11 shocking reality shows from the 2000s you may have forgotten about which should have not been made

Reality TV shows are known to push boundaries in the name of entertainment.

Some of them will create a frenzy as fans react with shock, horror, amazement (and ocassionally joy) to what they are seeing happen on screen. There’s certain subjects and formats that viewers are used to now; dating shows and food and diet shows, for example, or anything that has a shock twist. The genre has been popular with TV viewers for decades, as we all need a bit of escapism now and then . . . and we’re all nosy and like to see how other people live their lives.

But, there are some shows that are simply brutal. Below you’ll find a list of 11 noughties reality TV shows that you may have forgotten about . . . but really they should have never been made because the concepts were just crazy. Have a read through and see how many you remember.

Ten Years Younger

‘Ten Years Younger’ was a makeover show in which participants were often given plastic surgery of some kind to help them appear younger. But, before they had their age defying makeover, they were forced to stand in the street while 100 members of the public guessed their age, and then an average age was created.

It was pretty humiliating, and people didn’t hold back with their thoughts on the poor man or woman’s appearance - even the narrator had some cutting remarks to make. Unsurprisingly, the public always guessed their age at much higher than their real age. At the end of the process the guessing game would be repeated, and the partipant had usually managed to then gain an average age that was around ten years younger than the original guess.

Ladette to Lady

‘Ladette to Lady’ followed a group of ‘ladettes’, who are given an old-fashioned five-week course in learning how to behave like a traditional "lady". They were sent to a finishing school where they are taught how to behave ‘properly’. They were taught under the supervision of five instructors and are given various tasks in elocution, flower arranging, etiquette and cookery. Other skills include needlework, ballroom dancing, riding side-saddle, drawing. If they can't live up to the standards of ladylike behaviour, they were expelled. Looking back on it now, it was quite sexist and just reinforced gender stereotypes, expectations and conformity. Not good.

Beauty and the Geek

The concept of ‘Beauty and the Geek’ is exactly what it sounds like; matches were made between women who were deemed to be physically attractive, but not very smart, and men who were extremely intelligent, but didn’t meet typical beauty standards. Viewers watched as they each tried to learn something from each other and help them gain the intelligence or beauty they were apparently lacking respectively.

The women had to learn about academia such as rocket science or anatomy from the men, while the men try to learn social skills from the women, supposedly so that they could each be more appealing for prospective partners. As if that wasn’t bad enough, each pair had to share a room, and for some this meant sharing a bed. Again, this show just reinforced awful stereotypes regarding beauty and intelligence. Plus, nobody should be forced to share a bed with someone else.

Fat Families

‘Fat Families’ was a show where a families eating habits were put under the spotlight as the host attempted to help them lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. Now, these types of shows are still very popular, and some of them can be beneficial as they can include lots of nutrition advice from health professionals, which is delivered in a respectful way, whic the participants - and viewers - find useful.

We also all love a good story of triumph, and a successful weight loss journey is one of these. However, as you can probably tell from the title of this show, the advice was not delivered in a kind way - far from it. The participants were constantly insulted and shamed by the host, which makes for rather uncomfortable viewing.

Playing it Straight

‘Playing it Straight’ was a show where a woman moved in to a villa with 11 men, and they were competing for her affections - and a cash prize. The twist here was that some of the men were actually gay and were only pretending to be hetrosexual to see if they could dupe the woman and walk away with the money. In turn, she had to put them through a series of challenges to see if she could successful identify which of her would-be suitors were straight and which were gay.

Asking some participants to pretend to be someone they’re not in the pursuit of money really does just highlight how truly awful society can be sometimes - although the gay men did willingly sign up to take part. Plus, it reinforced the stereotype of gay men being feminine which wasn’t very helpful or progressive.

Hotter than my Daughter

‘Hotter than my Daughter’ is another show that does what it says on the tin really. It focused on mother/daughter relationships in which the mothers claimed to be more physically attractive than their daughters. The daughter is embarrassed by the way her mother dresses and acts and the mother thinks her daughter should dress more her age - which is usually teenage.

A lifesize picture of the two is shown to given to five members of the public, dubbed the 'Joe Jury', who decide whether the mother, daughter, or both of them should have a makeover - and whoever they decide is given a style overhaul. At the end of the show, it’s revealed if the mother/daughter duos have kept their looks the same or changed them.

