( CNN ) -- Sometime around the mid-1990s , the reality show was born . Since then , the genre has taken the world by storm : Audiences continue to love these shows and they cost next to nothing to make ( cheap video , cheap sets , amateur `` actors , '' etc. ) . So the profit margins are huge . If you 're a producer , what 's not to like ? Of course , there are few who would have much positive to say about the artistic values involved . Still , we seem to find reality riveting . Until it comes to America 's space program . Here , general audiences greatly prefer fiction . The much-anticipated film `` Gravity , '' for example , opened in the United States this past weekend to rave reviews and a record-breaking box office take of $ 55.8 million . Ask anyone on the street , and chances are they are aware of the film , or at least have heard something about it . 5 things that could n't happen in 'Gravity ' Then consider : Two weeks ago , a Soyuz rocket launched the next astronaut crew to the International Space Station and there was barely a collective yawn , because practically nobody in the general population knew or cared ! Why do general audiences love `` Star Wars , '' `` Star Trek , '' and other science fiction films , but do n't seem to care about what is going on in real space exploration ? Here is my take on it : . 1 . We 've made it look easy for so long that the only time people pay attention is when there is an emergency or an accident . People got used to everything going well . That 's boring to them . I have to admit that I ca n't sit through films of myself doing spacewalks . We did n't mess anything up , or go floating off into space to a slow terrifying death , so where 's the excitement ? 2 . Reality space exploration is done by professionals . The back and forth between astronauts and mission control is intentionally succinct and to the point , with no unnecessary emotion . Better to watch an exciting reality TV show with name calling , hair pulling and other tantrums ! Who knows what will happen next ? 3 . Reality space hardware does n't look cool enough . I was training for my third space mission when Michael Bay and crew came to NASA to film parts of `` Armageddon . '' Later , I had a chance to visit a set in Southern California during additional filming . I have to say that their fake space suits , spacecraft and other hardware looked very cool indeed , much more cool than the reality stuff I was going to use ! 4 . The physics of reality spaceflight are also boring . Orbital mechanics can be quite complex . Maneuvers and orbit changes are performed precisely and deliberately , and take some time . Much more exciting to have spacecraft `` fly '' like winged jet fighters in space , like in `` Star Wars . '' How boring would those battle scenes have been had their maneuvers been technically accurate ? What Buzz Aldrin thinks of 'Gravity ' Nonetheless , the actual experience of spaceflight trumps all movie cool . There is nothing like working hard in a space suit helping assemble a space station , while every now and then stealing glimpses of the surreal view of continents and oceans rolling by below . There is nothing like riding a rocket to orbit , or watching the plasma glow envelop your spacecraft during entry , as bits of burning heat shield go flying past the porthole . There 's nothing like approaching a space station and actually flying the spacecraft to a docking . I 'll take reality space any day . Now , having said all that , I have watched `` Gravity . '' Ignoring technical inaccuracies , I enjoyed it . And I am newly grateful that NASA had no such technical inaccuracies during my flights . Watch for my review ! The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Leroy Chiao .
Leroy Chiao : Americans love reality shows . When it comes to space program , prefer fiction . He says `` Gravity '' well known , but do people care a crew just rocketed to space station ? He says we 're inured to space flight , movies make it look , sound cooler , less workaday . Chiao : Truth is , space travel trumps all movie cool . Spaceflight surreal , thrilling .