The Joe Schmo Show

I'm not one for reality shows--I only watched Survivor for the first time last season because one of my high school teachers was a contestant --but Troy and I ran across this one last night on Spike TV.

And we laughed our asses off. The basic premise is that they've created a fake reality show called "Lap of Luxury," and all but one of the contestants are actually actors. This guy, Matt, is now living in a Truman Show of sorts--and the viewer gets to see all the behind-the-scenes machinations of the rest of the cast and crew. When added to Matt's doesn't-have-a-clue confessionals and remarks, it's quite funny.

Plus, I just thought it was a fairly inventive idea to take the concept of a reality show and just go all-out with the fakeness. Ah, the metaphors abound.

I give it a thumbs-up for campy, voyeuristic good fun. Has anyone else here watched it?

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You were a demon and a lawyer? Wow. Insert joke here."

Well, that went down like a lead balloon.

Okay, well, I must add to my inital post, having now seen all three (four?) eps.

I have read online that Matt (the "Joe" of the title) is not exactly thrilled about being duped. No real shock there--I can't blame him. However, it is a reality show, so he couldn't have expected to be portrayed in the best light, no matter what. However, he is completely caught up in the game and has genuine emotional attachments to several of the other "contestants." Being told that you were lied to by people you like (or dislike), coupled with the fact that so much of the show makes him look like a doofus, must have been a terrible blow.

So it's with a divided conscience that Troy and I watch the show, laughing and cringing alternately (and often at the same time). I feel bad about laughing, but I can't turn it off.

So, who's the schmo there? Right.

I also find myself wishing they'd called the show anything else, something that doesn't make Matt sound so dumb. He's not. If anything, he's painfully naive. I mean, seriously: I doubt, were I to put myself into that kind of situation, that I would be able to tell it was fake. It's not something you'd expect--which is the entire genius of the set-up.

I'm ready for the second season--wherein they'll really have to kick some ass to fool the contestant--and the shockwaves this show will be sending through all the new reality shows next year. Make 'em doubt the "reality" of their reality show experience, folks. Make 'em doubt their sanity. They got themselves into this fifteen-minutes-of-fame mess, so they deserve nothing better.

"Wait--are you guys actors?"