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Tuesday, December 20, 2011
TV Maybe It's Time to Rethink Reality Shows
Posted by Dan Gibson on Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Not that any human being should be watching Next Great Baker on TLC, which is a reality contest connected to a reality show about a guy making cakes, but if you were watching last night, you were in for an unpleasant surprise at the end of the show. Turns out the guy who was eliminated, Wesley Durden, committed suicide back in October.
So, TLC, seemingly because they didn't want to scrap a season of the show or otherwise acknowledge in any way that their program was heading towards a very dark and terrible place, ran promos featuring a guy who had already committed suicide. They did throw a card up at the end, but this still seems like a series of bad decisions to me and wildly insensitive to the guy's family and friends, but maybe we're still all supposed to be upset that the same network runs a show about Muslims or something.
And this isn't the first time even this year that a cable network has had to deal with a reality show suicide. Bravo's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills possibly managed to show a bit more delicacy with the death of Russell Armstrong, the husband of one of the "housewives", at least acknowledging what happened at the beginning of the season, but every other episode or so, there's Russell discussing his personal woes. It's almost like the people in charge of the show were secretly happy that the suicide could eventually become the end of season cliffhanger.
I understand that a lot goes into putting these shows together, but there has to be a better way to deal with actual reality when it creeps into our reality programs.
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
like
dislikeI am so terribly saddened to hear this news. I feel so very upset for Wesley's dear family. What the H*** was TLC thinking airing this show!!! It makes me sick!! Wesley should not have been kicked off the show that day, it was totally unfair! I'm done with TLC for good, as well!
I don't really watch Cake Boss, but finding nothing better to watch, I saw this episode. Everyone is right. It was a shocker to see the "sympathy card" at the end of the show. What the ...? Seriously, did TLC really need the ratings that bad. Somebody should have thought about the fall out. Reality TV sucks anyway, but this was totally insensitive. My "late" condolences to Wesly's family.
This was extremely disturbing, as Wes continued to be criticized, without recognition for his sacrifice. This is a loss that will not be easily understood...someone should have helped this young man--instead of criticizing him for not knowing anything about wedding cakes.
It's as easy as pie, but amateurs are running this network. Wes needed help and no one was there to give it. SHAME ON TLC...the Cake Boss...and the idiots running all television networks. Stop the slaughter and start caring about people who actually lay down their lives for people whom they think love them.
I'm furious, Rand Zacharias--Canadian, who left the US because of the lack of love in the people...fix this...or America is doomed. Oh, by the way, I'm doing much better in Canada after getting help from people...or I could have been a Wesley Durden.
It's bad enough that we happened to catch the kick-off episode of Mr. Durden on a marathon today (my mom is visiting so we're watching what she wants to), but to see that little post-note one-episode-is-dedicated-to-you-buddy was beyond acceptable decorum. After researching the "why" to this poor man's death . . . I can't help but to feel BEYOND disgusted that the commercials in the interim were for a woman crying hysterically, literally sobbing: as a cut-out for a "The Bachelor" episode, soon to air on TLC. Are you out of your ever-lasting-bloody-MINDS TLC?? Sorry mom, TLC can kiss my BWA.
You make a bold valid point about us shrugging off the treatment of this suicide... only to bang down the doors for a Muslim show being played on a network. Muslims, despite their "positioning" in recent terrorism against the US, are not the threat to this country. Messed up priorities and over sensationalism without logic are.
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