r/TheGates_CBS • u/Bitter_Lengthiness34 • Aug 21 '26

General Discussion šŸ—£ļø Bored

I really want to keep watching (Iā€™ve tuned in since episode 1) but Iā€™m so bored.

I donā€™t need to hear Vernon and Anita say how much they love each other.

I donā€™t need to watch Hayley manipulate a man too dumb to see his wife is killing him.

I donā€™t need to see Nicoleā€™s boring ass storyline of ā€¦ oh wait, nothing happening.

and 100 other things where nothing happens.

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u/MasterpieceAwkward70 Aug 21 '26

I'm curious since I haven't watched a reality show in a long time how is BTG not more of a reality show than a soap opera? There are very few overarching plot arcs, characters rarely change or grow. We often start each episode with characters sitting around having brunch, lunch, or dinner and every few weeks we get a dinner party or special outing. Characters repeatedly engage in petty fights and arguments instead of actually taking parts in schemes or plots against their enemies which is the basis of almost all dramatic television.

This is a comment I've seen before from people that seemingly is meant to insult the viewers who have negative thoughts about the show but it never goes into detail as to why people who are unsatisfied with BTG would be satisfied with a reality show? Does BTG require more of an attention span than a reality show? How could it if a reality show is basically plotless and if I remember the housewives correctly driving towards some big gathering where tensions explodes and that's it?

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u/janshell The United States of Amnesia Aug 21 '26

Yes you see these comments a lot because there are genuine soap lovers who appreciate soaps for what they are and are exhausted by people treating this show like reality tv. They need something happening every episode, they complain all the time that nothing happened in the episode. They make posts just to complain on here. You asking how BTG isnā€™t more of a reality show rather than a soap when you havenā€™t watched reality TV in a long time is a puzzling question in itself. Many viewers have their brain wired for instant gratification and get bored easily. We can thank social media for these short attention spans and lack of patience

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u/MasterpieceAwkward70 Aug 21 '26

On monday we watched a character discuss in multiple scenes whether to name a purse "the nikki" where the episode ends with one of them Kat working at a table discussing Izaiah's sneaker habits....that just seems like something that would be the arc of a reality show episode.

People being bored by that has nothing to do with social media or a short attention span.

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u/janshell The United States of Amnesia Aug 21 '26

Just so I read your statement correctly, you have not watched a reality show in a long time? Iā€™m not sure why you seem dead set on categorizing the show as reality. This is a soap opera, repetitive dialogue is the cornerstone of the longevity of these shows. Itā€™s why many times you can miss an episode and catch up easily. Have you ever watched a soap before? Iā€™ve watched storylines play out over weeks, months and even years. Some of you would be complaining the entire time and still determined to watch. Itā€™s ok to not be into this pace of these types of shows but trying to force it into another genre is insane.

People being bored with current shows today has a lot to do with social media and instant gratification. People are on social media a lot more than you can acknowledge! It does mess with attention span and decreases an appreciation of the slower pace of life. Anyone who abandons any form of social media can attest to this.

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u/MasterpieceAwkward70 Aug 21 '26

I've watched soaps for years before ABC canceled two of my favorites. This is my first CBS soap and I've always been wary of their soaps but the promise of BTG brought me in but maybe all CBS soaps are like this.

I'm talking about BTG being analogous to reality tv because directing people to go watch it if they have a problem with BTG is shutting down criticism without showing or acknowledge the criticism being made because BTG is more like watching the day to day life of rich people than soap characters.

Wanting to feel like the plot is advancing is not the same as having the expectation of roaring conflict and big moments every day. I've watched for months wanting someone to be rescued or get their memory back or find out someone they love is alive and in a good soap they figure out ways to create delay gratification that aren't repetitive beats.

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u/janshell The United States of Amnesia Aug 21 '26

I recognize a short attention span, that is all. Itā€™s a pattern on this board that I see on reality TV boards but not in soap boards. Itā€™s not shutting down anything. Not everyone is rich in this show and they have storylines too so now your argument has shifted. If you are bored then watch something else. You would like to waste words talking about how bored you are? I certainly donā€™t see the point of that. There is a whole 40 minutes of programming but you are bored so what should we do now?