If not for the fact that sources of copper and tin ores might be hard to find, I’d like to see a Survivor-type show where the focus is on how far a knowledgable group can take their settlement instead of wasting their time on mini-games and back-stabbing.
I just wish they’d bring back “Battle of the Network Stars”. I have fond teenage memories of Jan Smithers (from WKRP) in spandex.
My wife thinks I should do a reality show where I mount a camera to the dashboard of my car and drive around and record myself mocking all the idiot drivers out there. Believe me, there’s plenty for a full season!
A friend of mine once suggested a reality show called “What Would Jesus Do?” where you put people in situations where they face impossible moral dilemmas, and see what decisions they make.
I would love to see a reality show where people have to come together rather than pull each other apart.
Sinking Ship.
A group of 10 people are put into the bottom of a ‘ship’. There is water coming inside the room. Their challenge is to get past an obstacle with everyone. They can ‘leave people behind’ but that lowers the prize. All 10 of them will get a share of the prize no matter how many get to to the life boat. It will be a much bigger prize if they get everyone there.
Mmmmmm… Battle of the Network Stars… spandex… gay or straight, an early 1980s teen boy’s best friend…
I was interested in Survivor when it first came out until I saw that the challenges where straight out of Legends of the Hidden Temple. I have never seen an entire episode.
You might want to see what you can find from a series called Ethics in America (wikipedia link). It was on PBS about 20 years ago. Each episode would have a panel of people from some particular field, and the moderator would craft a scenario and get the decisions of the participants to move it forward. The episodes on the military had folks from William Westmoreland down to a sargeant. One of the best series in the history of television.
My other idea was “America’s Next Top Reality Show Producer”. You take twelve contestants and they compete to imagine and produce the most entertaining reality shows. The winner, of course, gets the opportunity to produce that reality show.
“Dustin Diamond Does Danger”-
Dustin Diamond is paid $20,000 to be dropped into a live volcano. He’s assured that it’s safe. It’s not. Worth.every.penny.
Real World - the 40s
A bunch of strangers in their 40s are thrown together in a deluxe Manhattan high-rise. Reading and falling asleep to Seinfeld and Soprano reruns ensues.
Oh, yeah. I saw one of the episodes. Man, those were wicked. Apparently, the lack of sleep was the real killer. This one woman said she started hallucinating during the mountaineering segment.
I wish they would re-run them.
Actually, in all seriousness, I think a show where teams of world-class athletes compete in a sequence of made up but basically serious sports… so they have to invent the strategies and skills necessary to play this particular sport on the fly… would be quite entertaining.
I like your idea but i would change it a little.
If you can make it there.
12 people are dropped off on the streets of New York with the clothes on their back. Period. They have to become as successful as possible. Each week the least successful is sent home. The twist is that the contestants can’t use their resumes or connections to get a job or a place to stay. If you’re a Harvard graduate, you can’t use that fact to get a high paying job. Also you can only use money you earned while in New York. Other than that, anything (legal) goes. Convince someone to let you sleep at their house, good for you. Wanna earn money playing a guitar, better find one first.
Pretty please?
Johns: Ten male contestants each are issued a cash bankroll and set loose on the appropriate street of town to solicit the favors of charming ladies of the evening. The winner is the one able to negotiate and consummate encounters with the most ladies before exhausting the bankroll provided (going to the ATM is cheating); points are deducted if you catch a disease or get rolled, and the bankroll will not be replenished.
I don’t remember who first suggested it, but I’d watch a reality show where fathers of young children have to take care of them themselves for a month. No wives, mothers, or any other helplful female friends to pitch in.
You try grocery shopping with a baby, a toddler, and an active five-year-old, pal.
America’s Next President. Register a third pary in each state and then have an American Idol type competition where the public gets to vote on who is eliminated. Winner is the third party’s cadidate.
I’d watch this one, and What Would Jesus Do, especially if some of the contestants were fundamentalists.
I’d also watch a “Think You Could Do Better?” show. Take a client or customer who complains about how someone’s doing their job and let them give it a try. It’d be cathartic for people who constantly hear people say “I wish I had your job!”
Cat House. People move (one or two at a time) into a house with 70 kitties and have to feed, litter, and care for all 70 as well as keeping the premises clean enough to pass surprise inspections and keeping the cats from killing each other.
Bailout: The Series
Follow around the richest CEOs for 6 weeks and see what they actually do to earn all those big bucks.
I could be a superstar on that show. I don’t do it all the time by myself but I can take care of ANYTHING besides breast feeding for extended periods (days, weeks, and beyond) and have done it for years. My wife had to travel a lot when our daughters were tiny and I had no prior experience but they are doing great at 6 and 2 years old respectively. The only really hard part is the endurance of not having someone to switch off with when you get tired but that is sex neutral. You post is more than a little insulting in that regard. I know for a fact that plenty of men can and will do it when they need to.
I too would love to see a Survivor show where people simply tried to survive on an island as long as they could. The only real rules would involve felony type things against the other contestants. Otherwise, everyone just tries to hold out as long as possible, forge bonds, invent solutions etc. Real death should be rare but being “voted off” would simply be summoning a rescue helicopter when things got too bad for each contestant. The show could run for 30 days or 30 years but there should always be plenty of material.