Modified On May 19, 2008
A sharp-eyed MPLS reader sent us a link to a story in the Star-Turbine by Neal Justin. No shock that we find out that the “reality” series is rigged.
Following the Minneapolis auditions, judges Brian Baumgartner and Kate Flannery, stars of “The Office,” went behind closed doors, presumably to come to a consensus.
When they returned after more than a half-hour of deliberation, I was stunned by their choices. So was Acme comedy club owner Louis Lee, who has some of the sharpest ears in the business.
Turns out they weren’t working alone. The two admitted afterward that producers played a significant role in making the final call and that they were frustrated that some of their favorites were passed over.
In an earlier season, when Drew Carey and Brett Butler went apeshit for the cameras after their choices were bulldozed, we weren’t sure if it was theater or genuine controversy. Either choice looked bad for the show and the show’s producers. (It was bad theater or it was fairly contrived controversy.)
Justin wonders aloud, “These tweaks are nothing compared with the quiz-show scandals of the 1950s. But I do think it’s time to reserve the title of “reality” for only the purest of documentary shows. The rest belong in a new category: Tainted TV.”
But we wonder just why they feel compelled to frame the entire show in the way they do– in the now-hackneyed “reality” format. Why not just bill the show as a contest (ala Star Search), cast the show with whomever you’d like to see compete (with input from agents, managers, suits, etc.– all behind closed doors) and then have a damn contest.
Cutforth and Lipsitz are capable of producing quality reality television (Top Chef), so it’s a mystery as to why this one is so hamhanded and obviously rigged. (Perhaps it’s the meddling from NBC.)