It reminds me of that scene from the Dark Knight movie when the joker says on live television that unless a certain person is killed within the next minute, a hospital will blow up. Chaos ensues.

Hating schadenfreude,

Inannawhimsey

I had to go scan the article to make sure it wasn't an April Fool's joke ... but it sadly doesn't seem to be.  This is absolutely unbelievable.  That an employer would think this is okay is frightening.  Only in America ... Only on Fox.

Every time I see this kind of stuff I am reminded of Lord of the Flies and the image of Piggy's glasses lying in the muck.

There is something fundamentally wrong when exploiting misery is encouraged and, in the case of television, glamorized.

LB - so disgusted I can't even find the words to rant

Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.    

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

I know why networks like reality tv, it costs virtually nothing to produce.

but i cna't stand it.  I don't watch any, well unless you count Iron Chef which I think is a hoot.  Especially the Japanese dubbed one.

It is the same mentality that loves to watch accidents and fires. 

I agree, this tv show seems to hit a new low.

It is why the few dramas that are on TV are so popular.  the public craves actual writing and acting.

LB,

While reality tv is cheap for the networks to produce, it wouldn't last if the public en masse refused to watch it.

Sadly, that's not the case. In Lord of the Flies it was boys acting like savages - now it seems it's the adults who are feral.

This dinosaur will join you in that prehistoric swamp. I will jump in wearing my cheesecloth dress, love beads and sandals from the late sixties,  to the strains of Bob Dylan singing "The Answer is Blowing in the Wind". As I disappear below the slime, I'm hoping to hear Joan Baez singing "We shall Overcome" for nostalgia's sake.

You are welcome in my swamp Pilgrim and we shall pluck water lilies and wear them in our hair...

although I suggest hip waders - which are not quite so conducive to frolicking but will protect the toes from the snapping turtles.

Oh, back on topic:  cheap is no excuse for crap - in my humble opinion

LB - who can have cheap fun any day

Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores.    Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Pimgrims Progress - beautiful choice of songs.  Does that date us!

I watched the first series of survivor (the one where Richard (somebody) won).  That was it.  Even when a hometown boy was on a later series, I couldn't bring myself to watch.  When my sister, and others, raved about "Jon & Kate plus eight" I watched an episode to see what people were talking about.  I couldn't stand to see those people exploit their situation.   The same about the family with 17 children - I think it is 19 now.   Police live action shows - I really can't believe this is entertainment or in reality how most police work is done.  Most of those doors being kicked in must be staged.

And now - people choosing who will be fired.  And I'll bet they do a close up of the employee being told.  Real funny.   My daughter once worked for a company - one day the employees were called to a meeting and told that they had one hour - all the eastern branches of this company were being closed.  My daughter was one of the few kept on for awhile to close out the office - everybody else were told when to return to pick up personal items and to leave.  My daughter reported seeing a young man ,who had just brought a home and whose wife had just had a baby, sit and cry.  Others were bewildered, upset, frightened, angry.  Entertaining - no!   And this scene is being repeated time and time again all over the country now.   Reality TV.  We get enough in real life.

Does anybody take FOX seriously?

Our PM takes it seriously.  He asked them for an interview so he could sell Canada.

It's a wonderful irony that at this time when TV technology is making leaps forward - into the fully digital HDTV and Internet streaming realms - the quality of TV shows produced is desperately seeking out rock bottom.

Wow you guys are a bunch of cynics, eh? lol

I love reality TV. But there's good and bad - well done, entertaining, and downright foolish. I adore "Project Runway" and "The Amazing Race" but would never watch "Celebrity Apprentice" or "Rue Paul's Drag Race" or "Wife Swap" - much less the new TV-firing show or Jerry Springer or Maury. "American Idol" is one time the whole family gathers around the TV for a fun-filled two hours. We love it.

And the quality of TV is ok, imho. Great sitcoms like "30 Rock" and wonderfully-written dramas like "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy".

And folks....it's FREE!

 I've stopped watching most TV, haven't had cable for over 10 years, and now don't even have my bunny ears hooked up.  When I'm on business trips I channel surf and seem to always end up watching some sort of reality TV.  It's like a train wreck.  You know it will be horrible, but you can't seem to help yourself watching it.

