Reality TV Has Hit It's Apex

“lol Tilt, maybe so.”

“Well, gee, mtngal, what would be the point of putting someone who already lives like that in the show? The point is to see how far the average person has strayed from the way people struggled to survive on the frontier. Folks like Aero's brother would have been able to make it look much easier.

I liked Kristin's line about how it all seemed so romantic before she got there. It's hard enough adjusting to living with someone new 24/7. This will be one hell of a test of their relationship.”

“Any ideas when the Clunes will put in the chinking? I guess they also didn't know to move their damp clothing closer to the stove to dry faster. Might have helped. It kinda sounds like HPM and I are an episode behind some of you. We had a major power outage in our town and saw the intro and first episode tuesday night.”

“When the cold, cold wind starts blowing through those gaps, and Gordon stops whining about how cold it is and gets to it.

There's some chinking in there in the second episode, but not a lot.”

“They are all lucky they're getting out after only five months. Can you imagine the fighting the Clunes would do if they actually had to stay there over a Montana winter?

A) they'd watch their animals starve
B)they'd starve, and then
C) they'd kill each other”

“I think that's how they "score" the participants. they have some historical experts come in at the end in the fall and grade them as to how well they've prepared for winter. Some will have enough food, clothes and sufficient shelter and hay up for the animals and some will be graded "dead by January". There might even be a rating like "First eaten by family", too.”

“The preview showed a guy come in and he was measuring a log pile. It looked as though he was telling them they weren't going to make it with the little firewood they had.

It also looks as though the Klune family will be moving back home. The neice, who was wanting to leave earlier, was shown crying and she was saying that it was sad they had to leave their cabin.

I like the Brooks guys idea about taking in more hay than he needs for his sheep. "I plan on trading my extra hay to the Klunes for milk or perhaps their livestock". He has it figured out.

And, what are they going to do with the cabins when the show is done?”

“Sort of like being voted out of the valley by Darwin.”

“You forgot one, Kleetn:

D) Donner Party Reenactment.

Some Party!”

“I am not sure, but I think the whole thing was only supposed to last only 5-6 months anyway. Anyone know for sure? The pbs.org website wasn't clear on that.”

“Watched the last episode. I must admit we enjoyed it. I was surprised at how much they ended up getting attached to their homesteads...except the wives who probably suffered the most.

My son thinks we could have made it if we tried it. I think my wife would have killed us in our sleep after about two weeks (if that) and danced on our graves.

I learned a lot.”

“I'm not surprised they didn't have enough firewood stored up. I've seen rural people here, my brother included, who seem to be constantly cutting firewood. There are a lot of Montanans that still use wood as their primary heat source and they have massive wood piles!

I think some of the families were right though; they could have made it through one winter, maybe uncomfortably, and learned from it for the next one. The other thing about winters here is that they're generally pretty mild with short, intense winter storms followed by periods of warm weather. Every 10 years or so, there's a long, nasty winter, like in 1886, when just about all the sheep and cattle in Montana were wiped out. That year was unusual with a November rain which turned to ice and covered up all the grass so that when it finally snowed, the livestock couldn't dig through it.”

“It was interesting to see the culture shock when the families returned to "reality." I experience a little of that every time I come back from a backpacking trip, particularly anything longer than a weekender.”

“Those Clunes were SO wacked! They cheated every chance they got. But the cheating was not like they were gonna win some prize...the whole point was to experience life as it was in 1883, not to bring 2002 creature comforts back to the frontier.

Did you check out their new home in Malibu? Holy sheeeeeeeyat! Life is tough, man. I loved Gordo's line about having mowed the lawn twice (as a family - whadafuh?) since they got back.

They tried to act like they didn't care that they scored so bad with the experts...but you could tell it really bothered them. Gordo's "rebuttal" (showing everyone the three packages of meat in the freezer) was desperate.”

“That's what the expert seemed to be saying, and it was advice they all ignored, aero. Got spare time? Then chop wood!”

“I think you had to be half-whacked to take your family in a covered wagon and head West. I thought they all did much better than the average American family would have. Not being able to hunt game messed up the reality assessment in my opinion.”

“Anyone notice Gordons hair implants? For a guy with so much money, he could have found a better doctor to do it. The Clunes are the epitome of snivelization. Especially those girls. Dear god in heaven I hope my daughter is NOTHING like that.”

“Whoops, posted as my husband.”

“Yes, those woodpiles looked skimpy for North Georgia, much less Montana. Gordon's point about pulling the meat out of the freezer was lost on me. Was he going to burn it to keep warm?

I was wondering, how deep does the snowpack get at any one time, usually? I heard there were 10+ ft. drifts up in the Smokies when they had that '100-year storm' a few years go.

I can see how they became attached to the place. They put in so much effort --- an incredible amount for folks these days. And the standard 'Survivor' series lasts for what... two months? These folks were out there for over twice that long. I kept thinking of how each hour on the boob tube came from a whole month on the homesteads, not a week.

Five months! That's a lot of dirty clothes and dishes! It IS a wonder all the men weren't killed in their sleep! <VBG>”

“Their return to the 21st century was kind of depressing. Gordon was struggling with the lawnmower, he hadn't been home much and his kids were already bored with their opulent lifestyle. I liked them better when they were out cutting hay.

The Glenn kid was already zoned out on his Gameboy when they checked back on them. I think he was the one who said during the experiment that he learned "imagination". That really saddened me.”

“Aero, I thought the exact same thing. That kid's empty eyes sitting in front of the TV playing Playstation said a lot. And the Clunes...I thought Tracy had made a turn around to a kid who gained self-confidence and maturity and understood what hard work was about, but it appears that all went by the wayside after the first trip to the mall.”

“I think the Glenn kid's obsession with the gameboy may have something to do with the fact that his father is not living in the house anymore. Can't be easy on him.

I had to change the channel while they were preparing to kill the pig. That's just something I wouldn't be able to watch.”

“SG, Mark Glenn wasn't those kids' dad. And they didn't show the killing of the pig, just the sound of it happening.

The lawnmower thing: I was watching that and thinking, why doesn't he give the priming bulb a squeeze? Then it hit me: he doesn't know it's there.”

“I only caught the last show. The other two must have been better. I bet the first episode was the best. I hope our station reruns them soon so I can catch 'em. I was surprised at the outcome, review wise. I didn't think either of the families with kids would have a slim chance of surviving the winter, especially the crazy nurse/teacher combo.”

“I didn't mind the CLunes that much. I thought they had their (mental) sh-t together better than the pyscho from Tennesse.

HOWEVER, there is no escaping the lack of cut and split wood. Either you have enough . . .or you don't. There is no halfway.

NOtwithstanding the great garden and canning, and neat inventions, chicken coops and root cellar, not enough wood is . . .not enough wood.”

“The first two were better, Sass. The last was just so much recap. I thought the school was a little contrived, but it did give the Clunes some time to be alone. And the Glenns, too, but I doubt if they took much advantage of it.

lee: exactly.”

“The basic problem these families had was motivation--they knew they were not really staying the winter, so why chop a ton of wood?
They lacked the motivation generated by fear.”

“Very true. I'll bet they would not have sold off the horses if they knew that they were going to be there all winter.

I think a more accurate test (but an impractable one) would be to try to stick out the five years that the settlers needed to do to own the land.

I'd like to see that but I don't see how anyone could afford to drop out of everything for that long unless they would really get to keep the 160 acre claim.”

“HPM, can we also add an Indian attack that takes out Karen Glenn and kidnaps the older Clune girls?”

“Sure, why not?

How 'bout a little scarlet fever too? Plauge of locusts?”

“Cholera and a whopping case of dysentary for dessert!

Some folks I work with taped them all so I will see it eventually. I liked the 30 minutes I saw last night.”

“I was saddened also with the Glenn kid back on the playstation. I thought he had a lot of really good comments in the last few shows.

I like the visit from Granny that the Glenn's had. That was interesting.

The meat in the freezer were rabbits they had shot and skinned in Malibu.

I think it would be difficult to readjust real fast mentally after an experience like that. It would change your life in lots of ways.

Hey. Didn't they have mousetraps in 1883?”

“Nope. 1897.

Here's a link.”

“Having meat they shot and skinned in Malibou is not proof that they'd be able to hunt in the wilds of Montana. I have no problems shooting a squirrel in my neighborhood, in the woods is totally different. The same applies to rabbits. City animals aren't afraid of people and don't use caution like rural animals. It's a whole different game out there.”

“Phil ---

Re: The visit from Granny. Exactly WHO was the birthday present for?!!!!!!!

It seemed pretty clear that the birthday present was for pyscho mom . . .and had little or nothing to do with the boy.

(sure, he enjoyed seeing his gramma . . .but let's face . . .the selfish b-tch was really thinking of herself.”

“Kleetn, I was raised by a squirrel hater. I just don't know any better I guess. You'll be glad to know our pellet gun has been broken for the past 3 years. =) And I'd never shoot your squirrel.”

“
Just try to shoot me!”

“lee - I agree with you. But the kid seemed genuinely thrilled and it was interesting. Karen was still trying to please her mother.

Sass - I hear those Malibu rabbits are pretty quick from dodging all those Porsches and Corvettes that drive along Pacific Coast Highway.”

“I Want A Husband: Alaska, FOX-TV this summer.

The series will follow four urban women to head to Alaska in the hopes of finding their perfect mate. During each episode, the women will date on man each and then decide whether to "save" any of the men or eliminate them from the dating pool. Before the men learn which of them will go, they will have an opportunity to propose to one of the women, if they wish to do so.

Someone said the average IQ in America is 100. It must be much lower among FOX executives.”

“nigal,

"It's a free country, but all your posts here at this site are a bunch of television nonsense that only you appear to agree with. Why not post your comments on a more entertainment minded board?

Nobody likes you and your mama is ugly."
Artex”

“Haha! Coming from you Skidmark, I'll take that as a complement. 8)”

“they're showing Frontier House again, woo hoooo! i missed it the first time around, but it was on last night. i guess it was the first episode...absolutely hilarious!! much better than the Alaska meat-market show (or so i've heard). all that woman from TN does is talk about everyone else, LOL! talk about unstable. the coolest people by far are the Brooks.”

“Hey, I just read in our paper that the guy, with the lousy marriage and b!tchy wife, left them and moved back to the settlement. It's right near McLeod Montana and he's working for the rancher whose land they built the cabins on. The rancher said he's a pretty good worker and was impressed with the effort he put into putting up hay last season!”

“Ha!”

“i know, Tarpy, i know...you liked the Alaska show better! to each his own. ;-) heheeee!

so Tilt, you're telling me the marriage between an @sshole guy who yells at teenage girls for being on his property and a totally crazy woman didn't work?? that's nuts!”

“I'm not surprised. He seemed like he conformed the best to the frontier lifestyle, and that he got the most out of it.

Is there a link to the story anywhere, aero?”

“aero, Tilt, whatever...
ha! i always used to get you two confused when i first started posting here, LOL!”

“I found the article
here's an excerp:
He expects to continue to live in Montana at least part of the year, partly because Montanans have made him feel welcome. People like the telephone repairman who, after stopping to chat with Glenn the other day, climbed back out of his truck to ask: "Was your wife as big a pain in real life as she was on the show?"
Or the wrangler at the Roadkill Cafe in McLeod last Saturday night who gushed to Glenn: "You were the
man."”

“www.cnn.com

'Beverly Hillbillies' to become reality show

HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- CBS is resurrecting "The Beverly Hillbillies" as a reality series, Variety reports.

The network will soon begin casting for a weekly half-hour series that will follow the adventures of a rural, lower-middle class family -- yes, there will be a granny -- as they are transplanted from their humble digs to a Beverly Hills mansion. The project is tentatively titled "Real Beverly Hillbillies."

During their one-year stay in California, they'll be afforded a wide variety of luxuries they'd normally be unable to afford, from maid service to personal assistants. They'll also have a chance to earn a substantial income each week, either via a stipend or through some other means.

Cameras will watch their every move as the rural clan attempts to fit in with folks who eat at the Grill rather than use a grill, or who shop at Harry Winston instead of Wal-Mart. And while the series will focus on a group of five or six, it's expected their extended family will also stop by for a visit sometime during their stay in the mansion.

CBS vice president of alternative programming Ghen Maynard said the series will have a humorous tone, though with a respect for the family and some elements of drama.

"It's a great fish-out-of-water story," he told Daily Variety. "A lot of it will be funny, but a lot of it will be real. We want to fnd a family that's different from what most people know but still relatable, a family that loves each other a lot."

The concept was pitched by producers Gary Auerbach and James Jones and veteran documentarian Dub Cornett, and CBS bought it almost immediately.

"It's rare that you hear an idea and in the first 30 seconds, you instantly get it," Maynard said. It helped that CBS still owns the right to the "Beverly Hillbillies" title.

Maynard said that while there will be "some structure" to the show, most plots will come naturally -- a la MTV's "The Osbournes" or E!'s "The Anna Nicole Show."

"Imagine the episode where they have to interview maids," he said.

Maynard said the show is not designed to mock the rural family, unlike scripted entertainment that often takes a dim view of that culture.

"The intent is to be respective but at the same time enjoy the humor that comes from the fish-out-of-water scenario of the show," he said. "We want a family who has a sense of humor about themselves."

Maynard expects to have several episodes of "Hillbillies" in the can before the show launches, but it's possible some future episodes will focus on how the fame of the Eye TV show further changes the clan.

While the family will be afforded numerous luxuries, they won't truly live like millionaires.

"It will be lavish, but not to the point of absurdity," Maynard said.

And while the new "Hillbillies" will borrow the overall structure of the original comedy, many elements of the first show will not be repeated. It's not a given, for example, that the family will get their own Miss Jane Hathaway.

A hotline is expected to be opened within days allowing potential families to audition for the show.

CBS aired the first "Beverly Hillbillies" from 1962 until 1971, producing 274 episodes. The series was one of the linchpins of the network's one-time dominance of rural communities, who tuned in for "Hillbillies," "Green Acres," "The Andy Griffith Show" and other countrified fare.

At one point, the show was TV's No. 1 program, attracting up to 60 million viewers weekly. Buddy Ebsen starred as Jed Clampett in the first "Beverly Hillbillies," while Irene Ryan played Granny.”