TVSquad

Considering how prevalent reality television is these days, it's got to be a pretty daunting task to try and put together a comprehensive list of the best and worst of all time. But Entertainment Weekly thinks they've done just that. They've compiled the top 20 reality shows of all time, but also the ten worst reality shows of all time. All in all, they did a pretty damned good job.

I completely agree with the top six, but they lose me with Jackass at number seven. I have never understood the appeal of filming morons doing stupid things on purpose just to be stupid. But there were some shows missing from the list completely, like Little People Big World, So You Think You Can Dance and Beauty and the Geek. Surely those shows are better than The Hills and The Real Housewives of Sesame Street, or whatever franchise they're spinning now.

Question: What do the following TV shows have in common? Joe Millionaire, The Bachelor, Are You Hot?, Trading Spouses, The Will, and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance.

If you answered "they all destroy the human soul a little bit when you watch them," you're absolutely correct. But that's not what this post is about.

Actually, they're all shows whose workers filed a class-action suit in California three years ago. A settlement has been reached and the workers will be sharing a $4 million settlement. The suit accused the shows of violating state wage and work rules. Workers on those shows worked 80 hours a week and were denied lunches and breaks. They were also asked to fake their time cards. Worst of all, the workers were asked to actually watch the shows they were working on, which violating human rights laws in the United States.

Of course, I kid. It violated human rights laws around the world.