Here’s something interesting I read over at . Apparently, the new season of the reality hit show, Survivor is adding yet another twist to the show. The new season, called Survivor: Cook Islands, will pit players of different races against each other. That’s right, you heard me, the show is actually going to be dividing the tribes based on their race.
The four tribes will be divided into African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic and Caucasians.
Although this is the most ethnically diverse cast of any reality show to date, it’s important we look at the implications of what the show’s producers are doing. They are literally putting different ethnic races in direct competition. No matter what happens during the duration of the show, the one feature that will be remembered about the castaway who wins will be their race. What this actually means is that we will be declaring the other ethnic groups, “losers”.
Perhaps I’m overanalyzing this. Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this is a sick, desperate plea for attention from a dying reality television show. But somehow, I get the feeling that I might not be alone in thinking that TV networks are considering doing anything for ratings.
Peter Jackson announced that Neill Blomkamp will be making his directorial debut for the Halo movie that’s supposed to come out in 2008. We’ve noticed Blomkamp before, as director of the short “Alive in Joburg”. Blomkamp has extensive prior experience in 3D animation.
Now here’s something that should tickle my co-writers’s fancy. ARGN recently brought to my attention a new, Toronto-based ARG. TorGame is presenting a new ARG type experience that will take place for two weeks in September called “Waking City”.
“…We combine the story-driven mystery of alternate reality games, the frenetic intensity of puzzle hunts, and the passion for public spaces of urban gaming. We love this city, and we want to celebrate it with you in a fresh and fun way. This is a game that will get you out exploring, seeing parts of Toronto you’ve never seen before, and making you see even your own neighbourhood in a new light.”
There are a couple differences to Waking City from regular ARGs. First of all, it is required that participants live in, or near Toronto. Second, players are required to group themselves into teams of 5-10 people prior to the games beginning. Third, teams are required (I’m liking that word today) to pay a fee ranging from $100-$125 in order to pay for the production costs.
Should be an exciting event. I know a certain online newspaper that should write an article about it in order to grab more Toronto-ists (or is it Toronto-ites?) attention. Now get some friends together and create a team!
Slashdot has a story about a sitcom pilot for the WB that was not picked up but released on YouTube. It became failry popular, and is now being put back into development by NBC. It’s a sitcom about making a sitcom, and looks like a pretty standard (read: not funny) fare, but the path to production is certainly interesting. Will YouTube be the new proving ground for television pilots?