Tell me this doesn’t sound like a Saturday Night Live sketch. Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, currently under indictment for 11 counts of wire fraud, three for extortion, one for racketeering and one for lying to federal investigators, is requesting that the the court ease his travel restrictions so that he can fly to Costa Rica and participate in the upcoming NBC reality show I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.
If the title sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because this was actually tried once before by ABC back in 2003. Based on a popular British show that has already enjoyed eight installments, I’m a Celebrity dumps a group of “luminaries” into a desolate locale and has them compete in a series of Survivor -type challenges. The longer they survived, the more money they raise for charity. Robin Leach, Bruce Jenner, Cris Judd, Maria Conchita Alonso, Downtown Julie Brown and Joan and Melissa Rivers were among the participants in the first U.S. go around. Audiences couldn’t have cared less. The ratings were such a disappointment, ABC couldn’t wait to get it off the air.
News of its second American coming just seems like a losing proposition for all.
Blagojevich, so desperate to remain in the public eye, is jumping at the chance to degrade himself in the jungles of Central America. Does he really believe it will accomplish anything more than making him a bigger joke than it was even thought possible? Score one for the image of the American politician.
And is NBC so bankrupt of creativity that this is the best it can come up with -- a show another network dumped six years ago? And one that bases it entertainment value on humiliating so-called celebrities? Does the network think it has scored a coup by landing Blagojevich?
It’s hard to gauge which is more pathetic.
But, it also makes you wonder whether it could be the start of a trend. Is it possible that the lines between entertainment and politics will become so blurred that there may be a second act for former government officials in the reality TV genre?
If so, here are my picks for contestants I’d like to see:
The Amazing Race James Carville and Mary Matalin
American Idol John Ashcroft
America’s Next Top Model Sarah Palin
The Biggest Loser Rush Limbaugh
Blind Date Bill Clinton
The Cougar Barbara Bush
Deal or No Deal Tom DeLay
Extreme Makeover, Home Edition Al Gore
Last Comic Standing Donald Rumsfeld
Little People, Big World George Stephanopoulos
Project Runway Hillary Clinton
And I know these are obvious, but they’re too good to pass up:
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? George Bush
The Moment of Truth Dick Cheney
Thursday, April 16, 2009
