Celebrity Reality Shows You’ll Never See


July 19, 2002


BOB GARFIELD: This season's TV pitches are sure to reflect the hottest trend -- celebrity reality television. After the Ozzy Osbourne reality show got huge ratings for MTV, the E-Channel announced it would be doing a show on the real life of former Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith. Other celebrities mentioned as possible candidates for reality shows include Liza Minelli, Cybill Shepherd and Gene Simmons from Kiss. Brian "Kato" Kaelin, famous only for having been O.J. Simpson's house guest, has taped 3 episodes of a series titled, you guessed it, House Guest, in which he knocks on people's doors randomly and invites himself in for the weekend. You can't stop the celebrity reality trend. You can only hope that there is an entire cable channel to contain it. [MUSIC]

ANNOUNCER: Coming this fall, it's Reality TV, 24 hours of celebrities being real. CHORUS: [SINGING] TO BE REAL!3

ANNOUNCER: On Tuesdays, sidle up to the most intimate moments of Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham. "F. MURRAY ABRAHAM": No, it's not Frankie. No, not Faisal [sp?]. [LAUGHS] Do I look like a Fletcher? CHORUS: [SINGING] TO BE REAL!

ANNOUNCER:On Wednesdays you thought the Osbournes were exciting. Catch The Naylors, starring NPR's Brian Naylor. BRIAN NAYLOR: What the f[BEEP]k?! I can't live with this f[BEEP]ing - the sandwiches are a joke -they're so f[BEEP]ing small, I - this is just a total f[BEEP]ing waste. Uh-- The Senate Subcommittee on Banking and Finance met today to discuss the issue of off balance sheet accounting. CHORUS: [SINGING] TO BE REAL!

ANNOUNCER: On Thursdays it's the number 2 golfer in the world, David Duval [sp?]. #2 GOLFER DAVID DUVAL: [SHOUTING] Tiger! Tiger! It's, it's me -David? We-- met at the Sawgrass Invitational? I, I bogeyed 17? CHORUS: [SINGING] TO BE REAL! [SONG CONTINUES UNDER]

ANNOUNCER: And on Friday get to know -- to really know --Entertainment Tonight Co-Host Bob Going [sp?]. CHORUS: [SINGING] TO BE REAL! BOB GOING: Is it Farouk? Is it Fritz? Is it Franz?

ANNOUNCER: That's Reality TV -- the cable channel with real appeal. This time it's for real. CHORUS: [SINGING] IT'S GOT TO BE REAL, ETC.

BOB GARFIELD:That's it for this week's show. On the Media was produced by Janeen Price and Katya Rogers with Sean Landis, engineered by Dylan Keefe, George Edwards and Irene Trudel, and edited --By Brooke. We had help from Dan Bobkoff, Dave Schepard, Chris Reilly, Brian Naylor and Paul Chuffo. Our webmaster is Amy Pearl.

BROOKE GLADSTONE:Mike Pesca is our producer at large; Arun Rath our senior producer; and Dean Capello our executive producer. Bassist/composer Ben Allison wrote our theme. You can listen to the program and get free transcripts at onthemedia.org and e-mail us at onthemedia@wnyc.org. This is On the Media from NPR. I'm Brooke Gladstone.

BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield. [MUSIC TAG] 58:30 [FUNDING CREDITS] ************