The face of television has changed along with the channel guide. Reality television has taken over our homes in a big way with one reality network up and running and two more on the way. The fall season looks prime with original ideas to lock us in.

With reality domination running amok, a new kind of reality has surfaced and spread like a Ron Mexico outbreak. “Unintentional Reality” has been born and thirsted after. It’s like an oracle you can’t take your eyes off. As stupid as it sounds, reality happens all the time whether you want it to or not. Networks need to be able to recognize reality when it happens and then stay out of its way.

Unintentional reality is the only true reality out there and it can be hard to manage. Your first inclination is to maintain it and even squelch it. No good. You need to fuel it, focus in on it but most importantly, don’t get in its way.

Here’s what I’m taking about. A great place to catch some impromptu unintentional reality is to watch the final pairings of any golf tourney on Sunday. A few months back, I was watching a golf tournament where Fred Couples was contending for the lead. He hit a wayward second shot but caught a huge break when it came to rest on a cart path. He was given a free drop but the ball took an unusually high bounce and buried itself deep in the grass, even worse than before. It disappeared from the screen. Somebody must have giggled because he fired at the crowd, “Yeah, real (expletive) funny!”

Immediately, I became engrossed and wanted more. I lunge off the couch to get a better look and hear the subtle discussions that were suddenly buried under the announcer’s nonsensical rants. He apologized for Freddy and then went on and on about some European player who was caught on camera using profanity weeks back. I screamed “Who cares? Shut up and get out the way!” I realize they had to cut away because more crass language was sure to ensue but they never cut back to the scene that was developing. Very frustrating. The most compelling television of the day was being handled like a skeleton in someone’s closet. What’s worse is that sort of thing happens all the time.

Weeks later, I caught John Daly preparing for a playoff with Vijay Singh (the greatest golfer in the world, mind you) by smoking a pack of cigarettes while his muscles tightened up. As expected, he hooked a 3 wood into the water on his tee shot, game over. The announcers did their best to muck it up instead of jamming a camera down there to hear every word being thrown at him. I think his infant son might even have wondered, “Don’t you want to hit a couple of wedges or something, Dad?” Didn’t happen. I had to pick up what I could from in between the commentators ho-hum dialogue. When reality is happening, structured dialogue doesn’t count. It doesn’t register to the ear. Just stay out the way.

Weeks after that, David Toms was caught flipping the incognito bird to some hecklers while scratching his nose a ‘la Geoge Castanza’s waitress. The announcers said absolutely nothing about it while I rewound it three times, boring the wife with my comprehensive thoughts. How could they not have mentioned that? Without a doubt, the highlight of the day and it gets swept under the rug.

Again, folks, when reality happens, you have got fuel it, massage it, and cultivate it, all while staying out of its way. It’s a dance and today’s commentators aren’t properly trained on the steps.

I’m a huge poker fan and I can’t help but think that it could be so much more compelling if the announcers would recognize when its time to zip it. So often, an altercation will erupt at the table and I’ll be dying to know what’s going on. But I have to listen to Norman Chad making lame jokes about his ex-wife. Get out of the way Norman! Reality is happening! Every word these guys utter in disdain. I want to be right there with them with no interference.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the new king of reality television. There’s the walking reality program called, “The Tom Cruise Show: When Scientology Attacks.” Seriously, have you ever seen somebody do more with less? He can take the most insignificant situation and turn it into a half hour train wreck.

I once wrote “In the annals of the ‘Who has the better life after breaking up’ game, Justin’s trouncing of Britney will set the standard forever.” I may have spoken too soon.

He’s a nut job in every sense of the word and she’s as classy as ever. I’m dying for somebody to ask her, “Can you believe you were ever married to that freak show?”

It’s gotten to boycott standards. I want to see “War of the Worlds” bad, I’ll admit it. But I could never hand over seven bucks to that guy. If anything, I’m thinking about heading down there to picket and throw produce at the people in line. Please do me this one service people. If you go see that movie this week, please pay for ‘Rebound’ or ‘Bewitched’ and sneak into ‘War’. I don’t ask for much so please indulge me.

Even though the big dogs are on hiatus, reality keeps trucking along whether it’s forced and saturated or genuine and a little creepy. We’re turning into a reality nation. I think they’re running out of people to cast. I even have a friend filming a reality show right now.

The scope of how big reality will get has no ceiling. It can bend and stretch and mold itself into whatever the times dictate. Just like Weird Al. Its longitude knows no boundaries. It’s huge now and it’s hard to imagine what it could become in the future.

We just have to stay out of its way to find out.