Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Reality TV - A Game Show for a Kidney? Yipes!

I'm a reality television buff. I'm not proud. I'm hooked on Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race, and more. I'm not so into the dating reality show genre, but know folks who enjoy them. I also enjoy many scripted television shows, but reality keeps dragging me back in.

With a show such as Big Brother, I think it's the sociology which catches my interest. I've always been a people-watcher kind of person. I like to sit and watch folks on the streets of Manhattan; I like to watch folks inside the BB House -- and how they interact with each other. Shows such as Survivor or The Amazing Race are basically sociological studies with added twists and pressures which change the human interactions.

But... what if the pressure was an actual life or death situation? Is it right to create what's basically a game show out of a situation where one person will die (not due to the game), one will have his or her life saved from a likely death, and two will lose a chance to win for their lives?

Although it's not against the law, I think it's definitely in bad taste and a moral grey area. It sounds like that futuristic Stephen King novel THE LONG WALK where one person would win, but all the rest would die, doesn't it? Many other novels and movies have toyed with similar ideas, but it hasn't been actually done before. Until now...

The creators of the Dutch Big Brother show will produce a new series on BNN in the Netherlands -- "The Big Donor Show." A terminally ill woman will give a kidney away to one of three contestants who desperately need the transplant to save their lives. Three people are going to die and their personal drama will be entertainment for the masses?

A quote from the local WCBS article about the show:
"Because of the show's shock value, it's expected it will do quite well in the ratings. Still, the Dutch Kidney Association says not everyone is a winner in the game since only one contestant gets the kidney. "Nevertheless there are two losers and what I would like to propose to BNN is ... you've got the publicity you want, now stop the program," said Paul Beerkens, Director of the Netherlands Kidney Association."

Am I really a part of this world? What do you think about this?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not a show I would ever watch and I doubt it would work in the USA. The Dutch allow a lot of things that are taboo here. One thing to watch ER or House, because you know it is scripted. But a reality donor show, no way!!!! I do not want to become familiar with a person and maybe root for them then know if they lose they will likely die. Shivers!!!!

Jackie...Travellers pilot on tonight followed by a new episode. Did not know if you knew.

Anonymous said...

Sad there are such tings in this world that would exploit people who are truly in need in the name of entertainment. That's just plain sick!

Anonymous said...

I had caught the tail-end of this story on some news show and thought, it can't be real, probably part of some sick joke. To find out now that someone could even think of doing such a thing is appalling and even more so that some TV bigwig over there would want to carry through on such an idea. For what? Money? Ratings? I can understand the desparation of the people vying to win the kidney, but I will never understand the inhumanity of some humans on this planet. I think it is TOTALLY DISGUSTING!

dla said...

I am totally appalled.

And this leaves me without words, which is really, really tough to do.

Anonymous said...

Having had a liver transplant,I can't believe that somebody is getting rich off this(no,I do).There seems to be no limit on how low people in the "entertainment" world will go. Whether it's sticking a microphone in a grieveing person's face or now exploiting people waiting for a chance at a new life. I would hope this would never be even thought of in this country,but who knows. I am sure TV execs will be watching to see what kind of ratings this show gets. I hope nobody watches!

LYSS said...

The question that i have is..who is this person that is giving the kidneys away, and why would she wont to put someone (or 3 someones) and their family's through the this and for 2 to get nothing and then have to watch the loved one die ne way? what is the ill person getting..they can't be getting ne pleasure out of it..yeah your saving one person's life, but what of the other 2, i don't see how the ill person, her family, and ne one w/ the show could just tell the "losing" family's ..sorry but you lose..have a nice life..i just think this is wrong on sooo many different levels..i'm a reality show junkie..i'll watch ne reality show (atleast once)..i even start'd watching the gene simmons show and the tori spelliing show(@@ i can't believe it either)..but come on..there has to be a line drawn somewhere on what reality show to put on and when to say .."you know your just one sick puppy for even having the idea of putting that on tv"..and i the people that need the kidney..why would you put yourself through all that not knowing if your the one to "win"??

Lyss

P.S.
on a lighter note...
i noticed that no one did the Big Brother count down today (yet)..so
37 more days till Big Brother..

Anonymous said...

I'm with dla...I have no words!

Anonymous said...

Sad to say, this happens all the time. It just hasn't been televises in the past. The lists of folks waiting for an organ donation are long and a lot folks never make it to the top of the list - so they lose.

Sydney said...

It's hard to believe this is actually real... though it is in another country so who knows how the culture differs as to what is acceptable. But, since we're all part of the same human family, it seems like this could be s joke stunt. The thing is, there's nothing good about it being a joke and my more than it being real. Who knows, maybe all those science fiction writers that come up with themes like this aren't too far off of where we can actually go. Has the "future" arrived?

Looks like it's not going to fly, so maybe we can rest easy that our ultimate humanity will win out after all!

Anonymous said...

From what I read in the paper,this is a woman with a terminal inoperable brain tumor who wanted to do something good for others before she died. How it got so out of hand is anybody's guess.I don't know how she could think that this is the fair way to do it,but I have a feeling some amount of money is involved and maybe she thinks this will help HER family,once she is gone.

GOD BLESS all the donors out there who do it from their hearts at the saddest times of their lives. What wonderful people they are!!

Sydney said...

Well put Sharon! I remember you'd written about getting a transplant yourself in a past post. I can only imagine what you had to go through...

Anonymous said...

The Starter Wife with Debra Messing starts tonight on USA, plus I'll be watching So You Think You Can Dance, who's with me?

Anonymous said...

Hi Jackie! :)

"Am I really a part of this world? What do you think about this"?

I can hardly believe a show like this. From your quote above, it pretty much says it all. I'd have to watch it to honestly judge it but I don't think I will watch. The loosers would break my heart.

I'm up for "The Starter Wife" tonight. Hope it's as good as the trailers I've been seeing for months. I sure am sick of reruns. I don't understand why the new summer shows don't start immediately after the season finale of our fav prime time shows.
Are we addicted to TV or what? :))

Zoetawny~
xoxo

Anonymous said...

I just read on AOL's Celebrity News that the 80 minute show eill air on Friday in the Netherlands. Apparently, most of Europe is up in arms over this., including the local media and many Dutch people. The woman offering the kidney is a 37 year old woman with a brain tumor, identified only as "Lisa". But the broadcaster, BNN, says it is ready to go ahead with the one episode show on Friday at 8pm and then the actual transplant when it occurs. What is this world coming to?

Anonymous said...

I'm in the process of donating my kidney to my mother and I think that this tv show is awful. My mother who is not doing well at all on dialysis finds it repulsing also. We want to know what happens to the people who don't "win"? Are they going to be helped or just put on a donor list? Anything to expoite someone.

Sorry I just needed to vent.
Pickles

CHICKY CHICK said...

this is SICK what is the world coming to

a game show were there is a chance the losers will go home and die!

to all the losers god bless and I hope you become better!

Stuff the game show EVERYONE DONT WATCH IT!!!!!