# The most sadistic show on televison **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 17, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248 "2004-12-17T01:33:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/21 "2004-12-17T05:14:44Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > I understand that point. So why is it that if the producers are preying on people, there aren’t major organizations calling for boycotts, suing the network, bring suits for indecency? There’s been an adoption avocate and an avocate/author (Adam Pertman & Joseph Kroll) trying to convince FOX not to air this show…that’s a start. [http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1214fox-daddy14-ON.html](http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1214fox-daddy14-ON.html) ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/22 "2004-12-17T05:27:10Z")
Like I said, I don’t watch these shows. Though I’d rather people spend time energy fighting for those being used with no chance of fame and fortune. And if the “contestants” truly are morons, I doubt the shows would get a full run out of them. Or do you mean short-sighted and looking for easy cash? Moron has a very specific definition. _I’m noticing an ever increasing role of Devil’s Advocate lately_ ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/23 "2004-12-17T05:27:21Z")
> [@YWalker](#): > > I heard about the premise of this yesterday on the radio, and I agree it’s absolutely sickening. I thought they’d hit rock bottom with “The Swan,” but obviously I’m wrong. > > The only thing sicker is that I heard about it on Rush Limbaugh. He, of course, said that the show ought to be moderated by Rev. Jesse Jackson. And the panelists should be Bill Clinton, Kweisi Mfume (I think), and the real father. > > Way to slander somebody, Rush. Not Strom Thurmon? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/24 "2004-12-17T05:36:36Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > And if the “contestants” truly are morons, I doubt the shows would get a full run out of them. Or do you mean short-sighted and looking for easy cash? Moron has a very specific definition. No, it doesn’t. It had a narrow definition back when it was a term for a kind of retardation. (Apparently it meant someone with the ‘mental age’ of 7 to 12.) But it’s not used that way anymore, it’s now just a synonym for idiot. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/25 "2004-12-17T05:53:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No, it doesn’t. It had a narrow definition back when it was a term for a kind of retardation. (Apparently it meant someone with the ‘mental age’ of 7 to 12.) But it’s not used that way anymore, it’s now just a synonym for idiot. Semantics. I doubt idiots could make it through a season of competition either. Of course, if one could earn a Master’s degree from Harvard, all bets would be off in the world of tv entertainment. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/26 "2004-12-17T06:14:04Z")
Idiot, similarly, is not a medical term anymore. It just means a stupid or foolish person. Do you want me to get a thesaurus? Are we really having trouble understanding each other, or is this just nitpicking? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/27 "2004-12-17T06:29:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Idiot, similarly, is not a medical term anymore. It just means a stupid or foolish person. Do you want me to get a thesaurus? Are we really having trouble understanding each other, or is this just nitpicking? No, it’s not nitpicking. I thought you were using the term in it’s original meaning of someone of less-than-average-intelligence. If you meant foolish I agree. But getting someone foolish to get into something because they care less about thier dignity and more about a pay-off is no reason for me to get upset about the circumstances. I just don’t see the reason to protect fools from themselves. If that were the case, I’d have been banned based on a huge petition long ago. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/28 "2004-12-17T06:48:17Z")
I suppose “idiot” and “stupid” are very broad terms. (This may account for much of the confusion in “Bush is an idiot” discussions.) Maybe we do need something more specific. I think the point was still clear. People who go on reality shows tend to commit the same basic, dumb mistakes in my opinion: not realizing that these shows will paint them in the worst light and try to pull nasty surprise after surprise and make it unpleasant. Whatever you feel the explanation is - greed, a low intelligence quotient, a lack of critical thinking skills - I think I’m not stretching any kind of terminology to call their behavior idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/29 "2004-12-17T07:09:32Z")
Not stretching at all, just wasn’t sure how you were using the words. I do agree with your points, just wanted to clarify first. Again, I don’t watch them and am pretty much playing D’sA here. We really need more sports shown to eat up the “dead” network time devoted to these shows. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/30 "2004-12-17T07:30:59Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Not Strom Thurmon? Digging up his rotting corpse to put on a reality show would truly, truly be as low as they can go. Don’t give them ideas. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/31 "2004-12-17T07:46:44Z")
And yet, we are supposedly the ones who are a threat to the family. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/32 "2004-12-17T08:01:20Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > And yet, we are supposedly the ones who are a threat to the family. In my sweeping denial of watching reality shows, I forgot about _Queer Eye For the Straight Guy_. That show I like to watch. If for no other reason than I’d love to see what they could do with me. (And the blond gregarious guy is pretty friggin cool) ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/33 "2004-12-17T08:29:48Z")
[Emcee voice] Welcome back to the ‘I’m Willing to Sacrifice my Personal Dignity’ show. The studio audience has decided what they want you to do, contestant #2, and their choice is…_fellate a rabid porcupine!_ You’ve got 60 seconds to please the little fella, so Good Luck! [/voice] It’s only a matter of time. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/34 "2004-12-17T17:21:22Z")
How did everyone feel about _Superstar!_ on WB? That’s the one where the contestents thought they were trying out for an American Idol -type show, but the big laugh ( :rolleyes: ) was that the producers were trying to find the worst of the worst. Then, funny ha–ha (again, :rolleyes: ) they told the audience the contestents were cancer survivors so they wouldn’t be booed off the stage. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/35 "2004-12-17T17:53:38Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Digging up his rotting corpse to put on a reality show would truly, truly be as low as they can go. > > Don’t give them ideas. Starting in January, on Fox, the biggest reality show ever! Fifty beautiful women will compete in a pageant to marry a wealthy southern gentleman. The catch? He’s dead! That’s right! Senator Strom Thurmond is the lucky fella all these ladies will be fighting over. A hundred years old, and dead for well over a year, but if what his staffers say is true, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still love the ladies! Tune in to see the contestants faces when they realize they’re about to be married to a dead man! ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/36 "2004-12-17T17:54:05Z")
I say it in every one of these threads: Let’s just skip to the gladiatorial combat. We all know it’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/37 "2004-12-17T18:02:15Z")
The only laugh I’d ever gotten from the whole reality TV show thing in the past 6 or 7 years was the other night while channel surfing, and caught a bit from **The Simpsons**. > [@](#): > > And now, FOX Networks returns to “Stupid, Promiscuous Idiots Island.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/38 "2004-12-17T18:05:00Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > I say it in every one of these threads: Let’s just skip to the gladiatorial combat. We all know it’s coming. No, the public televised executions come first. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/39 "2004-12-17T18:09:17Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Has to be person v person. We could probably start off using prisoners. Scott Peterson v someone else for example. Wouldn’t get too many complaints there. Then you slowly work your way up to the average Joe/Jane types. 😛 Fox already has Celebrity Boxing. Next step should be Celebrity Ultimate Fighting, then Celebrity Slaughter. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-sadistic-show-on-televison/280248/40 "2004-12-17T18:10:19Z")
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