When you turn on the television, you may find yourself watching someone performing an outrageous stunt in order to receive $50,000. Flip the channel and you will see amateurs attempting to become Hollywood stars, with many of them being ripped on by some English guy in the process. Turn to another channel and you can watch as a wealthy bachelor looks to choose who he likes the best out of a group of 20 women. Will it ever end? I hope not.

More reality shows are appearing now, much of them with a lot of build up. Every show tries to come up with the next concept that is new and unique and, in some cases, absolutely ridiculous. Maybe the whole reality television thing has spun a little out of control, but honestly, who with a little spare time on their hands can resist watching these kinds of shows?

You would think that after a while the idea of reality television would spoil. In some cases it has: shows such as "Survivor" are no longer as big as they once were. Yet networks are coming out with more and more reality series. Some shows have lasted through all the criticism. Much of reality TV that exists today originated from the MTV show, "The Real World," which is now in its 12th season. Will there ever be a reality series that can last as long as this one? Possibly.

The reality factor is so dynamic that no matter what the twist is you never know what is going to happen. Even simple shows like "Elimidate" can provide a good half hour's worth of entertainment.

Actually, "Elimidate" is a perfect example of why many of these shows cannot be taken seriously. What makes them so fun to watch is that these real people are so outrageous that you can't help but laugh at them.

A great example is the new show "Meet My Folks," in which a young guy is hoping to find a date out of a group of nine young ladies. The twist is that he doesn't get to choose: his mom and dad do. What results is the unveiling of a bunch of dirty secrets about the girls, leading to their dismissal by the untrusting mom and dad. Crazy ideas such as this one are what reality TV is all about.

And then there are shows such as "Joe Millionaire," which combine the reality concept with a little bit of fiction. Twenty women are led to believe that they are competing to win a date with a multi-millionaire, unaware of what the audience knows from the beginning: the man is actually a lowly construction worker.

Brilliant.

These shows are too entertaining to miss, and people will keep on watching until the next new series comes out. If any of you reality series haters disagree, let me know - I'll be watching American Idol.

• You can't stop reality TV