It's all happening on the reality-TV front. Such is the constant swirl of information and outrage about reality-TV concepts that I'm obliged to give you a weekly update.
The impact of reality series continues to astonish and amaze -- Donald Trump is on the cover of Newsweek because The Apprentice is a big hit and, on Monday night this week, Fox's My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé had a solid lead in viewers over CBS's powerhouse hit comedies Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and A Half Men. Network executives are once again getting a big ratings buzz from short-run, gimmicky reality series and they're not going to give up the habit any time soon.
The Bachelorette (ABC, CITY-TV, 9 p.m.) has its series finale tonight. Meredith chooses between two chaps. The program will follow the now familiar routine for such shows. The central figure will take the two final contenders to meet the family. There will be retrospective material about all the romantic dates and the emotions expressed. The network will stretch it out for two hours, hoping to keep viewers glued until the very last second.
Soon there will be another edition of The Bachelor and the next Bachelor guy is Canadian-born. That's sure to drum up interest in this neck of the woods but I think we're seeing the end of dating-and-mating shows that follow the old format.
The reality shows that are garnering attention are far more lurid. The more lurid or strange the concept, the more advance attention it receives. That guarantees free publicity and, even if that publicity doesn't translate into huge ratings, it's a gamble that American network executives are willing to take.
Right now, there is a heck of a battle about a proposed series for the UPN network (owned by CBS's corporate owners Viacom and run by CBS executives) which ventures into the dangerous territory of religion. The working title for the series, scheduled to air in the summer, is Amish in the City. It has its origins in a ritual experience for Amish adolescents called rumspringa and the idea is that teenagers from the isolated, untainted-by-modern-life Amish communities are allowed to experience the modern world before deciding if they want to remain Amish in their adult lives.
The plan is for the UPN series to film several 16-year-old Amish youths as they live with non-Amish teenagers and experience the shock of contemporary urban life.
The mind boggles, and leaders of the Amish community are understandably angry. In fact, some 50 members of the U.S. Congress have written to CBS/UPN boss Les Moonves, asking that the series be scrapped. Moonves says the series is going ahead.
There is a possibility that the proposed Amish series could be one of those touchstone examples of insensitivity that bring lurid reality-TV series to a halt. Anybody who makes their living from expressing opinions and analysis of the culture knows that taking on religious topics is guaranteed to raise the sort of ire that cannot be contained. It's going to be very interesting to see if Leslie Moonves sticks to his guns on this one.
In the meantime, NBC has paid a record fee for the rights to air The Contender, a gladiator-style boxing show. The concept comes from reality-TV king Mark Burnett, who created Survivor and The Apprentice. The Contender will feature 16 young men who fight each other in the ring and the last man standing will be the winner. Apparently Sylvester Stallone is also involved as an executive producer and may appear on the show, using his Rocky persona to act as mentor to the young pugilists.
While this might sound like yet another ghastly reality-TV idea, what's truly interesting is the bidding war for The Contender. It has been reported that NBC was willing to pay $2-million (U.S.) an episode and that it beat out bids from ABC and CBS. At $2-million an episode, the series is more valuable than any reality series, drama or sitcom in network history.
Obviously, somebody expects to still make a lot of money from sensational reality-TV, especially if it involves a bunch of guys beating the bejeepers out of each other. We're not talking dating, rose ceremonies and romance any more. That's old-school.
Airing Tonight: The Corporation (TVOntario, 9 p.m.) is the current glamour-puss left-wing documentary, igniting fierce reaction from the right. This is the three-part TV (continuing next Wednesday) version of the doc that had a theatrical release and did surprisingly well in theatres, not only for a Canadian production, but also for a documentary.
Made by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan, The Corporation is visually stunning, lively and sharply provocative. It starts by noting that a corporation is designated a legal person under law. It then asks what sort of person the average major corporation might be. Just so you know where the filmmakers stand, the answer is "psychopath." Over the three hours, the point is continually made that most major corporations have no morals when it comes to doing business.
The first hour tonight is sprightly and funny. It opens with footage of George W. Bush declaring, during the spate of American corporate scandals a few years ago, that there are "some bad apples" in American business. This phrase is mocked relentlessly. Soon, the usual suspects are rounded up -- Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore and Naomi Klein. CEOs are also given room to talk about the nature of corporate business. It's an uneven debate. But that's the point of The Corporation -- it doesn't hide its agenda to expose the evils of corporate business practices. Fortunately, it does this with some wit. Over three hours, the jollity becomes terribly forced, but at least it attempts a sense of humour about a very serious topic. You'll love it or loathe it.
Dates and times may vary across the country. Please check listings or visit http://www.globeandmail.com/tv
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