This one sounds particularly painful, but probably no more exploitive then all the other stuff out there.  People keep watching it though.  What does that say about us?

LB,

About this communal swamp for those of us who aren't impressed with reality tv shows -  wearing water lilies in our hair is one thing, but I have to say no to the hip waders. (Far too practical, and not romantic enough for those of us who enjoyed the swinging sixties - that's right, isn't it seeler?)

kenziedark,

What does that say about us? It says we need to start living our own lives, not someone elses. Get off the couch, as there's a whole world waiting out there. Instead of getting  vicarious excitement from someone else's misfortune we could try and learn from our own.

Pilgrim we could paint flowers on the hip waders and make them funky.

For me, the problem with these shows is two fold; the public humiliation of people and the showcasing of the worst of human nature.  They remind me that we have not, as a species, moved very far from our ancestors and the floor of the collesium.  We just think we have because this form of entertainment is bloodless but to me it is just as cruel and dehumanizing.

And why is it always the "average" Joe who gets thrown into the lion's den?  Why not a reality show where we can watch TV executives, bankers and corporate  CEOs get the axe,  booed off stage or arrested?

LB

When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the
     People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer
     forget who robbed me last year, who played me for
     a fool—then there will be no speaker in all the world
     say the name: “The People,” with any fleck of a
     sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of derision.
Carl Sandburg, I Am The People, The Mob

Stick to the National Georgraphic or Discovery channels, lb or you'll be running for the swamp on a steady basis!   If my choice is to watch muck or wade in it...pass the gumboots...

Come on over ABPenny.  I'm thinking I can make waders out of hemp - strong, durable and environmentally friendly!

LB - I just have to figure out how to avoid the helicopters

I have seen an episode or more somewhere sometime. I hate it. What a waste of time and sometimes so cruel too. One has to be really insensitive to watch some of the rubbish.

I hardly watch TV anyway nowadays...except winter evenings...prefer some sitcoms, nature programs and the weather channel.

This show is sick, it's only a matter of time until we have people fight to the death on pay-per-view

We have this new reality show that comes on just before a show I really like. Even the last five minutes upset me. It's a show for "couples" - who have to vote off other couples to win some silly, but expensive, prize.

Oh, it's very "modern" - the couples are young, old, straight, gay - the only thing they seem to have in common is that they're equally repulsive.

I don't get reality shows. I find them confusing and unentertaining. When I first caught Doctor Who I was blown away. FInaly! A really good sci-fi drama! Best thing since Star Trek NG and Northern Exposure finished. And it is expensive to make for sure.

My prehistoric swap would contain elements of Threes Company and MacGuyver!

And mine would contain elements of, well, Doctor Who. Started watching in the 1970s (Jon Pertwee, the 3rd Doctor) when it first made it's way across the pond. Haven't seen much of the new series, but like what I've seen and think Tennant would probably be in my top 3 or 4 Doctors if I saw more of him.

As for reality TV, I don't watch these sorts of reality shows. For me, reality TV is Mythbusters and other Discovery shows, documentaries on Newsworld, etc. The "voting people off the island" school of reality TV just doesn't do it for me, the "Bachelor" school are just gussied up dating shows, and the "Idol" school are just a high profile revival of "Star Search".

Got sucked into "18 and Counting"  in an attempt to understand how anyone could cope with having so many offspring.  Now I know.  Get a tv crew to film you to pay the bills......

I'd join you guys in that swamp if it wasn't for the snapping turtles.   I'll just do my best Joan Baez impersonation from dry land.

Mendalla, you simply must see more modern Dr. Who. And I supose likewise, I must see more of the original. We took some out the library  a year and a half ago. It was ok, but seemed pretty lacking after first hooking on to the current one. I think David Tennant is excellent. I can hardly contain my excitement to see the last 4 episodes of his. I've followed his story right through. The heart wrenching separation from Rose, twice, the guilt of not being able to love Martha, and all the exciting, humourous , romantic and dangerous situations he gets into and handles with such finesse, and sometimes, utterly human-like failure. What a show! I hope the new doctor will proove as entertaining. He's got some pretty big boots to fill.

