Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Reality Viewing?
The Girl, The Guyfriend and I have all thus far avoided the various reality shows that have overrun the time slots and the ratings (unless Project Greenlights counts - does it? The participants didn't have to eat bugs or hook up romantically with each other). I might have to stray from the fold, however. Showtime's upcoming American Candidate might be worth a look. Showtime will have 12 finalists who will be running the reality equivalent of presidential campaigns, and will participate in various "challenges" in their efforts to be the last candidate standing. The winner will receive $200,000 plus a "nationwide media appearance" in which to "address the nation." Whether the winner decides to launch an actual campaign after the series wraps in October is up to the individual.
What's caught my attention about this show is the identity of two of the candidates, both gay and both experienced political activists: Chrissy Gephardt and Keith Boykin.
Boykin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former staffer for President Clinton. He writes a regular column on planetout.com.
Gephardt is the daughter of Representative and vice-presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt, and worked on his now-abandoned presidential campaign. But she's only 31, so don't look for any actual presidential campaign from this candidate for another few years.
Showtime seems to be a little disorganized about announcing exactly who the 12 finalists are (maybe they're hoping to keep the audience as much in the dark as possible prior to the episode airings), but various news articles have been popping up promoting one or another person who has been notified. Among the articles mentioning finalist selection are for:
-Joyce Riley (candidate page)
-Richard Mack (candidate page)
-Bruce Friedrich (candidate page)
-Malia Lazu (candidate page)
I may be adding this to my list of Tivo Season Passes.
|
What's caught my attention about this show is the identity of two of the candidates, both gay and both experienced political activists: Chrissy Gephardt and Keith Boykin.
Boykin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former staffer for President Clinton. He writes a regular column on planetout.com.
Gephardt is the daughter of Representative and vice-presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt, and worked on his now-abandoned presidential campaign. But she's only 31, so don't look for any actual presidential campaign from this candidate for another few years.
Showtime seems to be a little disorganized about announcing exactly who the 12 finalists are (maybe they're hoping to keep the audience as much in the dark as possible prior to the episode airings), but various news articles have been popping up promoting one or another person who has been notified. Among the articles mentioning finalist selection are for:
-Joyce Riley (candidate page)
-Richard Mack (candidate page)
-Bruce Friedrich (candidate page)
-Malia Lazu (candidate page)
I may be adding this to my list of Tivo Season Passes.
|
Posted by Rogueslayer at 10:22 AM 
