casual channel flippers. But none of this does a damn thing about making ANY of these fighters come off like stars....which is the #1 point of TUF to begin with.
You watch TUF and you figure out that Shane Carwin is a smart dude and Roy Nelson is an undisciplined, fat, annoying slob of a fighter who doesn't work well in a team setting (according to the show's theme 2 episodes in). Awesome.
Let's face it though, TUF isn't about us as viewers. It's still churning along for the people who have no idea what the first few seasons were like. It's about the casual people who don't know any better....but ironically, the number of those people watching is falling faster than Strikeforce's lifespan.
To break it down----there are 3 significant problems with TUF in 2012 and beyond
1-None of the fighters over the past however many seasons have amounted to much. You have to go back to Nelson (maybe Schaub??) and he was really a ringer. Before him, you can talk about Ryan Bader or Vinny Magalhaes.
2-Been there, done that. Over 7 years, 16 seasons of the same storylines.
3-Personalities. It's one thing if guys break through and become reasons to watch the show during the season and then tail off when they actually fight in the UFC. Even then, nobody has come off like a star DURING taping (or the one live season) in forever. Matter of fact, the only reason to watch over the past 3-4 years has been KIMBO SLICE. He's the one guy anyone gave a shit about to watch TUF and that was what? 2008 or 2009?
so easy to go on a TUF rant...to end on a positive note....how about some ideas to improve the concept or come up with a new format entirely?
It's the same basic formula they've used for years, focus on some asinine crap in the house where guys get stir crazy or just look to make a name for themselves (the Junie Browning/Jeremy May deal. Episode 2 had the guy in the pink hair pissed off at someone else because of no particular reason. Then the someone else gets pissed at the pink haired dude because he's pissed at him......ULTIMATE FIGHTING ROCKS!
Obviously, it's a reality show and as long as there are networks putting them on air, there will be stupid bullshit because they think it attracts the casual channel flippers. But none of this does a damn thing about making ANY of these fighters come off like stars....which is the #1 point of TUF to begin with.
You watch TUF and you figure out that Shane Carwin is a smart dude and Roy Nelson is an undisciplined, fat, annoying slob of a fighter who doesn't work well in a team setting (according to the show's theme 2 episodes in). Awesome.
Let's face it though, TUF isn't about us as viewers. It's still churning along for the people who have no idea what the first few seasons were like. It's about the casual people who don't know any better....but ironically, the number of those people watching is falling faster than Strikeforce's lifespan.
To break it down----there are 3 significant problems with TUF in 2012 and beyond
1-None of the fighters over the past however many seasons have amounted to much. You have to go back to Nelson (maybe Schaub??) and he was really a ringer. Before him, you can talk about Ryan Bader or Vinny Magalhaes.
2-Been there, done that. Over 7 years, 16 seasons of the same storylines.
3-Personalities. It's one thing if guys break through and become reasons to watch the show during the season and then tail off when they actually fight in the UFC. Even then, nobody has come off like a star DURING taping (or the one live season) in forever. Matter of fact, the only reason to watch over the past 3-4 years has been KIMBO SLICE. He's the one guy anyone gave a shit about to watch TUF and that was what? 2008 or 2009?
so easy to go on a TUF rant...to end on a positive note....how about some ideas to improve the concept or come up with a new format entirely?
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