a new kind of reality (show)
Hey, have you heard the one about the reality show where people on the transplant list compete for a dying woman's kidney?
No, really. It would be a tasteless joke if I were trying to be funny, but this is real. And it's still tasteless.
It's called "The Big Donor Show," and the main story is that a dying woman in the Netherlands is going to pick one of three contestants to get one of her kidneys. Apparently, the Dutch network wants to put a spotlight on the organ-donation crisis. And the Dutch government is allowing the show to air, saying that to halt the broadcast would be censorship.
But really, can you picture it? Syrupy music behind soft-focus video montages of the three contestants hugging their children, kissing their spouses, fighting their illnesses ...
And then a Dutch version of Ryan Seacrest standing next to the dubiously lucky three, taunting them: "I'm sorry, Mr. So-and-so, but ... you won't be ... learning your fate until after the break!"
To be honest, I bet a lot of American producers are kicking themselves right now for not thinking of it first. Sure, the idea is crass, tasteless and pretty despicable, but it's not all that far removed from another popular reality phenomenon: "Extreme Makeover."
I've always found that show to be over the line, exploiting people's self-esteem issues and body-image insecurities in the name of sensationalism. And I speak from experience -- I myself used to have a facial deformity that was corrected through extensive reconstructive surgery involving titanium jaw joints and coral implants. I know the pain of looking different, of feeling alien in my own body, and I have no interest in watching anyone else's similar emotions sensationalized to make a network a few easy bucks.
Still, I wouldn't ask the government to keep "Makeover" off the air, and I wouldn't stop "Donor Show," either. If networks -- here in the United States or anywhere around the globe -- want to broadcast this kind of slime, they should go ahead. If people want to watch it, they should feel free.
And after all, that's what freedom of expression is all about -- just because I find something tasteless doesn't mean it should be taken off the air. If that were the case, "Fear Factor" would never have been picked up. (That gem was created by none other than Endemol NV, the people behind -- surprise! -- "The Big Donor Show.")
As for me, I'll stick to kinder, gentler reality shows, like the new Fox show, "On the Lot," or Bravo's "Work Out." Or, better yet, drama and comedy series with little to no basis in reality.