Staying real on the small screen

It was the year reality TV finally died. Ha ... just kidding.

For every person who fervently wished for reality's demise, there were millions who slavishly tuned in. If anything, 2004 proved that the genre, while it may not always be as hot as today, has staying power.

"American Idol" remained reality's powerhouse, although between victorious Fantasia Barrino and young Diana DeGarmo didn't quite garner the bloody fan battles that Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard did. (Clay's millions of fans, dubbed Claymates, rival only European soccer fans in devotion.)

For Subscribers

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

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and proved that viewers seemingly can handle more than one season of a show per year, although "Survivor All-Stars" didn't do as well as expected.

Speaking of "The Apprentice," in the show's boardroom prompted readers to ask: "How much of this stuff is actually real?" LA Times columnist Joel Stein revealed the scandalous truth when he for an episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

Apprentice-wannabes popped up through the year. Mark Cuban's and Richard Branson's however, showed that it takes more than a really rich guy and a camera to turn a successful show.

Celebrity-driven reality, including Jessica Simpson's "Newlyweds" and Paris Hilton's "Simple Life," continued to draw tabloid headlines, but their Nielsen ratings pale compared to competition shows like "Survivor" and "Idol." And steadily chugging along were reality shows by the dozens that rarely make the headlines, from the joyous births on TLC's "A Baby Story" to the belligerent would-be travelers on A&E's "Airline."

The shows may not be completely real, they may not be always Emmy-winning, but if Donald Trump can survive , the reality-TV genre can survive a few bumps in the road. Right now, it's not going away anytime soon.