Utopia

[CmdrSlack]

So Fox has some new reality show called Utopia. It's basically a bullshit survivalist show. For example, they have power...they just had to run conduit from point A to point B.

I am watching the first few episodes right now. It's both stupid as hell and kinda a guilty pleasure.

I was hoping that it was going to be more of a failed Galt's Gulch.  Sadly, they appear to have power, water, and natural gas.

[HaemishM]

It apparently also cost them $40-$50 million to make (because reality shows are supposed to be expensive or something) and has gotten utterly dreadful ratings.

[shiznitz]

We knew that some network at some point would forget that the only reason reality TV ever got on air is because the shows were so cheap to produce. 

[MahrinSkel]

We knew that some network at some point would forget that the only reason reality TV ever got on air is because the shows were so cheap to produce didn't need to pay residuals.

FTFY.  Of course, it turned out that the secondary market and syndication for reality TV was zero, but it's non-union hours on the schedule, which is always good (from the exec's viewpoint) even as only an implicit threat when negotiating with actors and writers.

--Dave

[Merusk]

I don't see how you could watch more than the first episode, Slack.  I caught it because it was a dead evening and even then I switched off halfway through. 

They deliberately chose a few random psychos in the mentally unstable atheist black guy and Jesus-loving redneck to pit them against each other.  It's a ridiculous premise whose only underlying goal seems to be, "how much sex can we show and how close to can we get these guys to killing each other without allowing it to happen."

Utopia, my ass.

[CmdrSlack]

Oddly enough, the crazy black guy and the redneck were best bros. crazy black guy left, then came back to get baptized by the Pentecostal preacher.

As to how I endured five episodes......I just started a course of benzodiazepines and had a growler from the local brewpub.