[EMAIL PROTECTED] This is so repellent! Just makes me gladder than ever that I never watch TV! Amy
> I find it amazing that someone could seriously see American game shows as > some > kind of test for survival in "post-apocalyptic" times! Please! I will > warrant that perhaps the stress of high gas and food prices, coupled with > lingering exhaustion over terrorism and Iraq, might make these brain-dead > shows > a good escapist route for some. It would appear a lot of younger people > might > indulge in some of the new batch of game shows, especially during the > summer > months when they're not in school. I also know the networks push them on > the public with ever-increasing fervor, since they're cheaper to mass > produce than those pesky scripted dramas or comedies. The suits are like > crack > dealers nowadays. So escapist fare in tough times when people are staying > at > home more? Okay > But some kind of primer for survival? No way, unless our skills to survive > amidst nuclear waste infested lands teeming with giant cockroaches and > flesh-eating mutant zombies depends on being able to take a cream pie to > the > face, or deal with Joe Rogan's annoying presence! > > > > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: "ravenadal" > www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-reality-tv-0728jul28,0,2191741.sto > ry > chicagotribune.com > > Tough times bring meaner game shows > > By David Zurawik > > Tribune Newspapers > > July 28, 2008 > > Summertime TV has been dabbling in game shows and contestant > humiliation since 2001, when NBC debuted "Fear Factor" with an > episode > featuring players lowered into a pit filled with rats. > > But this year, the networks have taken their game to a whole new level > with programs that show competitors getting punched in the face and > falling into a pit of mud as they try to climb an obstacle-course > wall-or players dressed like bugs getting slammed against car windshields. > > One entire series is built on the premise of contestants being forced > to eat rich foods like clam chowder or cream pie until they are > stuffed-and then put through physical paces intended to make them sick. > > While some might say yuck, millions are eating this programming up. > > ABC's "Wipeout," a Tuesday night series steeped in mud and based > on a > Japanese program, is the highest-rated new program of the summer with > about 10 million viewers a week. And almost half that audience is made > up of adults 18 to 49 years old, the demographic most attractive to > advertisers. > > The bug-on-the-windshield series, ABC's "I Survived a Japanese Game > Show," is not far behind in popularity with 8 million viewers a week, > and an even larger percentage of young fans in its audience. > > While analysts and producers acknowledge the appeal of mean and the > lure of get-rich-quick narratives in these uncertain economic times, > they also see the shows speaking to other deeper cultural concerns as > well. > > 'Tough enough?' > "The appeal on one level involves ridicule and laughing at the > other," > says Sheri Parks, a University of Maryland, College Park professor of > popular culture. "But I think some of the shows are also about > survival in almost an apocalyptic sense. They ask the question: Are > you tough enough to survive in these times?" > > Whatever the reason, their appeal is widespread enough that cable > channels are getting in on the nasty game-show act, as well. In July, > Comedy Central premiered two new entrees, including a parody of the > burgeoning genre that seeks to have it both ways by mocking the > formula and exploiting it with its own hapless contestants. > > "The Gong Show With Dave Attell" revisits the mean-spirited 1970s > show > hosted by Chuck Barris that mocked wannabe performers for their lack > of talent-and became the template for the tryout episodes on Fox's > "American Idol." > > "Reality Bites Back" follows the remake on Thursday nights with 10 > comedians competing in parodies of such series as NBC's "American > Gladiators." They don't just crack wise about the hand-to-hand combat, > though. They engage in it, as well. > > And there are more such series on the way. One of the most intriguing, > "Cash or Capture," is scheduled to debut in November on the red-hot > Sci Fi channel. Like "Wipeout," it is based on a Japanese > series-this > one featuring a group of contestants competing for cash prizes while > being stalked by a group of hunters. > > Mark Stern, executive vice president of original programming at Sci > Fi, thinks his series will connect with viewer interests on a variety > of levels. > > Escapism a big appeal > "Winning the cash windfall is obviously a big part of the wish > fulfillment of any of these game shows or reality shows-especially > during times when things are tougher for people economically," Stern > says. "But I think the bigger appeal when times are tough is escapism. > People really want to be taken out of their lives and transported to > other places. They want to escape, to go someplace else and not be in > their lives-and I think that is part of the appeal of the > larger-than-life reality shows." > > "Cash or Capture" is intended to look and feel like a video game, > according to Stern, and that virtual realm is where he and the > producers want to take their target audience of young viewers who grew > up with and continue to play video games. > > Shirley Peroutka, professor of popular culture at Goucher College in > Baltimore, sees a definite connection between the TV game shows that > feature contestant humiliation and video games in which characters are > abused on screen. > > "It is not in the least surprising that what teenagers are playing at > on their computers screens now becomes a successful new form of TV > programming," she says. "The combat, the meanness, the one-upmanship, > the laughing at others' misfortune of these shows are all there in the > video games." > > Analysts say the trend will continue-if for global economic reasons, > if nothing else. Such shows are cheap to make, and they travel > incredibly well. > > Ridicule is universal > As the University of Maryland's Parks puts it, "Ridicule translates > across cultures." Endemol, the company the produces "Wipeout" > for ABC, > has opened an office in Turkey where it is now producing a local > version of the game show for that audience. > > And countries such as Japan and Britain offer what seems to be an > endless supply of new programming for American TV. > > "In exploring Japanese and British reality TV, what I found so > interesting about those two societies is that they are so regimented > and structured in their social orders, and yet their reality > television is pretty out of control," says Sci Fi's Stern. > > "For viewers in those societies, reality TV is a real release, and it > seems like that's the safe place for those societies to go in terms of > being out of the box and vicariously living through those characters. > > Stern praises Japanese reality TV in particular for having "so many > shows that are surreal or strange or really push the envelope." That, > he says, "is the kind of stuff we're looking for here." > > The Baltimore Sun > > Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.5.6/1577 - Release Date: 7/28/2008 6:55 AM
