I don't watch many reality shows. I'm not into The Swan and really couldn't care less about American Idol.

I do admit to watching Survivor and The Apprentice on a weekly basis. I've never seen more than a few minutes of “The Restaurant”, but since it's another Mark Burnett production, it deserves a look. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, however, since this year it's all about the battle for power over a failing restaurant.

Anyways, here is an interesting article on the not-quite-behind-the-scenes fight that is going on between the chef and the financier. There is some talk that this show is ruining or has ruined Rocco DiSpirito's reputation as a chef. The Restaurant might become a good documentary for business students on how to make sure a restaurant fails:

Step 1) Get lots of publicity before you open, so that you have no time to work out any kinks before the bad reviews come in

Step 2) Have the chef spend more time selling pots and pans on QVC than actually in the restaurant

Step 3) Spend $9,000 on 5000 business cards, for an average price of $1.80 per card

I guess there is another lesson here: the risks of appearing on “reality TV“. Anonymous contestants like in The Apprentice or Survivor have nothing to lose by appearing on a reality show. People like Omarosa can develop awful reputations, but still capitalize for their 15 minutes of fame if they want to. However, people like Rocco DiSpirito, who are already somewhat famous to begin with, can ruin a good reputation with a show like this. There's a larger downside for them.

Add to the fact that producers have a natural tendency to emphasize the negatives, to boost drama and hopefully ratings. So if you have 1 bad moment in a week full of good moments, guess which moment gets aired on TV? So you end up looking like a jerk when you might not be. Things are also probably aired out of context, so they show you firing someone but don't show all the things the person did to get fired.