Comics I Don’t Understand

Worst Reality Show EVER

Cidu Bill on Sep 6th 2010

What’s really scary is that Put Him in Camp Bucca is probably giving Fox ideas.

Filed in Bill Bickel, television | 23 responses so far

23 Responses to “Worst Reality Show EVER”

Detcord Sep 6th 2010 at 02:27 pm 1

Aw, come on. I’ll be the participants get a BLAST out of it.
David N Sep 6th 2010 at 02:39 pm 2

Depends or Fruit of the Loom would seem to be natural sponsors for this …
Lola Sep 6th 2010 at 03:19 pm 3

I hope that any American soldier in on is brought up on charges for dereliction of duty, court marshaled, demoted to private and dishonorably discharged. I can think of no feasible instance where this could be considered professional behavior. If there is, I’d love to hear what it is.
Fett101 Sep 6th 2010 at 05:22 pm 4

Winning their hearts and minds?
Frank the curmudgeon Sep 6th 2010 at 07:47 pm 5

As bad as some of the fox reality shows can be, the is more in keeping with an ABC,CBS,NBC special investigative report.
Dr. Shrinker Sep 7th 2010 at 12:30 am 6

It’s not that ridiculous an idea. I was once contacted by some producers trying to put together a reality-show version of the Stanford Prison Experiment. (Don’t remember it? Wiki link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment)
Winter Wallaby Sep 7th 2010 at 01:49 am 7

Dr. Shrinker, on that note, here’s the game show version of the Milgram obedience experiment: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124838091 .
James Pollock Sep 7th 2010 at 03:18 am 8

I would probably watch a reality TV version of either the Prison experiment or the obedience experiment. The highlight of each week would be which prisoner is voted out (by viewers) and which guard is made into a prisoner.

For the obedience experiment, we’d tell the person with the electrodes on that they win prizes if there’s no shock and they get the other contestent to stop turning the dial higher and pushing the button. If there is a shock, they get prizes based on how high the shocks go. Then we’d tell the person with the dials and the buttons that the electrodes may, or may not, be delivering a shock… and they win a prize for how soon they quit if the shocks are real, and for NOT quitting if the shocks are fake. Then, we randomly decide for each round whether to shock or not. If the button pusher chooses correctly, they stay for the next round. If they choose incorrectly, the shockee stays.

I can write up a treatment. This show would be a natural to follow “Wipeout” on ABC.
Gilgamesh Sep 7th 2010 at 03:45 am 9

I find humor in things that many people don’t, but I am mystified when humor is found in the fear or pain of others.

It is disturbing people would see people in stark terror as in the Camp Bucca show or in pain, such as something striking a man in the testicles as comedy.

Is it another example that we are only highly evolved killer apes?

We may be Homo sapiens, however we are a long way from being Homo superior.

Dr. Shrinker & Winter Wallaby, if you haven’t already read The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, by Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist who designed and ran the Stanford Prison Experiment, I heartily recommend it.

Zimbardo discusses both the Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram Obedience Experiment in fascinating detail in the first part to the book, then he relates the results from those events to the Abu Ghraib debacle.

I wish we could sit down and have a lengthy discussion about it, Dr. S & W.W., and whomever else interested. When I try to talk with the people around me, all I get are: “Huh” and “Now, what the hell are you talking about.” My only recourse are forums, face to face is a dream.
Kilby Sep 7th 2010 at 04:36 am 10

There are times when being “out of the loop” has definite advantages.
Gilgamesh Sep 7th 2010 at 05:01 am 11

One advantage is lower blood pressure.
Keera Sep 7th 2010 at 01:43 pm 12

Ah, that explains my steady 120/80. I refuse to keep up with popular culture. Except for what I’m exposed to here.
Igelino Sep 7th 2010 at 02:24 pm 13

I’m with you Gilgamesh. I don’t know where he gets it, but my son laughs at accidents and at bad moves in video games. I suppose it’s a human trait.
Winter Wallaby Sep 7th 2010 at 10:16 pm 14

