William Shatner to Star in New Reality TV Series

Gildor writes "The small town of Riverside, Iowa has long billed itself as the birthplace of James T. Kirk. So they were thrilled when William Shatner came there to film a Star Trek prequel about the early life of Kirk. Except there was no movie. After about 9 days, Shatner announced they were actually filming a reality TV mini-series."

Comments

Too much reality tv

[benna]

When are people going to stop allowing the networks to shove this filth down their throats?

shitener

[s4m7]

I've never seen any celebrity with so much contempt for the fanbase that made him famous as Shatner. It's pretty friggin funny though.

I wonder where the guy is who's sitting around thinking "you know what our fall lineup needs? another reality show!"

When people stop watching them?

[brunes69]

The networks are out to make money, not be your friend. They wouldn't be airing reality TV if they didnt make money at it.

However, the profit margins on a reality TV show are MUCH higher. They don't have to pay expensive actors, they don't have to build or maintain sets, they don't need to hire extras from the screen actors guild, etc. They can even usually do product placements *on* the shows to make more money.

Then you have shows like American Idol - not only is the show cheap, but afterwards, they have an artist that is guaranteed to sell at least a few records - and they don't have to spend any money promoting them!

The marketers that convinced the masses to watch these shows are pure genius. And the networks are laughing all the way to the bank.

Re:When people stop watching them?

[Nyder]

you are the one missing the point, benna. People watch it because they enjoy it. You do NOT obviously enjoy it, so I assume you do not watch it. If people didn't watch the show, they wouldn't make it, or if they did make it, wouldn't make money off of it (because networks wouldn't show it if they get too many complaints). That how tv works.

But crying about peoples bad taste, and trying to tell others not to watch it because YOU don't watch it is lame and selfish.

I personally don't watch much reality shows because I think they are stupid. So I watch other things on TV. Very simple, I just change the channel.

Everyone has different taste, the networks try to make money by showing stuff the appeals to some majority of people ('cept niche channels, like food, so on). They cannot please everyone all the time. hell, they can't please most people most the time. That's why there is feedback and Nelson ratings and so on.

So it's very simple, you don't like a show, don't watch it, complain to the network hosting the show, complain to the company producing the show.

But DO NOT try to blame people for watching the show. People are allowed to watch what they want, even if you do NOT like it. I know it hurts to hear that the world does no evolve around you, but it's true. I'm sorry.

Early life of Kirk?

[dougmc]

So they were thrilled when William Shatner came there to film a Star Trek prequel about the early life of Kirk. Except there was no movie.

So, what role would Shatner play here? Kirk's dad? Shatner is almost 40 years older than he was when he first played Kirk. I hope you weren't thinking that they could pull off 40+ years off of Shatner to make him seem even younger than he was when Star Trek started (he's 73 now. He was around 35 when Star Trek started.)

I guess it would make sense for Shatner to have a cameo in whatever Trek show they might make about Kirk, but he won't be playing Kirk in any prequels :)

But reality TV? Blech. I'd rather have a 73 old old Shatner trying to play a 30 year old Kirk :)

People are not merely means

[gilroy]

This isn't a "good thing all around". It's a terrible thing. Basically, a bunch of people in "the biz" decided it would be funny to fool a small town community. They came in, lied, manipulated, and essentially disrespected these people, then decided that their trust was worth about $100,000. The donated money is a bribe, plain and simple, to buy off the feeble stirrings of conscience in Shatner, et al.

I see this happening more and more, and it's starting to get to me. People aren't here for your entertainment. Real people aren't the Sims, for Pete's sake. They don't go about their lives just to relieve the tedium of yours. It's a bad thing to treat people as if they were just means to be used in achieving your ends, whether that's something cartoony grand or as mundane as filling half an hour of that gaping void that is your life.

People are not means only.

I don't care that they got "genuine reactions" and "true feeling" and all that other crap that producers of shows like this believe justify their deceptions. In the end, a bunch of Hollywood types decided that small town people can be easily duped for the entertainment of a jaded national audience.

And for all those who asked, back when the reality craze fist hit, what harm Survivor etc. could do... well, here we are. These people didn't volunteer for the reality show; they were impressed into service, kidnapped.

Re:People are not merely means

[gilroy]

Blockquoth the poster:

One person got paid $5,000 for nine days. The town made $100,000. In two weeks. Not bad. Let's just ssee how it plays out.

It's not about the money. It's about the license taken by the producers. Those people weren't paid for their reactions on a reality show. They were paid for help in producing a movie. If they had known the ultimate destination of the footage, they might have been OK with it. Or they might have demanded more money. Or they might have chosen not to participate. The point is, they were denied that choice. In essence a fraud was perpetrated on them.

(And don't give me any of those "people play pranks on their friends all the time" lines. These people weren't friends; they were business associates. It matters.)

Re:When it stops being cheap.

[UnrepentantHarlequin]

people WANT to watch realityshit.. sad truth.

Actually, I think more people than not want to watch something, they don't really care what it is. I know people who just flip through the channels trying to find something worth watching. They're not in front of the TV because there's a show they want to watch -- they're there because it's their default mode of existence, and they try to find a show they can tolerate watching. I suspect a fair percentage of the "reality" TV watchers are the same: they're watching it because it's what's on, not because it's anything they would watch if there was something better competing with it. The creators make it because it's cheap and easy, so it's what's on. The viewers are making a choice between "reality" TV and no TV, not "reality" TV and something else worth watching.