OMG. Prehistoric dragonflies are montrous! Eep! I loathe insects with a passion. Can I prehaps have a mosquitoe net before I go wading in any swamp?

As for watching corporate America (axe) murder their employees? This appears to be a dog eat dog world and the image of self-destructive Americans never ceases to amaze me. It gets more grotesque & down right evil. This is why I do not watch TV. It is a mind killer (except for Discovery Channel).  I follow nothing the United States has going. Everything inevitably ends worse than it started. Hello, anyone remember George W.? 

if.i.were.a.boy! YOU FOOL! I JUST GOT HIM OUT OF MY MIND! NOOOO!!  TT_TT but any ways, American tv aint all that bad, sure MOST of it'll rot your brains (well not literally, but if you think half of what is going on in it to be true then there isn't much difference)......O_O  HOLY CRAP! I BET GORGE W BUSH'S PRESIDENSY WAS FOR A TV SHOW!!  IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!

You are so cool. Tell me, do you only like the new series or the original, the one that started in 1963? I grew up on Tom Baker but I think Sylvester McCoy may be my favorite. I love Torchwood too. My little girl (9) is a fan of Doctor Who except she can't watch Torchwood.

Every time I see this kind of stuff I am reminded of Lord of the Flies and the image of Piggy's glasses lying in the muck.

But let's be honest Piggy was pretty much asking for someone to bust his chops all he ever did was eat his way out of any responsibility

Did someone toss your coke bottles in the mud as a kid

Reality shows are realistic in their depections of idioicy

For someone who does not watch it you guys sure know a lot about it

Jesou, It doesn't take much watching to have seen it all.

Jon 71, I haven't watched much of the original. I started on the fully fledged modern version, so the original seems a bit rickety to me. I think I shall have to give it a better chance though. I like the occasional Torchwood episode too. It was a bit violent for me when I first tuned in, but I've tried it again now and then and enjoyed a few episodes, the ones with less blood and guts! I really like it when they tie the two serieses together, that's neet!

Eleanorgold, you should watch Battlestar Galactica. Truly awesome sci-fi drama. It's over now, but you may rent it.

I'm all for reality television on the Discovery or National Geographic channels.  And quiz shows like Jeopardy are fun...even the competitions like "America's Got Talent" and "So you Think you can Dance" are okay (but not Idol, where almost no one has talent and everyone thinks they can sing). I hate the shows that are dragged into the filth of human pettiness though...Big Brother and Bachelorette spring to mind. And Jon & Kate. *shudder* Anything on TLC...won't watch it. Don't exploit your private lives for public viewing!

Lord of the Flies was a scary book...

Dubya was president just to make reality TV...great premise, but too bad everyone took it seriously. And yes, people do take Fox News seriously. Some Republicans take the Colbert Report seriously, for heavens sake!

Reality shows are becoming the equivalent of the gladiator fights and man eating lions of the ancient romans. And historian writing of that offered the opinion that people watched these because they had contempt for the worthless beings they were, and so enjoyed watching people getting the pushments and humiliations they secretly knew that they deserved.

I'm not sure that's quite it. But I have noticed that the people who enjoy watching others be humiliated are those who sense they are themselves worthless.

graeme

Although it must be at least 30 years since I last read Lord of the Flies, I feel that I must speak up for Piggy.  It seems to me that he was the most intelligent boy on the island.  He was the one who tried to have them draw up a list of who was on the island - he went around asking the little ones their names.  But no one else was interested - and nobody knows how many little ones might have simply disappeared - wandered off, got lost, fallen down a crevass or into the ocean - because no one knew how many were on the island.  He was the one who tried to get things organized - and who insisted that there should be a signal fire.  He was the one who was willing to share his glasses to start the fire - but who also needed them to see.  But the others were no willing to share (one of the basic tenants of survival of the group).  His glasses were broken and he was left near blind and helpless.  But they had already decided to make him the first victim of their bullying.  He was not as physically fit as the others - with his poor vision and his breathing difficulties - but he could have been a valuable member of the group had they stopped to appreciate what he did have to offer.

