Well.... I am too embarassed to admit how much television i watch, but clearly these reality show style programs are incredibly popular. It's wonderful to see similar types of shows that lean towards the side of science
(i.e. Myth Busters, Penn & Teller, and several great programs on the discovery/science channels), but i would love so much to see a genuine-but-snarky science/skeptic-based program match the same sort of "captivating drama" that those psychic, ghost-hunting, conspiracy theory, etc. people broadcast.
It shouldn't be hard to do at all & there are many fun and easy "targets" to go after for certain "dramatic effect."
Program game plan:
- Get a great team together (camera men, charismatic host, video/audio techs, full staff of real scientists & researchers, etc.).
- Give the show a dramatic title such as "Exposure, Disclosure."
- Broadcast "teaser commercials" showing clips of action, dramatic confrontations, mathematical equations, explosions, unanswered questions, yadeda for several months before airing -without revealing the true nature of the show.
- The teaser images must powerful enough & diverse enough to grab a very wide audience's interest to ensure the most diverse groups of people will tune in.
(That last part may be tricky, which makes me re-consider the idea of not revealing the true intent of the program.)
An example episode = Debunking Jesse Ventura's "Conspiracy Theory" program
Rough Draft Proposal:
- Have our crew march right on over to Jesse Ventura's home, place of business ...or, better yet, capture him while he's actually shooting an episode.
- Make our intent to confront him on all the non-facts, lack of reliable evidence and deceptive programming aired on his program well known in his area (as it would likely be with or without our help.)
- Of course it would not be a "stealth attack" (no more of than his own are made to appear on TV), since we will be travelling with vans full of television crew members that require a whole lot of prior arrangements and grab a ton of attention in the area. The word would be out in the vicinity long before we even arrive -that our crew are in town with the intent to debunk and embarass Jesse on camera.
- Jesse would place extra security personelle in place to protect himself (understandibly so -since most people who have something to lose do not enjoy being caught off guard on camera, and certainly would not consent to any interviews without at least some preparation.
- The likely scenarios would be that our camera crews would be denied access to Jesse, he & his team would make it difficult/impossible to capture any usable footage, or, to save face, he might agree to a very limited set of questions he would be willing to address on camera.
In either case scenario: Our host can pretend to be startled by his "non-compliance" to build even more dramatic suspicion into the audiences minds.
As added twists:
- Present some of Ventura's official government-related records. When panning his records, we must make sure to move the camera around eradically and show the viewer only a few key and incriminating looking words. In this case, however, we provide the viewer information on how to access these records themselves via a reliable source.
- Dig up some old photos of Jesse standing next to various government officials that various conspiracy groups have set their targets on for whatever reason, small or large. Have the host express suprise to see Jesse posing with so-and-so who is alledgedly the "mastermind" behind so-and-so fashionable conspiracy.
- Interview random people (no authenticity required) who have a personal disliking to Jesse & pick out whatever parts of the interview fit for the intended effect.
- For extra fun: Have a 14 yr old draw a picture of Jesse (and/or his property, etc) with arrows pointed to various locales that explain nothing, but look fishy (...and, again: pan the camera eradically across the sketch.)
After we have successfully created the sensation that there is something shockingly wrong and evil about Jesse and his crusade, we reveal the parts where our crew have strongly exaggerated and/or falsified bits, and where we have revealed verifiable truth.
The objective of the program
(after the viewer has watched a mish-mash of fakery & truths) is to go over all the data, sensationalism & images and explain to the audience why this-or-that cannot be relied upon as evidence, and why/how some can. We must show precisely how our producer has intentionally weaved in dramatic effects where there is none & twisted reality into fiction and/or fear mongering nonsense.
In summary
We would show the audience the tricks of theatric reality show programming and then guide the audience step-by-step in how they can:
#1) recognize & distinguish visual & thematic theatrics from reality
#2) conduct their very own research via accessing reliable sources by providing the best possible layman's explanation of what is considered reliable & what is not
#3) learn the very basic and fundamental skills for critical thinking
#4) know that it OK, and even
admirable, to admit if they do not know how to determine whether a source is trustworthy --and direct them to the best possible resources to go to for assistance.
* Creative license for this program idea goes to me. Any buyers, investors, television crew and/or interested co-producers/directors for this program concept may contact me any time
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