WB's Superstar USA (unboxed spoilers)

Cafe Society
1

For those who might not know, the premise is that the judges are selecting the absolute worst singers and perfomers that audition. They tell them that they are great and react as though they’ve just heard Aretha Franklin for the first time. Meanwhile, contestants who sing well are told that they stink, and they are eliminated. Judges are looking for contestants who have zero talent but are full of themselves and believe that they are God’s gift to America. Then, the final twelve put on a series of “Idol” type shows, complete with eliminations and an audience that apparently is in on the gag. On the last show, they reveal to the winner that they lied when they said he/she was a superstar, and that they’ve been selecting the worst singers all along. The winner gets a recording contract and $100,000.

It’s a catchy premise, but I really wonder whether the hoax isn’t on us, rather than on the contestants. We’ll see, I guess. I presume that filming is finished or else the contestants somehow are shielded from the media — except that previews show one of them appearing on the set of Extra. Of course, that could be a set-up as well.

One reason I think the hoax might be on the audience rather than the contestants is that, expecially in this day and age, I can just envision the law suits piling on. You CAN sue for hurt feelings these days, right?

There’s also a big build-up about the duet in the final where the contestants hear each other’s voices for the first time. How did they keep them separate?

Anyway, so far I like Darren the best. Fire! Fiiiiiire! :smiley:

2

Ivylad and I watched a bit of this last night, and quite frankly, I was horrified. This whole premise is cruel.

Giving false hopes those those with rotten voices? Crushing those who may actually have a talent?

Unless there’s a “Big Twist” at the end, I won’t be watching it. What is with networks thinking people delight in sadism?

3

I find the whole thing horrifying.
I really, really hope that the joke is on the audience. Otherwise, it’s just too incredibly cruel.

4

William Hung aside, why would they bother giving the best of the worst a recording contract? Especially for someone only 50 or so people in America are ever going to see on this show.

5

That’s another reason to think it might be a hoax on us. Plus, previews show the audience falling silent and gazing on with looks of guilt and shame while the winner is told the truth. I would think that, if it were all a hoax on the singer, the audience would laugh him/her off the stage upon the reveal.

6

Sadly, no. The audience was told that the contestants were Make-A-Wish Foundation recipients to get them to cheer for the singers. :frowning:

I highly recommend that people not watch this show.

Link.

7

Just to clarify my own prediction, when I said “audience” I meant we, the television audience. I think it is a terrific show, utterly tasteless and unredeeming.

8

To each their own, but I have to ask - why reward them with your viewership?

9

I watched 20 minutes of it and could not continue. I felt too sorry for all the contestants-- the good ones and the bad ones.

And even though none of them were great singers, there were two that were adequate but they were NOT pretty. I’m talking about the No, No guy and the diva girl who sang Respect.

It was too mean for me and I’m a bitch.

10

Because it’s a great spoof and it’s funny. One of the things a lot of people bitch about concerning the American Idol auditions is, how in the hell do some of these people have the nerve to believe they have talent or popular appeal? Some of the borderline cases… mm, maybe. But the people who go to these auditions and can do no better than bleat like a tone-deaf goat or wear filthy clothes with hair they haven’t washed in a month have to be simply utterly rude about other peoples’ time or else hopelessly clueless to the point of being a danger to themselves and others. They’re reaping what they sow. Besides, the winner gets $100,000 and a job, so it’s not like there’s nothing in it for them.

11

Hold it! You’re shittin’ me! That is so ethically reprehensible it’s beyond disgusting.

Maybe, but the real Idol contracts are pretty awful when it comes to indemnity clauses. So it is quite possible that they signed a contract that says that they are fully aware they may be duped or mislead in the interest of enhancing the entertainment value (only it would be worded in a way that made it sound more harmless).

They did a mini-expose for Canadian Idol. Some guy made the fist cut and was given a contract for the rest of the show and contest. His parents said “Thanks, we’ll have out lawyer go over it.”

Lawyer advised them against entering into the contest proper because the contract was NOT in the contestant’sbest interest at ALL. The guy dropped out. As they refused the contract, they weren’t bound by contracted secrecy, so the newspaper was able to divulge a bit of what was in the contract.

