An alternative opinion, I think.

As I warned you I might, I am going to attempt to put one of my Articles for the Lone Oak News Letter up here. Just for fun this one is the one that will appear in this coming Friday's paper. It's a bit longer that usual but you can still say you read it here first. :D


Alternate Opinion


Man, do I hate these so called ‘reality shows’. I know why the networks love them, they don’t really have to pay any writers to work on them so they save money. Plus they can depend on all those idiots out there who haven’t got a life of their own…or at least what they consider an ‘exciting’ life, to tune in to get their voyeuristic rocks off.
Yeah. I know. I just offended darn near everyone out there, cause who hasn’t tuned in to one or more of these stupid shows. Oh, and just to make sure that I’ve offended everyone, I count these newer ‘contest’ shows as part of this voyeur T.V. The dancing shows, the singing shows, all of those. Admit it. When you tune in to these you hope you see someone crash and burn. You may pick a super fine one or the really ugly one but you pick one to be ‘you’ and that’s the one you back with your votes. Votes that help pay the producers that put on the show.
I’m on this rant because I couldn’t find a darn thing on T.V. last night that was any good. Which left me with the boob tube on to this house guest show thingy while I waited for the show I wanted to watch to come on. Honestly, I was never so glad to be toned out by the Fire Department pager. Can’t say more than that or the HIPPA people will fine me into a hole I can’t climb out of.
Now, my biggest gripe against these so called reality shows is that they are being called ‘reality’. Especially the first one that came on. The one called Survivor… whatever place they do it in. Now as I understand that one the basic idea is this group of folks is stranded…as on a deserted island… and only the ‘strongest survives’. Bull droppings.
I honestly don’t believe that is how it would work out for real. Not unless the people involved were sociopaths. Because in a real reality, that torch snuffing at the end of each show would be someone actually dieing. Dead.
So just imagine you are actually on a deserted island with a bunch of people with various talents. Would you really want to start killing each other off like that? Would you even divide up into tribes? I don’t think so. I don’t think folks would divide up into ‘tribes’ unless there was a hard line disagreement on where camp should be set up. I also believe, deep in my heart of hearts, that the stronger would help the weaker and listen to the smarter or more experienced.
I really don’t believe the goal of a bunch of stranded folks would be to try to be the only one who survived the experience. I even came up with an idea for an alternative survivor type show. Well, hey, I am an alternative type person after all.
In this show the goal is for as many of the ‘cast aways’ to make it off the ‘island’ as possible. The protagonist, in this case would be the producers, for if all the contestants survive and work it right, then the producers would be out more than a million bucks.
The cast away group can start out as two tribes, each with a ‘magic’ pot of one million. That would be split evenly among them. They lose a member from the tribe that money goes with them. Literally. They can earn more magic, mojo, (money) for the tribe to share or for themselves in various ways. The winner of the games set up by the producers gets to send one member of the other tribe into solitary. Lets call it a trial instead. The chief of the tribe can elect to take the selected members place if he/she thinks they won’t ’survive’, or he/she can choose to go along as a ’spirit guide’ or send a ’shaman’ as one. The ’spirit guide’ can’t do anything but make suggestions to the member on trial. The trial can be finding a ’totem’ or other prize that will be an advantage to the tribe. Maybe the same goodies the other tribe won.
Now the kicker will be that the tribes will eventually come together and share the money remaining in both pots. Maybe, sometimes the prize they work for in the contests will be more mojo (money) for the pot. Now, they could complicate it by saying that the ’chief’ and ’shamans’ would get a bigger cut of the pot as long as they are the chief or shaman. Maybe, say that if the chief or shaman, or anyone ’saved’ someone they got a portion of that persons split. These two could always be voted out of office and only keep what they earned ‘saving’ someone else. But anyone who ‘survived’ a trial would come back not only with goodies for the tribe but a personal bonus big enough to ’pay’ for the help of the ‘spirit guide’. These trials would be the networks chance to whittle down their own losses by getting rid of contestants. But we would be watching the show so they couldn’t get too unfair about it.
Yeah, I know. That would mean that the ‘opposing’ tribe would have to help the ‘enemy’ by NOT selecting the weakest one to go on trial but the one most likely to succeed! Because after all if that member fails the trial, he/she is ‘dead’ and gone with whatever ‘wealth’ they had earned as well as their share of the tribes pot. On the other hand, if they survive they will bring back more for their tribe and thus eventually the later, joined tribe. Also those within the tribes would have to do their best to keep the other tribal members there, or see part of their tribes mojo walk away.
I’m not clear on all the details. I just want to see a reality show where everyone can walk away a bit richer than they started. A show where watching it can teach us about really surviving in the real world, about making and maintaining relationships in tough circumstances. Where we can watch a group of diverse individuals come together as a tribe to beat an over reaching power (the network putting on the show) out of something they don’t want to lose (their money).
Yeah, I know. The above would not be that much closer to a true ‘reality’. But, I refuse to believe in the reality portrayed by these reality shows we are already seeing. I don’t like that reality. It’s mean. It’s cruel. And it would mean that everyone is out to stab everyone else in the back just because they don’t like them or because they are in the way. Even those who help them get to where they can ‘win’. That isn’t the way the world should work. That isn’t the way we should let it work. I want to believe we humans are better than that.

Oppsy! I saw a couple of things I had to correct. Now I have to contact Peggy so she can fix the copy in the newsletter!