Gilgamesh, thanks for the book recommendation. If you’re particularly interested in the Milgram experiment, he’s written a book, “Obedience to Authority” that’s quite a good read. He describes lots of experimental variations, and has many fascinating interviews with the experimental subjects. It was written a while ago, so no discussion of Abu Ghraib - he had to use the My Lai massacre instead.
Morris Keesan Sep 8th 2010 at 05:00 pm 15

I’m constantly amazed that people (celebrities and others) will allow the producers to air the videos of them being humiliated, on programs like this one.
Kilby Sep 8th 2010 at 05:36 pm 16

@ 15 - Bad publicity is nevertheless publicity, and as such is still valuable, at least to some extent.
paperboy Sep 8th 2010 at 05:52 pm 17

David#2, don’t you mean a sponsor would be “Fruit of the Loons”?
Morris Keesan#15- “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” - Lindsay Lohan
Dr.Shrinker#6- I’m sticking my neck out here about that “Stanford Experiment”, ’cause I’m only going by an interview on Fresh Air by what I GUESS was the leader of the experiment, who, when asked about specifics of the awful behavior of the “guards” listed “arbitrary changes of schedules” and “forced naked leap-frog”, where (gasp!) the “naked genitals of the leapers brushed against the other’s foreheads”. He also said the turning point came when his fiance observed what was going on and proclaimed it really awful. (”Oh yes,dear; you are right; this IS awful, I’m shutting it down right now, yes, dear…”) Perhaps this Zimbardo guy ended up, after spending the grant money, with a bunch of fraternity hi-jinks and had to account for the spending. Yes, I’ve yet to seek out REAL documentation on that notorious incident, but it seems it may not be the final take on human’s easy slip into brutality.
Molly J Sep 9th 2010 at 12:25 am 18

Gilgamesh — This is why I can’t watch American Idol and the like. The initial rounds are like a scene from Carrie. Some poor soul thinks (s)he can sing, thinks they have made it through all the rounds of auditions and are now about to get that big break on national TV, thinks fame and fortune found following a dream is just around the corner.

What they get is an audience booing and Simon Cowell sardonically removing their heart on national television, in front of everyone they know and don’t know. They get the slow realization that they have been set up. Big time.

And this is entertainment?
CIDU Bill Sep 9th 2010 at 12:49 am 19

It must be, Molly, based on how many years “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was defined by home movies of children falling off swings and men getting hit in the crotch.
James Pollock Sep 9th 2010 at 02:01 am 20

It turns out there’s a scandal in the British talent shows, where the “good” performers were made to sound better and the “bad” performers were made to sound worse by the producers.

Videos of other menfolk getting hit in the genital region is funny because it hurts. Blame Mel Brooks (”Tragedy is when I stub my toe, Comedy is when you fall down an open manhole.”) You have to wonder how many faked tapes they got, where guys TOLD little Junior to let them have it for a shot at winning the cash prize… I saw at least once where they ran a “best faked videos” segment, and they were pretty obvious.

Then again, just about ANY Japanese game show is more brutal… etched in my brain is the one where two guys stick their heads in a basket… and they pour in a bucket of scorpions.
Gilgamesh Sep 9th 2010 at 06:56 am 21

Thanks for the tip about the book, Winter Wallaby. I added it to my wish list in Amazon. I’ve been thinking for a few months now about reading up on the My Lai massacre. I am as fascinated by the the people who commit the atrocities as I am by the people who risk their lives to stop them.
David A. Rooney Sep 13th 2010 at 07:14 pm 22

Geezer Alert - I remember watching an show called “The Gong Show” which actually looked for truly atrocious acts to make fun of. Ain’t nothin’ new on TV for decades.
James Pollock Sep 14th 2010 at 05:41 pm 23

The Springer show is apparently entering its 20th season…