In part, you waive all sorts of rights, left right and center. So if you make a total fool of yourself and become the World’s Biggest Goof, you can’t stop them from using it the footage from now until the end of time. If they make a fool out of you and you become a bigger laughing stock than the Star Wars Kid? Well, tough titty, you waived your rights to keep them from showing the world how foolish you can be and you thoroughly agreed to go along with everything (if if you didn’t know what “everything” was going to be in specifics).

Stuff like that. You lose all control over how you are presented to the media. You sign away a LOT of essential rights.

Yes, a contestant who feels victimized by the hoax probably could try to sue on the grounds that the show acted in bad faith.

But they probably signed a contract that indemnifies the producers a thousand times over. That’s still never a guarantee, but ti makes it tougher to sue. It still could be challenged in court, but I wouldn’t expect much success. They are surely clauses that say “You hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless everyone involved with the show, even if they make you look like an utter weanie on international television, until the day you die. You enter this contest at your own peril mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha.”

(In legal terms that’s called the Eexecutive Villain’s Immoral Laughter (EVIL) clause. Relevent case law: Satan v. Clay Aiken.)

12

I’m all for practical joke shows like Punked, Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Scare Tactics, etc. and I really like dark humor, sarcastic comedians, etc.

But this show just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re taking the joke waaaaaaay to far.
To tell someone that their talentless is one thing (aka simon), to tell them that they’re great even though their talentless is bad but somewhat amusing, but to lead them on over a period of weeks is just cruel.

Another part of the show had the judges telling contestants that actually had talent that they were horrible. I hope they were let in on the joke afterwards.

I’ts not even a watchful show. I tuned out after 5 minutes. I didn’t want to have to watch an entire season before the punchline.
(At least Joe Schmo was good natured).

I predict it may be one of the first “competition” type reality show that gets canceled.

13

To avoid controversy and getting sued they actually used the term “One-Wish Foundation”.
Just as bad IMHO.

14

Lib, that’s all fine and good. Contestants who have zero self-awareness need a good slap back to reality. Reality shows need a good spoof now and then.

But under no circumstances are producers justified in something as disgusting and reprehensible as telling the studio audience that the contestants are Make-A-Wish Foundation kids in order to further the show. If you applaud this, exactly where do *you * draw the line?

15

I have to admit though, Liberal may be on to something when he speculates that the hoax may be on the audience.

They would have to keep the contestants away from any recording of their own voices (when you hear yourself on tape your mistakes are glaring). Keeping them separated during rehearsals and backstage (or at least out of earshot backstage), would be pretty tough too. You’d have to make sure they never tried practicing in front of friends or family (which they could do if part of the premise is they have to live a special apartment complex or something.)

Maybe in the end they reveal that the contestant really can sing.

At least I hope that’s the true scenario.

16

I thought it was funny.

Andy how is it any worse than American Idol selectively picking the worst people through three rounds of auditions so they can get ripped apart by Simon et al? At least the people on this show gost praised. :slight_smile:

17

I didn’t see the whole show, but I was shocked by the premise. The judges must know they’re going to hell for this. I am utterly horrified.

That said, I may watch just to see how the heck they can get away with this.* (And my pick for the winner: Nina Diva. Not the worst, but the distance between her perceptions and the reality was stunning.)

*I am a bad, bad person.

18

Vitamin C, interviewed by Sharon Osbourne, just said that everyone had a great time. In addition to living in a mansion, all of the twelve got cash and prizes, and the neat thing was that, when they were told the show’s real premise, they said, “Oh. Well, great then. That’s why I wasn’t chosen to continue on. I must be pretty good after all.” She also said that some of them actually improved over time. They worked hard with the voice coach and greatly improved their sound. As for the Wish thing, I think it was a brilliant way to motivate the studio audience to cheer the contestants even though they stank.

19

I agree, this is the entertainment equivilent of a “Dog” party where the person with the ugliest date wins. I didn’t watch it because all of the fanfare led me to believe that it was exactly this.

It is cruel to play on peoples dreams and push them toward something that they are in no way suited to do. I worry that this is considered entertainment.

20

Entertainment? No way. It’s just sadistic and reprehensible.