A castle in France. The Amazon. The Australian Outback. The big stage in Hollywood. These settings form the backdrop of "reality" TV for you, the viewer in Indiana.

Most reality TV shows feature so-called ordinary people competing for money, fame and/or love. It is becoming the dominant genre on television today.

According to Nielsen Media Research, from Sept. 23 to June 22, reality TV shows accounted for five of the top 10 shows, with "Joe Millionaire" placing second, "American Idol" placing fourth on Tuesdays and fifth on Wednesdays, "Survivor: Thailand" tied for sixth, and "Survivor: Amazon" tied for eighth.

Recently, Y-Press spoke to Eric Pegues, 14, Nate Tatum, 13, and Ashley McQuinn, 14, at the Noblesville Boys & Girls Club about this new craze. All are suspicious of the "realness" of reality TV.

"I think a lot of those shows are planned, and people know what they are going to have to say and do," says Ashley.

"They say it's real people, and they want to see how real people are handling issues on these kinds of shows, like marrying someone you don't even know yet. But probably most of that is scripted," agreed Nate.

Eric doesn't watch any reality TV. "I think it's stupid," he explained.

However, Nate and Ashley have seen many of the programs.

"I watch 'American Idol' because I like one of the stars on it -- well, two," said Nate, who also has seen such other programs as "Mr. Personality," "Survivor" and "Joe Millionaire."

"I do watch 'Real World' and 'Road Rules,' and I do watch sometimes 'Fear Factor.' And I don't really like 'Survivor' and stuff because it just doesn't really appeal to me, and it just doesn't seem very real," said Ashley.

Reality TV shows break down into roughly four categories: gross-out shows such as "Fear Factor"; shows that examine group dynamics such as "Survivor," "Real World" and "Road Rules"; performance shows such as "American Idol"; and love-based shows such as "Married by America" and "Joe Millionaire."

Ashley and Nate both have watched "Fear Factor."

"I start watching that and I can't stop because it's just so disgusting sometimes that you just have to see if they'll do it," said Ashley.

"I heard that they eat cow brains and cow privates," Nate explained, who said the appeal of shows like "Fear Factor" is "if you're considered stupid, or someone thinks you're kind of dumb, and you see people doing dumb stunts, that makes you feel kind of good."

Ashley prefers shows like "Real World" and "Road Rules," which look at how people get along with each other.

"I guess in a way it's immoral because like you're filming people's personal lives that shouldn't really be seen, and you shouldn't really know other people's business," she said.

More immoral, according to these three, are shows designed as matchmakers, such as "Married by America."

"I don't think that's right to marry two strangers," said Nate. "That's stupid because they could act nice on camera and then when they get married go Ike and Tina and hit each other."

"I think it's totally wrong. You shouldn't pick your husband or wife from TV. I mean, everyone knows that you're rich, and they're probably gold diggers anyway, so they're just gonna go on the show just to get your money," Ashley agreed.

Everyone was familiar with "American Idol" and has an idea why it's so popular with young people.

"It's people who are gonna probably be the next popular singers in America," Nate explained.

"It's kind of like a contest," said Ashley. "Everyone likes to see people perform and stuff, and they get to see a whole bunch of people perform in like an hour. And then you get to find out who wins."

Of all the shows, "American Idol" is the only one these teens would appear on.

"I don't think I'd make it, but they don't back-stab each other and stuff, and they're not the ones voting each other off. It's like the three judges voting you off and your fans. . . . I think that'd be fun." Ashley said.

They all agreed that participants on reality TV shows do it for one reason: the money. No one would participate otherwise.

"It's wasting their time. They got a job at home. They got to go home and face themselves," Eric said.

All three talked about types of reality shows they would like to see.

"My own reality show would have something to do with cars, like really fast cars, like two cars riding down the street, and I guess they crash into each other or something, and the people get out and start fighting," said Eric.

Nate would like something like "American Idol" but "it'd be like rap and have like just rappers for judges. They would probably diss (the contestants) more, for one thing," said Nate.

Ashley would prefer something more cerebral.

"It would probably be like something where you're discussing stuff, like important issues, like world affairs. Not like something trivial. And then it could be just like a group of teenagers just sitting around talking," she said.

However, Nate thinks that reality TV is destined to die out.

"Those shows are getting cornier and cornier and cornier."

REPORTERS: Lily Inman, 12; Brittany Davis, 12.