Despite the high fatigue factor (I’ve often felt like the woman in that toothpaste ad who would always says in tones of great exasperation, “Ofo, ek aur naya toothpaste?!”) this really was the year of reality TV. And reality shows were not restricted to any one channel — all the entertainment channels were equal participants (offenders?) when it came to launching one show after another. Despite the near-blizzard, the programmes didn’t blur into each other the way soaps and serials did (to my jaundiced eyes, that is. I’m sure people who follow their favourite serials have a different story to tell).

This was also the year when reality shows moved to the next level — apart from the usual talent hunts, there were several other formats, both homegrown as well as foreign.

Just take a look at the roll call (and this is by no means an exhaustive list) and decide for yourself.

The show that made the maximum noise was probably Star Plus’s Sach Ka Saamna. Much of the chorus of disapproval came from Parliament. This may have seemed surprising — surely our MPs have more serious issues to bother about than TV shows — but actually, we shouldn’t have been surprised. If there’s one thing politicians love more than anything else — even more than their securitymen and pilot cars and parliamentary perks — it’s the desire to become our moral guardians.

Host Rajeev Khandelwal only had to ask a participant: “Have you ever thought of being unfaithful to your partner?” and our MPs decided he was threatening the very foundations of our culture and civilisation. Sach Ka... wasn’t easy viewing (nothing is particularly easy viewing on TV, particularly the fiction shows) but (a) it pushed the envelope and (b) it wasn’t regressive.

Rakhi Ka Swayamvar proved one thing beyond doubt — that Rakhi Sawant is a TRP getter; this is the show that has won NDTV Imagine some of its best ratings ever. Rakhi did a startling impersonation of a shrinking violet searching for true love, but unfortunately, the act fell apart at the seams the minute the show ended, unraveling further in NDTV Imagine’s next reality show Pati Patni Aur Woh, where celebrity couples played parents to children of varying ages.

The channel’s latest reality show, Raaz Pichale Janam Ka, where all sorts of people remember their past lives in highly dramatic detail, is enough to send sceptics like me scurrying for cover.

The other show that had me squeezing my eyes shut very often was Is Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao on Sony, because of the icky tasks the celebrity participants had to perform, such as dunking their heads inside helmets teeming with revolting animal life. The celebs were allegedly living in the middle of a dense Malaysian rainforest, but their accommodation seemed more like a picturesque and rustic jungle lodge.

Then there were the talent hunt shows — Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (Sony) and India’s Got Talent (Colors). If you ignored the weird/nonsensical acts (and there were plenty of those), the shows had many rewarding stories, Orissa’s Prince dance group being the most celebrated.

Bigg Boss, one of Colors’ most high- profile reality shows, got a shot in the arm when Amitabh Bachchan took over as the host. It’s impossible for a seasoned, fine actor like the Big B to strike a false note as an anchor — and he didn’t. It is equally impossible to talk of reality shows and not mention dance and music contests. Dance India Dance (Zee), Dance Premier League (Sony) and now, the latest, Music Ka Maha Muqabala (Star Plus) are some of the most extravagantly mounted reality shows we’ve seen this year. For me, they work in small doses.

Which is probably true of the genre itself. Reality TV can grate terribly because of the constant, contrived and increasingly desperate attempts to keep up the drama levels in existing shows and think of new shows that will further shock and scandalise.

What next? Expect the unexpected. Or, the unthinkable? Reality TV is here to stay. For a long time. This year has proved that beyond doubt.