Would you pay to watch...?

... another mind-numbing reality show? Probably not and neither would I.

But what if this show was not the typical run-of-the-mill concept where unknown wanna-be's warble off-key covers of "I've Had the Time of My Life" while juggling fire batons or where psuedo-celebrities trip the light fantastic to the top prize?

What if this new show was named CAPITOL PUNISHMENT? A la Schwarznegger's 1987 The Running Man film where society's worse criminals run a frightful guantlet for their very lives, this new series combines the best elements from other reality shows and will be presented in a pay-per-view format so no one's outraged sense of relativistic morality is unjustly infringed. Rather than John Doe vs. Joe Citizen, featured contestants will be star players and headliners whom we've all grown to know and "ahem" love. We could tune in to what could arguably be the best entertainment since the days of the Roman Colosseum.

Oooooh, I can almost feel the suspense as we sit glued to the edge of our seats to see whether Nancy Pelosi will reach across party lines to Lindsey Graham before the unraveling tightrope she's on above a pit of hungry crocodiles gives way. Will Reid and Boehner's wall of rhetoric shield them from the sting of killer bees?

The anticipation of finding out whether Soros or Murdoch will triumph in the barefoot race over flaming newscopy while being pelted with exploding hacked phones.

Will Wu and Weiner be able to stave off the advances of a herd of amorous rhinos in the throes of peak mating season? Can Obama continue to walk on water in that Olympic pool as it writhes with piranha?

Envision cage matches where the combatants club one another with spiked copies of the 2000 page healthcare plan, and Wall Street CEOs in chum suits dive for treasure in shark filled tanks. Extra special events could include foreign champs such as Kim Jong-il or Bashad al-Assad.

The next day water cooler gossip would be epic. "Did you see Rumsfeld and Cheney take out Geithner and Bernake with the shoe thrown at Bush?"

Suggestions for upcoming matches can be made by dialing -1-GIT-THEM-ALL.

(For those who wish to flame or troll, before expending those creative energies, this thread is meant in levity and is as likely a solution to effect change in today's societal, ecomonic and political climates as the next round of sanctioned elections.)

reply to post by ladyjem


I think there are a few people on Death Row right now I'd pay to watch get their final sentence. I'd watch it with a beer in my hand and a short but very real sense of everything being right in the world and great hope for the future.

Having said that.....I hope we never reach a point in society where the death of people, any people, becomes entertainment for the masses. The people I would shell out my good money to watch executed come from personal feelings and deeply personal reasons...it isn't some desire to watch death and find amusement in it. Sadly though, I doubt we are very far from seeing this in some form and with real dead folks at the end of the show. It is a scary statement on society....

# yeah id watch that. that actually sounds fun! well funner than the reality crap i have to sit and watch (big brother UK)

I had my own plan, its a bit like bum fights but better.i doubt it would get aired but, hey we can imagine,right? Ok..

30 crack heads, which have been on detox/cold turkey for 48 hours. Teams of ten, each start from their own boxes positioned in the corners of the building (Specialy made for this event) within this building are other rooms with obstacles in which these crack heads have to conquer, once in the rooms they have have a set amount of time to do these 'taks' but with every room they progress through - two memebers of the team die (they have to die its the way of the game)

Then finaly the last 3 people from each time enter the fnal room, from where the crack cocain is danglin from the roof of the building. 3 crack heads, one ladder & 3 chainsaws

I'd call it CrackBrother!...maybe we could run our shows at the same time?

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
reply to post by ladyjem

 

I hope we never reach a point in society where the death of people, any people, becomes entertainment for the masses.

I share the same sentiment, ergo the qualifier that the thread's intent is outrageous levity, not to incite actual violence or inspire retribution against one person, party or organization. See my signature for the full disclaimer !

Still if I was a betting sort, I'd lay odds most people have already entertained the very thing I described.

reply to post by ladyjem

Great thread though. It's a timely topic I fear we'll actually be facing as a real question before we know it. Some of those game shows in other countries are getting bad..and Chinese use of prisoner bodies for exhibitions and shows indicate it isn't a moral issue that stops what you suggest....just the lack of public desire to see it at the moment.

Stars and and a Flag for the thread. This one actually had me thinking about what I believed before answering...