The show was very cringey, but it also portrayed the idea that the only thing that matters about women of any age is their appearance - and also that it’s perfectly okay for women to compete with each other to be deemed the most attractive by other people. It definitely didn’t promote the ideas of sisterhood, acceptance or family bonds.

Dumped

‘Dumped’ involved 11 contestants living for three weeks on a rubbish dump next to a landfill site. The contestants who "survived" the 21 days and used only what they found on the dump were awarded £20,000 to share equally between them. The contestants were not initially informed of their task, and were only equipped only with a sleeping bag, drinking cup and one roll of toilet paper each.

Every person working on the programme was reportedly given tetanus, polio and hepatitis vaccinations for their safety. It was certainly a social experiment with a difference, but many questioned what the purpose was. It was intended to highlight environmental issues, which are of course very important, but it also seemed to focus a lot on human misery and how far people could be pushed while trying to get lots of money. Again, it didn’t give the most positive view of humankind for that reason.

Dating in the Dark

‘Dating in the Dark’ was one of the original dating shows that questioned whether or not love can be blind. Daters only met in a dark room where they could not see each other at all and were encouraged to form connections based purely on personality. So far, no issue. The issues started, however, when people would make declarations of their feelings for someone they had met - with some even going as far to kiss their potential beau on the strength of those feelings, despite having no idea what they all looked like.

Then, came the light reveal. An excruciatingly awkward moment where daters had to take it in turns to step in to the spotlight to reveal their looks to their would-be love interest, who was watching on under the cover of darkness. Let’s just say the reactions were often harsh and heartbreaking. Not knowing how their new connection had reacted, each couple was given the chance to and meet in a fully lit room. If one, or both, parties decided that they didn’t want to continue the relationship now they knew what the other person looked like they just walked out - but if just one person had chosen to stay then they were made to watch their date walk away. It was so cruel.

There were some success stories, and ocassionally a couple did walk out hand in hand, after happily finding they did still fancy each other when their faces were unmasked. But, ultimately, the show just highlighted how terribly shallow people tend to be, which is a little bit depressing.

Four Weddings

‘Four Weddings’ asked four brides to attend, and crucially score, each other’s weddings. They had to rate the following categories out of 10: dress, venue, food and overall experience. The bride that gets the highest score is whisked away on a luxury honeymoon at the end. As you can imagine, it brought out the worst of human nature as the brides were all super competitive and often scored harshly and used underhand tactics to try to make sure they would win themselves. They also made lots of mean comments about each others weddings, although there were some positive ones at time. Overall, however, it underpinned the ‘bridezilla’ and ‘mean girl’ stereotypes that women are often labelled with.

Supersize Vs. Superskinny

‘Supersize vs. Superskinny’ asked participants with opposing extreme diets to swap them. An over eater and under eater had to live together in a house for a few days and make meals for each other as they normally would, and supervise while they ate them. The premise of the show was to highlight unhealthy eating patterns on both ends of the spectrum, and each person was told the reality of how their current diet would lead to major health complications in the future.

In one sense, it was good that the show shone a light on the issues with undereating as well as overeating, as many shows focus purely on overweight people. However, each person was forced to stand in their underwear and watch their daily food intake be dropped through a giant pipe while a Dr berated them for their food choices. That was very mean and mortifying. There was even a children’s version at one point.

Snog Marry Avoid

‘Snog Marry Avoid’ took people who had a very distinctive, usually over-the-top, dress sense and gave them a makeunder. To prove the point that a makeunder was needed, the participants were again forced out on to the street where members of the public were asked if they would snog, marry or avoid them with their usual look.

In every case, most people said that they would avoid them, or perhaps snog them at best, but nobody said they would marry them - thus creating the impression that the only way to find a serious, stable relationship is to avoid looking too ‘extreme’ in any way. The participants would then be given their makeunder, under the guidance of a savage robot called POD.

Essentially, their entire look was changed and they were stripped of their personality so they looked more demeure and conventionally attractive. The general public were then asked if they would snog, marry or avoid them again and the results were, unsurprisingly, the exact opposite. Once again, this gave a terrible message that the only way to find a romantic connection is to change your appearance and tone yourself down. The only one small redeeming factor for this show was that most of the participants returned to their usual dress sense afterwards.