Yes, I agree. Those rotten little sods who bullied Piggy must have sensed they were worthless. Piggy's only misdemeanour was that he was overly fond of visiting the tuckshop.

You think that is sick. Well there is or was a reality show in Spain that had contestants who where terminal ill.

The idea was that each week they would have 4 terminal ill people go on TV and plead their cases to be given money to travel to another country like the US and have new experimental treatments paid for that might extend their lives for a while.

After the show viewers would vote like they do on American Idol to decide which of the 4 terminally ill people would get a chance at recieving the new experimental treatments. Not only would the people with terminal illnesses appear on the show, but their families (parents, siblings, spouces and children would also appear to make pleas)

Also the TV show would then have rights to film their treatements and follow them through the process, and then afterwards as they were dieing.

I saw a report on it  a few years ago and am not sure if it is still around.

 Alex. That is just a sick reality!

 It seems to me that he was the most intelligent boy on the island. 

If that were the case he would have been smart enough to bargain

You know get some "protection" from the other guys like they do in prison  before he used his glasses to start the darn fire.

It does teach a lesson though ... Don't be like Piggy

Seeler, it was an incredible film/book wasn't it.  It was wordless shock, horror and emotion to me. I was speachless after. Still am apparantly.

Kappa, thanks for the tip! I'll look for it.

Alex, I saw a man die on tv in England. It was a documentary about death and belief in the afterlife. The Englishman had agreed ahead of time to be interviewed and filmed when his time came. He just slipped away. The exact moment of death was unclear, but his wife knew. It was educational, and done respectfully, but still uncomfortable. It should be a solemn moment in private.

Next you'll be saying don't be like Jesus............. He got crucified.

Nicely said Pilgrims Progress, William Golding would be happy to know someone got the point of his novel.

LB

Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.    

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

Yes...one of the frightening aspects of the Lord of the Flies was the triumph of the wild, savage mob against the only voice of reason that they had, and the complete scorn of those boys. A chilling portrayal of the "innocent" state of nature.

I think the Gladiator analogy is apt; I wonder how long it WILL be before someone dies on a RTV show, either accidentally or intentionally...

The funny thing is that, even as we're plumbing the depths of human avarice and stupidity and schadenfreude, there are SOME TV shows that are trying to elevate the medium, such as The Wire, How I Met Your Mother, Battlestar Galactica, all employing complex narrative structures and multi-leveled presentations.

Well, maybe for the really exceptional TV there has to be some kind of foil or else it would be all mediocre? Don't get me started on my love for Battlestar Galactica (though I resist the rabid fandom)!

Eleanorgold, if you want to watch the show, I would really recommend starting from the pilot episodes for season 1 and watching them chronologically...it is hard to enjoy the show otherwise because it is really one long story arc till the very end.

Next you'll be saying don't be like Jesus............. He got crucified.

Ya gotta admit  .... not too bright an idea though

You don't think he was a little mad not getting any CNN coverage though ?

Jesus didn't need CNN - His life and deeds gave Him all the coverage He needed!

Jesou, I gotta ask - is your tongue permanently stuck in your cheek??

Kappa, Chilling, that's the perfect descriptor word. Good sentence all round. That's what I felt, chilled, about the innocent state of nature. Yup.

It put me on my toes.

Jesou, I gotta ask - is your tongue permanently stuck in your cheek

Yes and for totally innocent reasons

It is all too true;ones pleasure is anothers pain...

http://www.stonedmonk.ca

for A Monks Reality!

there was a book by lewis mumford,, The City in History, which touched on the reality shows of their time, the displays of brutality and humiliation in the arenas of the roman empire.

he noted the stands were full of the common people of the city, most of whom  had no work, no value, no place. At death, they would simply be thrown into great pits of mass graves,

This theory is they must have had utter contempt for themselves. They enoyed the "games" because they enjoyed watching others get pumishment and humiliation they knew they deserved themselves.

I immediately thought of the WWF and of the Jerry Springer Show.

History repeats itself.  (Except for being thrown into great pits of mass graves - we now have pauper's funerals.)