So, Jeff Probst of Survivor and FFF fame has been given the greenlight by CBS to film a pilot of a new show which is basically about giving a terminal patient their last wish and filming it all for television. Morbid? I don't think so. I do know they are going to go for the heartstrings. Jeff says that in addition to whatever wish the participant can come up with, they will also spend an hour getting to know the person, their family and anything else they can do to make us cry. I love the idea of giving someone who is dying their wish. Make A Wish is one of the best ideas ever conceived. I just don't know if I want to watch it happen every week. I think it will be a huge hit, I am just not sure I can watch it.
What I like about television or movies is the opportunity to escape from my own problems, life or drama and just get lost in a story for 30 minutes or a few hours. I'm not sure I want to spend the time getting involved in the problems of someone else. I could be wrong, and maybe I will watch along with the rest of you, but for now, I would just rather watch something that does not make me think or care or worry. One of the Executive Producers of the show comes from Extreme Makeover Home Edition and so you know that they will be going for tears and kleenex with every episode.
I agree Ent, I don't watch "reality" tv as I have my own reality. I like to be entertained...whether it's a good movie or book - something I can escape in to. I don't watch tv to cry...excellent idea but not for me...
ReplyDelete"I would just rather watch something that does not make me think or care or worry."
ReplyDeleteAmen, brother. I get enough of that from real life.
But, as discussed in the "Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" thread, some people like this kind of thing.
Can I be even colder and ask why dying people get their wishes fulfilled and other mere mortals, well, we just die?
ReplyDeleteMean I know, but seriously, random acts of kindness for EVERYONE would be more interesting. There are many tragic stories out there, not just ones about people about to die.
I agree with Allison's point - random acts of kindness would better serve us these days than highlighting a particular group.
ReplyDeleteAlso, is Jeff doing this in conjunction with Make A Wish so as to highten awareness for that charity?
I know I won't watch it, I cry easily enough as it is, I don't need to purposely watch heartwrenching stories to make my tears flow - or to satisfy my own perverse need to others less fortunate than me (which I think is why a lot will watch).
better you than me Allsion!
ReplyDeleteenough of these BS tear jerker shows. is that the best thing for morale at this time?
no home? gas still too high? just got laid off? watch a dying kid go to Disneyworld!
fail.
couldn't agree more Jax...as usual, you took the words outta my mouth..
ReplyDeleteNo contribution to the ratings from me because I won't go near it.
ReplyDeleteIf they put a little bit of education into it--perhaps talk prevention and enlighten the audianca a bit, then I could see it being worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that, if you saw, like, shirtless Johnny Depp walking through the doorframe of your hospital room and smiling right at you that you'd be kind of like...."oh, fuck. I must have like 3 days left..."? I know I would...
ReplyDeleteha ha ragdoll.
ReplyDeletehilarious.
I can think of shows ambush random people for makeovers and home cooked meals. I can think of shows that lavish home renovations on deserving do-gooders. Then there are tons of others who get treats because they've dressed like slobs for years, or their homes are a mess or whatever.
ReplyDeleteThere is something a bit unsettling about this show concept, but on the other hand, why not? It could end up being uplifting like Randy Pausch's Last Lecture.
If Johnny Depp came walking into my hospital room, it would instantly cure me.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, one night I went to a Butch Walker concert and there was a young cancer patient there from UNC, totally bald from her radiation treatments, and her Make-A-Wish was to sing with Butch Walker. He started singing and she joined in, and her voice was so clear and beautiful I thought I would die. I lost it, crying and shit. Make-A-Wish is a good thing.
I completely agree with you Allison, because the fact that they're only focusing on terminal subjects means that their OBVIOUS goal is emotional manipulation. Or to conjure up some sort of schadenfreude in us -- a bunch of sadeyed people sitting in front of our t.v.'s, feeling sheepish as shit because we ALL know the show is, in itself, horrible, but we can't stop watching because the show makes us feel good about ourselves in some horrible way because we're still alive and not dying like some stranger on the screen?
ReplyDeleteLame-O.
GodDAMN, I hate that shit! I'm so glad we basically all agree that television should be about escapism. Don't be fucking snotty and claim that you only watch 60 Minutes and Mad Men. Throw in some Family Guy or The Ghost Whisperer or The Hills or some other guilty pleasure. Something that's so stupid and you know it but it brings you joy, so the naysayers can suck it.
For example, I'm newly hooked on Gossip Girl. NO MISCHA BARTON + the East Coast + Leighton Meester and Chuck Bass = a waaaay better version of The O.C. I mean, the plotlines and characters basically mirror The O.C., but I don't give a shit. It's relaxing.
I don't want to see actual people fucking dying. There's enough of that to wring your hands over in real life.
Anyone want to watch this show?
ReplyDeleteWrite to me. I'll tell you what it was like to watch the three people closest to you die.
Hell no, I won't watch this!
Jeff, don't give up your other job. This one won't last. Honestly, how morbid.
ReplyDeleteMy dying wish: to find out who Enty really is. And maybe to have him hook me up with AP, WD and ZX.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Jerry!
ReplyDeleteI think Jerry came up with a new Your Turn subject - what would be your most outrageous last wish?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't watch a show like this one. I didn't watch Three Wishes or whatever that other show was, and I BAWLED over that Johns Hopkins hospital show.