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Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Reality: Stranger than fiction
When the current reality avalanche began, many TV columnists pondered just how extreme the craze would become.
We wrote what we thought were hilarious articles about faux reality shows that might feature dog beauty contests and worm-eating contests. Then what to our wondering eyes did appear but shows exactly like our funny fauxs.
So I’ll never try to carry this genre to a fictional extreme again. Fiction about reality can never be as strange as this reality itself.
Take a gander at the latest entries coming to a channel near you in October.
“He’s a Lady” will feature 11 men undergoing feminine transformations in order to see how their wives and girlfriends live. Photos accompanied the press release for this show, debuting on TBS on Oct. 12, and trust me when I say it is not a pretty picture.
TBS, which would never exaggerate, dubs the show “hilarious and heartwarming.”
The guys will be decked out in wigs, makeup and clothing (including bras) and given tasks for some sort of competition. At the end of the series, a celebrity panel will judge them in a pageant, and a winner will collect $250,000. The panel includes actor Morgan Fairchild and former pro-basketball player John Salley.
You’ll never know how relieved I was to read the list of contestants and find no one from Austin in this “competition.”
Coming to NBC on Oct. 19 is “The Biggest Loser,” hosted by comedian Caroline Rhea. This one promises a makeover the old-fashioned way, through diet and exercise, for a dozen seriously overweight contestants. No liposuction, stomach-stapling or other invasive surgical procedures allowed.
The six men and six women will be divided into co-ed teams and ushered through harsh workouts and encounter alarmingly cruel temptations. At the end of each week they will be weighed individually and then tallied as a group. The team that loses the least amount of weight has to vote a person off.
The person who loses the most weight at the end of the series wins $250,000. NBC is billing this as a semi-serious health and lifestyle series. If you can’t wait for the premiere, NBC has thoughtfully posted a preview on its Web site.
I guess we should be grateful there are no more “Smallest Groom” shows on the horizon, but the upcoming reality lineup is still pretty scary.
Not Really Naked …
Fox has ordered a pilot for a variety show starring the Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies. The show proposes to feature the often whimsical rockers performing music and comedy skits with the help of guest actors. The show will include the band’s quirky ad-libbed banter for which they are known in their concerts.
The tentative title is “The Barenaked Ladies Variety Show.” No premiere date yet.
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