8 | The Surreal Life, for instance, represents a brand of celebrity real- ity programming that doesn't even begin to pretend to be real--at least not beyond having past-their-prime celebrities portray them- selves. In other words, unless you genuinely believe that Florence Henderson would otherwise be living with Gary Coleman and Vanilla Ice in a cartoon-colorful townhouse in Southern California if cameras were not present, everything about programs like The Surreal Life is completely unnatural and altogether contrived. The ridiculous number of celebrity reality series that have either already been cancelled, are currently airing, or are preparing for broadcast next season represents the public's continued wholesale interest in the lives (genuine or fabricated) of celebrities and their families. As a result, production companies and television networks are experiencing an enormous surge in show pitches from aspiring producers with the "next big idea" for a celebrity reality series. And because the reality genre has helped a number of former child stars and out-of-work actors find renewed fame and some degree of for- tune, scores of aspiring producers have experienced relative ease in getting celebrities on board their projects even before a network picks up the series. Welcome to Reality PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT AND MAKEOVER REALITY From The Biggest Loser and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to Extreme Makeover and Miami Slice, personal improvement and makeover reality programming is among the least expensive and most popular forms of reality programming being produced. Programs within this category differ in terms of content and the areas of personal improvement they target, but the structure of this format usually remains unchanged. Normally, a worthy makeover candidate is introduced. Then a skilled authority or a rabid team of experts is unleashed to assess the challenge. Finally, we bear witness to the impressive start-to-finish transformation of the episode's for- merly downtrodden subject. Appealing to the average viewer's own desire for self-improvement, this reality format often packs as much of an emotional punch for viewers as it does the participants experiencing the all-expense-paid metamorphosis. Interestingly, the widespread popularity of personal improvement and makeover reality programming has been used to argue against