All reality TV is scripted. The majority of TV viewers are borderline retarded and need to be force-fed their drama in carefully predetermined doses so as not to lose interest and wake up from their entropy.

I just want to watch the shows for the tattoos, the artists and the occasional authentic story. That’s enough to keep me coming back, all without the awful choreographed drama.

Miami Ink was, in a sense, the first of it’s kind, and the genre has transformed since then.

If I remember correctly, you are right in that the first season wasn’t too badly scripted, but as the show went on these obviously scripted fights started breaking out over idiotic and pointless things. Much of the drama obviously surrounded Kat Von D, so when she quit the shop and started her own show I wasn’t exactly surprised. That show was far worse, with the script ruling all from day one.

Fact of the matter is, people are generally kinda boring. Unless they are your friends and you understand their humour and stuff, watching other people can be kinda dull, so it has to be scripted in some ways or it would just be a bunch of people quietly getting tattooed. I don’t personally feel the need to sit there and explain my sob stories for hours while im tattooed, no one elses business, and our general chitchat isn’t particularly interesting to anyone else!