Real TV
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Real TV is a television program that ran in syndication from September 9, 1996 to September 7, 2001. It aired footage of extraordinary events that were not usually covered in mainstream news. It is currently being aired on Superstation WGN on Sundays and on Fox Reality Channel.
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[edit] The Idea
Real TV usually showed home and amateur video. The types of incidents portrayed were often daring rescues, escapes, stunts, and accidents. Clips containing violence or injury were not shown often. The clips had a narration provided by the host of the show, and were commonly set to a soundtrack to heighten the drama. Other clips have included TV show bloopers, human interest stories, and inventions.
[edit] Hosts
The show was hosted by John Daly (no relation to the golfer of the same name) from its beginning in 1996 until 2000. During Daly's run, various correspondents were featured to present the stories along with him.
When Daly quit the show, he was replaced by Ahmad Rashad, who was the host until the show's end. Rashad's version of Real TV had a new set, introduction, and announcer. The correspondents from Daly's run did not appear. The show became targeted towards younger viewers, and featured more extreme sports footage. The show was cancelled in 2001, and was replaced in many markets by the similar (though more humorous) Maximum Exposure, which ran original episodes until 2003 and continues to air in syndication (Maximum Exposure was produced under the RTV News banner). The Daly-hosted episodes currently air in reruns on Spike TV.
[edit] Daly's Correspondents
The most notable of Daly's correspondents was Sibila Vargas, who now works on CNN. Other correspondents included Michael Brownlee, John Johnston, Lisa G., and Ellen K., among others. William B. Davis, best known as Cigarette Smoking Man from the sci-fi TV series The X-Files, also made appearances.
[edit] External links
- Real TV at the Internet Movie Database
- Real TV at TV.com