Mal: Ready? Zoe: Always.

'Serenity'


Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]


Jesse - Mar 22, 2010 4:33:59 am PDT #13160 of 23273
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

TAR: I was so relieved the cowboys made up both their delays. Also love that their bad day did not dampen their spirits. "Hey, people pay thousands of dollars to take a tour like this."
I am loving the detectives. "I can find cocaine up someone`s butt, I can find a bunch of grapes." And grid search was smart. I love that they`re methodical.
I also agree that Brent and Caite can go right freaking now. Although that glasses crash was a thing of beauty.

All of this. And Jeff is extremely likeable, and it is a miracle Jordan can dress herself, but I still like her! Poor dumb Jordan. I also really like their attitude -- I mean, they've already won a ton of money for not doing much of anything, so this was just for fun and adventure.


lisah - Mar 22, 2010 5:42:03 am PDT #13161 of 23273
Punishingly Intricate

Jeff & Jordan are dumb but good natured and Jeff is pretty freaking funny. brent and caite are nails on a chalkboard annoying. Can't wait to see them go!


megan walker - Mar 22, 2010 5:52:03 am PDT #13162 of 23273
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

But again I felt like there were more individual and no procedural changes.

I have a feeling that the show asks them to do that, so there are concrete and "heartwarming" things to air, but I bet the longer term things do happen.

One of the most interesting things to me is how the bosses realize how hard some of the "easy" job are; I can't imagine that doesn't translate to at least a change in attitude down the line.


Liese S. - Mar 22, 2010 8:48:17 am PDT #13163 of 23273
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."

Yeah, I think that's true. And the biggest takeaway is that there are *people* doing those jobs, not just functionaries. Like with the Waste Management one, where the CEO realized that the "oversight" he gave the supervisors over the garbage truck drivers was coming off more like stalking, with bonus fear of firing. It seemed like a good policy from behind his desk because it meant there was some sort of metrics, some accountability, but he hadn't ever thought about how it would feel to a person. But once he'd realized it, that would have to make a real directorial shift. I would like to see more empowerment tools, like workers getting a channel to suggest improvements up the chain.

The picking stuff was interesting to me and I wish they'd gone into more detail there. When we set up our new distribution center, I set up all the warehousing locs. We shifted from a product line based order to a completely random one because of some studies done that said that it increased accuracy without decreasing speed of picking. So, like, a product named NVJ-114B wasn't on the shelf next to a product named NVJ-114P, making it prone to pick errors.

But I always wondered if that failed to take into account how excellent long-term employees memorized locations and always knew exactly where to go to pick their order. Obviously for them it was easier (and thus faster) if they could go to the NVJ aisle and work it out from there. We tried to improve stuff like, how intuitively the racks were named and labeled, but I was never able to get a clear enough answer from the pickers, mostly because they knew I was responsible for the change.


kat perez - Mar 22, 2010 11:48:25 am PDT #13164 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

The LA Times had an article in this morning's Calendar section about what happens to those "normal" people featured on UB after the show: The rewards of hanging with the "Undercover Boss"

It was interesting to see how all of these folks were pre-vetted to make sure they got some good stories for the masses. It also did my cynical little heart good to see that the bosses did wind up following through - at least on the individual aspects - on their show induced Aha! moments. (Apologies to Oprah for using her trademarked phrase. Eyes rolling until they fall out of my head) That Ukranian dude didn't just get a luxury vacation for some alone time with the wife. He is getting his own 7-11 franchise. What a country, indeed.


SuziQ - Mar 22, 2010 1:42:04 pm PDT #13165 of 23273
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame

If I could, I would watch the first half of UB and then change before the CEO reveals himself. It is interesting seeing the bosses dealing with the "real work" but the selective rewards and minimal comeuppance bug. It is wonderful to donate money to a kids football league or contribute to someone's wedding, but these folks are just a small fraction of the people working their asses off for the company.


Stephanie - Mar 22, 2010 5:45:30 pm PDT #13166 of 23273
Trust my rage

I really like a lot of UB, but the fact that a few people get these cool gifts doesn't sit well with me. I'd so much prefer to see policy changes or something. Because the way it is now, people who get lucky, even if they are vetted, are basically getting a gift for being on TV. I like when they end up in mgmt training or something similar but 10K for a wedding? I didn't like that, even though I liked the guy.


Amy - Mar 23, 2010 3:21:33 pm PDT #13167 of 23273
Because books.

AI: One question. Who let Miley forget her pants?


le nubian - Mar 23, 2010 4:58:38 pm PDT #13168 of 23273
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

Maybe she is just a liar?


Jesse - Mar 23, 2010 5:03:27 pm PDT #13169 of 23273
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

Drag Race -- It seems a little unfair to send Jessica home on the challenge about language. Not that her LSFYL was good.