'Who's Your Daddy'

[Petra]

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat//articles/1214fox-daddy14-ON.html

NEW YORK - The Fox network said Tuesday it will air a special next month, "Who's Your Daddy?", where a daughter given up for adoption as an infant attempts to guess the identity of her birth father for a $100,000 prize.

The woman who is the focus of the show, not identified by Fox, and her birth father were both involved in simultaneous searches for each other.

Her natural dad will be one of eight men presented to her, all claiming to be her father. She will be given opportunities to observe and interview the men to narrow the field, the network announced.

If she correctly guesses which man is her father, the woman can win as much as $100,000. If she is incorrect, the imposter that she chose will win the money, Fox said.

All the participants felt it was a positive experience, said Kevin Healey, another executive producer.

Fox had been known to be working on the show for months. This past summer, in a public tiff with Fox over competing boxing reality shows, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker revealed Fox was working on the concept. Angry that Zucker had discussed their internal plans, Fox executives wouldn't comment on it.

Good grief.

[Godless Dave]

The funny thing is that Rupert Murdoch leads the industry in producing programming like this while at the same time heavily supporting Republican politicians who rail against the industry for producing programming like this.

[Petra]

Makes sense to me. Their respective successes are interdependent.

Murdoch needs the Republicans to be outraged, because while good publicity is good publicity, bad publicity can be seriously excellent publicity. Audiences are created because people like chasing ambulances, so advertisers buy prime slots bringing in the bigger buck, thereby supporting ever more of these shows which are so cheap to produce and they rate so well. It's a beautiful and enriching thing for Murdoch.

And the Republicans need Murdoch because he *proves* their spin against sin and *Hollywood*, and helps them to further their mandate through just the right balances of schadenfreude, tear-jerking, outrage, righteous gossip, drama and voyeurism as entertainment; and misinformation, disinformation, distortions of reality, warped priorities, soundbites and slogans, etc, as current affairs, news and truth across the airwaves..

They have a most symbiotic relationship, both know it, both love it, and both are constantly helping and rewarding each other in it.

And Joe Public doesn't really care, as long as he gets his 'righteous citizen' adrenaline fix, he's happy and will remain loyal to whomever gives it to him. Like a junkie.

Murdoch and the Republicans are laughing, mate! It's a winning formula.

[livius drusus]

:puke:

[Shaguar]

As a hater of reality TV this does not suprise me, however as an adopted child (a long time ago) it does appal me. On what level is this entertainment ?

[livius drusus]

No level that I can think of. It's a hideous package wrapped in a slimey, disgusting title. I find it genuinely nauseating.

[Scotty]

What a horrible idea.

-Scott

[Petra]

It's a hideous package wrapped in a slimey, disgusting title.

That it is. Well said.

[Goliath]

I'm still waiting for the rl TV version of "The Running Man".

[SharonDee]

I'm still waiting for the rl TV version of "The Running Man".
Yeah, really! If this reality TV trend doesn't derail soon I wonder if that scenario will become more likely.
:scared:

[viscousmemories]

Yeah, really! If this reality TV trend doesn't derail soon I wonder if that scenario will become more likely.
:scared:
When you consider the popularity not only of reality TV shows generally, but of CourtTV specifically and combine that with the historical appeal of public executions, the recent mass jubilation that accompanied Scott Peterson receiving the death penalty, and the constant deterioriation of our civil liberties, I'd say it's nearly certain.

[Godless Dave]

Stephen King is a fucking prophet. "The Long Walk" was a game show, too.

[Shaguar]

Perhaps that great fraud of the 20th century Andy Warhol was right, we will alll get our 15 minutes of fame after all

[Shake]

I almost thought this was going to be a thread somehow involving Pedro Martinez or the Yankees.

Stephen King is a fucking prophet. "The Long Walk" was a game show, too.
The future of reality TV. Good book! Thanks for the reminder. I think that's the only Stephen King I've ever actually read.

[Corwin]

The trend is pretty vile. I saw a commercial on CBS for a new one called 'The Will.' Basically it looks like an extended family sucking up to a rich relative for the prime spot in his will.

It's things like this that make me glad I despise reality TV and never watch any of it.

[SharonDee]

Well, dammit, somebody is watching this crap or they wouldn't be airing it.

We need to stage a Reality TV Intervention, if we can ever find the losers who tune this stuff in. Anecdotally, I can't find anyone in 3D world who admits to caring who Donald Trump chose.

Weird.

[dave_a]

The funny thing is that Rupert Murdoch leads the industry in producing programming like this while at the same time heavily supporting Republican politicians who rail against the industry for producing programming like this.

Ok, who has some 411 on this?

I think we all recognize the Fox News channel as being something somewhere between a right wing propaganda piece to a right leaning news source.

Fox, the network, however seems anything but the same. This is the channel that provides us with 'The Simpsons' among many other things where in one episode in 2000 Bart can be seen writing "Vote for Gore" on the chalkboard.

I believe it was "Outfoxed" where some of the early personalites associated with Fox News indicated they were free to be journalists in those days, but then Rupert decided to excercise more control and they became the right wing mouthpiece they are today.

It would seem Rupert has not decided to take editorial control away from the local fox stations as of yet.

As for the 'reality show' phenomenon I must admit I love it. I love it for 2 reasons. In the case of shows like 'Survivor' I think it does a really good job of capturing the true essense of who the people participating are. We get to see how strongly they hold to their ethics or how quickly they abandon all pretense of having any ethical system in favor of doing whatever it takes to win. I consider Survivor to be very well editted in that it communicates an accurate view of each contestant.

Other reality shows like the one where midgets (aka little people) are in the show and to mix things up the male midget gets to choose between a fellow little person and a 'big' (read normal sized) female are obviously over the top sensational.

Shows like this are so obviously there for sensationalism that it is fun to watch the dregs of humanity prostitute themselves for the chance at some money.

Then there are those shows where a family is selected for a home and life renovation. I find those interesting because I like looking at the houses that get built in one week. I also think making each bedroom fit the personality of the occupant is an interesting concept although likely a shortlived one.

I also find myself wondering how this family is going to afford the upkeep and property taxes on a home clearly beyong their financial means.

So, I do like some of the reality shows, although perhaps not for straightforward reasons.

One thing I would love to see would be a "Where are they now" documentary on winners and losers of these reality shows. Those who got married on a reality show, what is their relationship like today? Those who had a home built for them in a week, what defects have shown up a year later? Those who won millions of dollars are they still well off today or are they living in a cardboard box?

[Godless Dave]

For a REAL episode of "Who's your daddy?", watch Maury Povich.

[Shake]

For a REAL episode of "Who's your daddy?", watch Maury Povich.
:hysteric: :happy: :roflmao: