# British Reality Show Co. Brighter Pictures Can Bite Me Over and Over **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 31, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724 "2003-10-31T20:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/1 "2003-10-31T20:51:41Z")
LONDON (AP) - A television station said Friday it had shelved a reality show that set up six male contestants with what appeared to be a gorgeous woman but was actually a transsexual. The program, “Find Me A Man,” challenged the contestants to woo a leggy South American brunette called Miriam. Only at the end of the show did the men learn that Miriam was a preoperative transsexual. The law firm Schillings, acting on behalf of the six men, wrote Thursday to Sky One television and Brighter Pictures, makers of the show, alleging conspiracy to commit a sexual assault, defamation, personal injury and breach of contract. Schillings demanded that the program, provisionally scheduled to be broadcast next month, be shelved. Media reports said all six men had signed release forms consenting to the footage being shown, but before Miriam’s secret was revealed. A spokesman for Brighter Pictures told Broadcast magazine producers had made a point of never referring to Miriam as a woman when getting the men to take part. “As Miriam is a transsexual, I would never refer to her as male or female. She is a gorgeous creature,” the spokesman told the magazine. Brighter Pictures is a subsidiary of Endemol, the company that makes “Big Brother.” —“Sexual assault, defamation, personal injury and breach of contract?” Oh, and Miriam? Does the word “Quisling” mean anything to you? ---
**Author:** ![TVAA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TVAA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVAA)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/2 "2003-10-31T20:59:32Z")
Wait, I’m confused. Which side are you Pitting, again? ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/3 "2003-10-31T21:03:59Z")
I believe the men and their lawyer’s. I believe that **Eve** is transgendered? If not, please smack me hard with something. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/4 "2003-10-31T21:07:24Z")
I am pitting: • The production company for making such an abomination of a show • The law firm and its clients for implying that any man unlucky enough to be “tricked” into dating me would be suffering from sexual assault, defamation, personal injury and breach of contract • And Miriam, for making us look like a bunch of total assholes in the name of her camera whoredom. In short, I can’t think of anyone in this sorry tale I am _not_ Pitting. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/5 "2003-10-31T21:09:09Z")
Well, they’re stupid for setting it up in the first place. Someone could get killed (see Jenny Jones) over something like that. Fucking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![TVAA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TVAA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVAA)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/6 "2003-10-31T21:11:29Z")
Ah. What a refresheningly broad Pitting. I concur on all counts. (Replacing the word ‘me’ in the second point with ‘Eve’, and ‘us’ in the third point with ‘transgendered individuals’.) ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/7 "2003-10-31T21:12:20Z")
Every time I think the media has sunk as low as they can go, they somehow manage to sink lower. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/8 "2003-10-31T21:17:54Z")
Feh. Standard British reality show crap. Why is this any different from “Joe Millionaire” or that fake “Lapdance Island” thing? Watching people humiliate themselves on television is an international pastime. Given that the episode of the ITV show “Man and Beast” featuring forty “dwarfs” playing tug-of-war with an elephant was shelved because the animal rights people complained, it seems that only the threat of lawsuits and picketing is slowing (N.B. not “halting”) the rapid slide of television into complete scatophilia. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/9 "2003-10-31T21:21:15Z")
“… and the music in the show… we’ll just play Vivaldi!” ---
**Author:** ![MrMyth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19b73/32.png) [@MrMyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMyth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/10 "2003-10-31T21:21:35Z")
Yeah, I ran into this story on another board I frequent, and I immediately thought of ho pissed **Eve** was gonna be when she got wind of it. I think the biggest ass in the whole debacle has got to be the girl at the center of it all. There’s no show without her willingness to sell herself out, no lawsuit, no hurt-pride idiots claiming rape all of a sudden. She shouldn’t have allowed herself to be exploited. Hell, she didn’t just exploit herself - she exploited a whole segment of people without their permission. But she’s screwed herself, because now her picture is all over the internet. No more dates for you, miss. Ever. And I hope you lose all your friends too. If you ever had any, you self-centered fuckup. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/11 "2003-10-31T21:29:34Z")
. . . And now I see that most news sites are putting this in the funny “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!” section, because transsexuals are _funny_, people!! _Get_ it? We’re hilarious, undateable freaks who have no business trying to meet men! Ha-ha! I _really_ need to punch someone’s lights out right now. I _hope_ someone tries to mug me on my way home. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/12 "2003-10-31T21:41:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > I _really_ need to punch someone’s lights out right now. I _hope_ someone tries to mug me on my way home. Mugged by a destitute short balding overweight transsexual gay man? Ha! That’s funny! ☹ This post not written by a destitute short balding overweight transsexual gay man. I think. I’m pretty sure. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/13 "2003-10-31T21:50:53Z")
That’s appalling. And so sadly true that transsexuals are treated as walking punchlines by the media. **Eve** , if I were in New Jersey, I would offer you a cup of tea, a footrub with lavender oil, and a Lillian Gish DVD to make you feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/14 "2003-10-31T21:53:04Z")
A Lillian Gish DVD!??!?!?!??! I mean, I have Birth of a Nation on DVD, but as a comfort movie? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/15 "2003-10-31T21:58:44Z")
Huh. This may very well be the only reality TV show I’ve ever heard of that made me think, “Hey, I’d like to see that.” Which is kinda depressing. I always thought that I didn’t like reality TV because it was too trashy. Now, it turns out that I wasn’t watching because it wasn’t trashy _enough_. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/16 "2003-10-31T22:07:25Z")
Who is Quisling? 😕 **Eve** , that sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/17 "2003-10-31T22:14:39Z")
[Vidkun Quisling](http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/q/quisling.asp), the Benedict Arnold of Norway. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/18 "2003-10-31T22:25:08Z")
A Sky show via a production company e.g. cable and satellite only and owned by one Rupert ‘Dirty Digger’ Murdoch. We all know _that_ deal . . . no idea who approached who to make it, though in normal circs the production company would have punted it to Murdoch’s team. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/19 "2003-10-31T22:42:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*In short, I can’t think of anyone in this sorry tale I am _not_ Pitting. \*\* Ah, so you’re batting for both sides then. [sub]I couldn’t resist.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724/20 "2003-10-31T23:01:04Z")
It’s a tough selection, but I think the “contestants” and especially their solicitor are the most contemptible. [Exhibit A](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/31/uquiz.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/10/31/ixportaltop.html): > [@](#): > > Rod Christie-Miller, from the solicitors Schillings… “But when they got to Ibiza they found that Miriam had been foisted [sic] upon them,” he said. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-reality-show-co-brighter-pictures-can-bite-me-over-and-over/210724.md?page=2)