Yesterday I got a front row seat for some of the programming that has replaced music videos on MTV.
Did the ‘radio star’ really die for this?
I was background on the set of the MTV game show “Silent Library.” If you haven’t seen it — because goodness knows I hadn’t before yesterday — six contestants vie for cash prizes trying to complete ‘Jackass’-style stunts. My role as background was to sit in the library set and read my book, unaffected by the craziness going on around me.
And it was totally whack. These six guys, who started out full of energy and attitude, were by day’s end totally defeated by the challenges they had to perform. Licking dirty dishes, getting a gigantic band-aid ripped off of their chest, getting a surprise pie-in-the-face from four clowns, having debris vacuumed into a domed helmet they were wearing — ridiculous!
It confirmed two things in my mind.
One, I want to be a game show host. The host of “Silent Library,” whose name is ‘Zero,’ did just that. He sat off to one side and did as little as the background actors for the bulk of the program. Then, at the end of the shoot, he stepped forward and recorded about 10 lines of dialogue.
I want that gig.
Second, I need to submit some show ideas to the networks. Clearly they are hard up for programming and will buy pretty much anything.
Now is the time to make it big…if only to make those radio stars feel better in the great beyond.
