A Skewed Perception of Reality Quiz

Answer: The Biggest Loser

Pegged as "the first reality series where everybody loses", this hit TV show tracked the progress of overweight contestants as they underwent a strenuous workout regimen and a supervised diet and nutrition plan in an attempt to shed their excess pounds.

The contestant who managed to lose the highest percentage of his or her body weight at the end of the season earned a substantial cash prize, as well as the coveted title of "The Biggest Loser". You would think that a title like that would cause all the winners to be plagued with self-esteem issues even if they managed to keep the weight off, but the contestants all appear to have accepted the show's humorous name in the tongue-in-cheek spirit in which it was coined.

The show has spawned a successful series of weight-loss books and fitness DVDs, as well as local versions in Britain, Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Israel.

Answer: The Apprentice

"The Apprentice" premiered in the U.S. in January 2004 and quickly became one of the biggest hits of the television season. The show has been described by its producers as "the ultimate job interview", and featured business hopefuls competing against each other in an elimination-style contest in the hopes of snagging a one-year contract to work in one of real estate magnate Donald Trump's many companies.

The candidates were assigned different challenges to perform every week, like developing and running a miniature golf course, managing the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Times Square for a day, or trying to make the most money by selling lemonade on the streets of New York.

The candidates who were most responsible for their team's failure each week had to face Trump and his colleagues in the boardroom, where they tried to account for their actions, and avoid hearing Trump's dreaded catchphrase, "You're fired!" The first two seasons of the show were nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, but lost each time to "The Amazing Race".

Answer: Fear Factor

From its inception, "Fear Factor" seemed to be designed to appeal to the type of person who had trouble turning away from the wreckage of a bad traffic accident - you know you don't really want to look at what the players are made to do every week, but you just can't help yourself.

The contestants on the show played alone or in pairs to complete a series of grueling stunts, in order to prove that fear was not a factor for them, and win some cash along the way. The stunts performed by the contestants ran the gamut from having to survive being placed in a tank filled with live rats, having to make their way through a junkyard obstacle course while being chased by vicious dogs, to having to eat animal's eyeballs, camel spiders, and all manner of insects.

The producers of the show have claimed that all the "food" given to the contestants to eat on the show was certified by the USDA as being fit for human consumption, but that was probably cold comfort to the contestant who had to eat that Madagascar hissing cockroach.

Answer: The Contender

Each of the first four seasons of "The Contender" featured sixteen boxers battling it out to avoid becoming the one fighter eliminated from the show each week, until only one fighter was left standing. Every episode culminated in a fight between two of the pugilists, but also delved behind the scenes into the personal lives of each fighter as they trained for an upcoming match.

The show was produced and co-hosted during its first season by actor Sylvester Stallone, best known for portraying the title character in the successful series of "Rocky" films.

The program had its share of ups and downs, and has aired on three different networks in almost as many seasons, debuting on NBC in 2005, before moving to ESPN for two seasons, and moving again to cable TV network Versus in 2008 for its fourth season.

Answer: American Idol

"American Idol" has been a ratings sensation since it launched in 2002, leading rival networks to refer to the show as the "Death Star", and avoid competing with it during its weekly timeslots. Season after season, television audiences have tuned in to the show every week to check out the vocal prowess of the contestants, but mostly to hear the critiques by judge Simon Cowell, who never refrained from doling out mean and acerbic criticism whenever he disliked a singer's performance.

The contestants put up with it however, as the winner each year has walked away with a major recording contract, and a chance at superstardom.

The show was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program for seven years in a row since the introduction of the category in 2003, but lost six times in a row to "The Amazing Race".

Answer: Extreme Makeover

"Extreme Makeover" premiered in 2002, and featured participants going through a comprehensive makeover to change their physical appearance, before being presented to their friends and family for their reaction to their loved one's transformations. The makeovers went beyond the usual changes to the participant's hair, wardrobe and makeup, and often involved plastic surgery, cosmetic dentistry and Lasik surgery to correct myopia. The show was cancelled in its fourth season due to declining viewership.

The show's detractors complained about the superficial nature of the program, but its producers more than made up for that with a spin-off show called "Extreme: Makeover: Home Edition", which featured deserving families being sent on an all-expenses paid vacation while professional contractors remodeled their homes for free. The inspiring spin-off has surpassed the original "Extreme Makeover" in terms of both longevity and popularity, and even snagged the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program in 2005 and 2006.

Answer: Antiques Roadshow

The U.S. version of this long-running BBC series premiered in 1997 on the public broadcasting channel PBS, and has been nominated five times in a row for the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program between 2005 and 2009. Each installment of "Antiques Roadshow" showed appraisers who were experts in their respective fields (ranging from folk art to popular culture collectibles) visiting venues all over the United States, where locals could bring in their old antiques for evaluation.

Although many have been disappointed to be informed that what they thought was a priceless family heirloom was really a worthless knock-off or reprint of the genuine article, the show has discovered some real finds over the years.

Some of the more memorable ones include an authentic Navajo blanket (one of about fifty in existence), which was valued at between $350,000 to $500,000, and an early oil painting by Clyfford Still, which was given a conservative valuation of $500,000.

Answer: Top Chef

Each episode of "Top Chef" involved a "Quickfire Challenge", which required the contestants to carry out some culinary activity in less than an hour, and an "Elimination Challenge", which required them to prepare a meal for a panel of judges using a limited budget, or in accordance with particular ingredients or specifications.

The aspiring chefs were judged on their inventiveness in the preparation and presentation of the dishes, as well as other factors like customer service and leadership skills.

In the end, the contestants who performed the most poorly on the challenges risked elimination by being asked to "pack up their knives" and go. Celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and Wolfgang Puck, and actresses Natasha Richardson and Lorraine Braco, have appeared as guest judges on the show. "Top Chef" was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Answer: Taxicab Confessions

In this revealing documentary program, taxi drivers in cabs equipped with lipstick cameras prowled the streets of New York and Las Vegas at night, and tried to get their passengers to divulge their innermost secrets about their lives and relationships.

The stories told by these very real people depicted the entire range of human experience, from the touching to the risqué, to the romantic and the downright criminal. Each installment of the show typically concluded with footage of the cab drivers revealing to the passengers that their conversations had been recorded, and procuring them to sign waivers to allow HBO to use the footage on the show. "Taxicab Confessions" was an Emmy winner for Best Information Special in 1995, and an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Reality Program in 2001 and 2002.

Answer: So You Think You Can Dance

Each week, the contestants on "So You Think You Can Dance" had to prove their technical ability and versatility by successfully tackling any style of dance that was randomly assigned to them. The level of talent of each season's finalists over the years has been truly amazing, with breakers and poppers having to adapt to ballroom styles, and ballet dancers having only a few days to learn a hip-hop routine.

The show has also been noteworthy for the (usually) constructive critiques of executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe, and fellow judge Mary Murphy's practice of placing her favorite performers on her "hot tamale train" by screaming her approval in a manner not unlike a whistle on a steam locomotive.

In 2007 and 2008, two of the show's choreographers picked up Emmys for Outstanding Choreography for three different routines that were featured on the program.