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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."
When are people going to stop allowing the networks to shove this filth down their throats?
"It is not how things are in the world that is mystical, but that it exists." -Ludwig Wittgenstein
Kahhhhhhhhnnnnnnn
Kirk was born in Iowa, not Shatner.
Jeez, geeks these days just aren't what they used to be...
They should team Shatner up with Hasslehoff.
A Space / Beach setting with the Olsen twins thrown in as well... with a reality twist maybe ?
Money baby... money.
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.
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.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach