Run's House

This MTV reality Series is called Run's House, which is centered around rapper and hip-hop artist Joseph Simmons and his family. This show aired in October of 2005 and is still running. Joseph Simmons, also known as Rev Run or DJ Run, was apart of the popular hip-hop group Run-D.M.C this band reached their peak in the 1980s. The Show is filmed mostly at their house in Saddle River, New Jersey and sometimes in Manhattan, New York where many of their offices are located. They also sometimes film in Los Angeles, California where his daughters Vanessa and Angela live and work currently. Run's House also has a spin off series called Daddy's Girls, which is centered around Angela and Vanessa in California.

I really enjoy this show because the family is big and they are always doing so many different things. I also think this is one of the funniest reality shows MTV has to offer. Unlike some of the other shows that MTV airs, this show is something the whole family can watch because of the wholesome values Run instills in his family.

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl is a tv series that first aired on the CW Network in September of 2007 and is still running. The show is based off "The Gossip Girl" novel series written by Cecily Von Ziegesar. The show takes place in the Upper East Side Of New York City and leads viewers through the lives of Manhattan's Elite. The show is called Gossip Girl because it is narrated by an unknown blogger who calls her or himself "Gossip Girl." This show is made for a viewing audience of mostly teen and is a Drama series.

Personally this is my all time favorite show. Many people have said its a younger version of a soap opera. Like many other viewers, I was hooked to the drama from the beginning. With plenty of amazing guest stars, and such a beautiful cast, its hard to miss an episode.

16 and Pregnant

16 and Pregnant is a reality show about teenage girls in high school who unexpectedly become pregnant. Each episode follows a different girl and gives their background information and how they found themselves at this place in their lives. This show is on MTV and first aired in June of 2009. The show is played in a documentary type format and typically starts when the girl is six to eight months into her pregnancy. MTV also created a spin-off to this show called Teen Mom, which follows some of the mothers from 16 and Pregnant and shows viewers how these mothers are dealing with their first years of being moms.

I think this show is one of MTV's best, it shows the viewers (who tend to be high school and college students, mostly girls) what its like to be a young, and many times single, mother. Im very glad that MTV did not glamorize this topic at all because teenage pregnancy seems to be a very popular subject these days with so many young girls getting pregnant. I think its a good way for girls to see that in most cases, they are not ready for children and they should be extremely careful to not get pregnant.

Tosh.0

Tosh.0 is a fairly new television series that debuted on Comedy Central in June 2009 and is still presently running. Hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh, this show is almost a spoof of E!'s The Soup. During its half hour time slot Tosh provides a comedic report on mostly online video clips from websites such as YouTube and also celebrities, pop culture, and other parts of today's society. Being a new show, Comedy Central started out by giving it a ten episode run, but due to it's increasing popularity in its time-slot among eight-teen to thirty-four year old males extended its season to run sixteen episodes. Soon after this change, Comedy Central announced that this show will be getting a second season consisting of twenty-five episodes.

I personally think this show is too much like E!'s The Soup, and I would rather watch The Soup because its more entertaining and I think as a girl I naturally enjoy watching E! more as a whole. I find Daniel Tosh to be a bit too sarcastic and a little to non-controversial for my liking as a host for a show of this kind. But like many other shows I will watch it if there is not anything else on.

Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair

Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair is a new show that started airing on January third of this year on VH1. This is a dating type reality show where Frank "The Entertainer" Maresca, a former contestant of I Love New York, I Love Money, and I Love Money 2, interviews and has women compete for dates with him. Each week one or more women are eliminated from the "basement" where the show takes place. This is because Frank lives in his parents basement, this also means his parents are helping him find the perfect woman. The show started with fifteen women, and will obviously end with one woman.

I personally don't really think this is a good show, just because the concept is too overdone. It is obviously entertaining, but thats about it. The only thing that is original about this show is that it takes place in a basement and has a set of new girls.

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew

Unlike many reality shows on TV these days, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (on VH1) is based around helping its contestants. The show is taped at Pasadena Recovery Center in California and recruits nine celebrities a season that they want to help stay sober, or sober up. The only reoccurring cast are Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff. The casting for this show is difficult because Dr. Drew and the producers must contact representatives of celebrities who have been arrested or have a lot of publicity about their addiction(s).

Although the shows concept is quite simple, I think this show is very hectic. I think what Dr. Drew is trying to do is very helpful for the contestants on the show, but having all of the people staying in one place is very rough. All of these celebrities are there for different reasons, and having a bunch of drug and alcohol addicts or former addicts together seems strange to me. Many times the contestants try and revolt against Dr. Drew and his staff which seems quite easy to me because they all have the same thing on their mind and when they all work together, I don't think the staff has all the control over them that they need to make actual progress with their problems. I personally think a better approach to the problem that Dr. Drew is trying to combat would be to do the same thing he is doing but individually help all of the celebrities. Besides that, I think this show is quite entertaining and pretty emotional even at times.

Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory

Another one of MTV's Hit shows is Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, which is a continuation of his old show Rob and Big but in a new setting. This Show is filmed in a factory warehouse that Rob (a professional skateboarder) has turned into a "fantasy factory." Inside of this factory there is a full skate park, basketball courts, a foam pit, a recording studio, and a lot of offices. On the show he plays around with his friends and workers. Some of the main characters on this show are his cousin "Drama," his secretary Chanel, "Drama"'s brother "Big Cat," his manager, lawyer, graphic designer, along with many of his other friends and workers. He created this factory so he could merge his pleasure time (skateboarding and fooling around) with his business time.

I really enjoy watching this show because it has no story line, so whenever I get a chance to watch it I don't feel like I need to catch up with what has been happening, I can just pick up and watch it whenever. I also like it because it is extremely funny, Rob has a really good sense of humor and loves to play jokes on all of his workers which is really entertaining to watch. Overall I feel like this is one of the best shows MTV has to offer.

Jersey Shore

Reality Television was taken by storm when MTV introduced another of its reality tv shows Jersey Shore in mid 2009. During its hour running times, cameras follow eight housemates that are spending their summer together in the Jersey Shore. During this nine episode season, the world got introduced to the "Guidos" and "Guidettes" of Jersey Shore, which is the american portrayal of the Italian stereotype. Many of the episodes showed the eight young adults drinking, partying, "working," and living in their summer home. By the end of the season America was introduced to many new "Guido"-like activities such as "fist pumping," "guido" hairstyles, and many other strange activities.

I think this show was entertaining, but very "MTV like" making it pretty dull. The drama on these shows are always the same and the heavy drinking is always the social lubricant that makes it interesting to watch. The thing I wonder about this show is how it has affected the surrounding Jersey Shore area. How do the other Italian young adults feel about being portrayed in this light since they are from Jersey Shore, and the housemates on the show are not?

In late January of this year, MTV announced that there will be another season of this show with the same people but in another city. As a result of not being filmed in Jersey Shore, the show will have another name which has yet to be announced.