Shane is latest ‘Survivor’ viewers love to hate

Shane does not have Richard Hatch’s intelligence or wit, and his erratic game play doesn’t suggest that he’s devised a masterful strategy, although he has managed to make it to the jury.

Perhaps that’s because he’s really good at what he does. Although the show identifies him as “marketing executive,” Shane is also an actor. As his IMDB listing shows, he’s had a career mostly playing guest roles on TV shows, including a part on the first episode of “My So-Called Life.”

Is this all just an act, then? The withdrawal, the unpredictable behavior, the mood swings? Did Shane just decide before the game started to adopt a persona that would irritate everyone so much they’d keep him around until the end? Is he playing us, too, manipulating viewers so they’ll hate him and sustain his post-“Survivor” career?

If he is, that’ll only make us hate him more. And thus viewers will keep tuning in week after week to see if he gets voted off. That’s the fun of it, watching someone fall who deserves to fall.

CBS announced this week that viewers will be able to select the cast of its next edition of “Big Brother,” which will be an all-star season. The network will allow viewers to vote on a pool of 20 contestants, and 12 or 14 of those will enter the house and compete all summer long. As exciting as it is for viewers to have the chance, for the first time ever, to cast a network reality series, the potential for disaster is huge.

That’s because, although we love to hate people, we don’t like to admit it. Thus, the irritating go home (on this season of “American Idol 5,” for example, Brenna Gethers) while the bland stick around (Bucky Covington, who departed only this week). Thankfully, most reality shows don’t let the audience control the outcome, because then we’d be responsible for our own boredom.

Andy Dehnart is a writer and teacher who publishes reality blurred, a daily summary of reality TV news.

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