Who you voting for, Willis?
This fall, reality television will again make its tawdrypresence felt on the networks’ fall lineups. We’re infor another round of “The Bachelor,” “JoeMillionaire,” “Survivor” and “AmericanIdol.” And when the fall flops start to get yanked, there aresure to be a number of new reality TV shows to take theirplace.
But the whole trend has worn out its welcome. It’sbeginning to sound a bit tired and derivative.
Perhaps because of the stagnation in reality televisionprogramming, the state of California – the nest from whichmost American entertainment trends hatch – has provided uswith reality series where the ante is upped a notch –reality, well, reality.
Since July, the nation has been caught up in the reality dramaof the summer. Will Governor Gray Davis be voted off the”soon-to-be-island” state by an alliance hatched by hisconservative opponents?
And no wonder this story has caught our attention. Let’sreview what the networks are offering as alternatives…
Cara and Abe were tossed out of the RV on “RoadRules” making way for another two obnoxious”roadies.” Ho hum.
Don proposed to Christena with the help of his three brattychildren on “Who Wants to Marry My Dad?” Aren’tdating shows sad enough without dragging children into the mix?
And the nation is still waiting breathlessly to see how Jameswill react when he realizes that he’s picking over a henhouse of potential dates with some “bad” heterosexualeggs on “Boy Meets Boy.” And you thought “JoeMillionaire” was a cruel joke.
The premise has become standard and the surprises canned.Let’s face it, there’s only so many times you can watcha gaggle of love-starved losers throw themselves at a potentialmate before the idea loses its entertainment value.
So evolution has modified the formula. Since the date for therecall election was set in California, a gaggle of vote-starvedcandidates have thrown themselves at the electorate. Nowthat’s entertainment.
The media has beaten the comparison of the California recallprocess to the hit show “American Idol” into the groundfaster than Simon Cowell with a starry-eyed, off-keyingénue. But with potential future governors ranging thegamut from Hustler publisher Larry Flynt to former child star GaryColeman, it’s a comparison that’s hard to leavealone.
A glance through the 135 candidates on the ballot sounds likethe roster for Big Brother 4. You’ve got the actor, theAmerican Indian tribal chairman, the discount cigarette retailer,the used car salesman, the retired cop, the sumo wrestler, the golfpro and, of course, the porn star.
The likeness is strangely appropriate. Maybe the tropes ofreality reflected on entertainment have a little bit to teachreality about itself.
No election in recent memory has received as much heatedwater-cooler discussion, and voter turnout is expected to be highas voters show up at polls as much to participate in anentertainment event as to perform their civic duty.
The recall election has made a farce out of California’sgovernment, but at the same time it has more citizens talking aboutthe democratic process than ever. Their interest may be shallow,but Sacramento’s legislative suits may have stumbled acrossthe way to get citizens – especially young ones –excited about elections.
But with all these candidates, its unlikely that voters willknow anything more about their choices than they would about theRepublican and Democratic party candidates in a regular electionyear.
What the state needs is an enterprising young televisionproducer who would be willing to take reality television’sreflection onto reality and put it back on television. Think”Who Wants to be a Governor?”
In all seriousness, there may not be a better way to give all ofthese candidates a way to present their platforms. Even the mostserious candidates with past experience in government are likely tohave their message drowned out in the media circus focused on theelection.
So line them up in front of a panel of former campaign managers,have them participate in campaigning “contests” –events like debating, speech presentation, planning a budget — andthen have the managers eliminate those that aren’telectable.
For instance, they would likely toss out Gallagher, who seems tohave already forgotten what state he is running in by makingfrequent campaign stops in Washington, D.C., to make room forcandidates with more serious platforms to bend the public’sear — candidates like Mary Carey, who promises that, should she beelected, she will make lap dance revenue tax deductible.
While the idea would never pass the elections board, it wouldmake deciding whom to vote for in this mess more than a crapshoot.Now we just need to find judges who can deal with theseover-the-top personalities.
What’s Simon Cowell up to?
�
