Okay, fellow TV folks (and ex-TV folks).

One of Chicago's better-known bloggers is a fellow who goes by the name of Sour Bob. Now, Sour Bob knows what time it is when it comes to TV ratings - here's his idea for a reality show called "Money Grab," which I wouldn't be surprised if I see someday in the near future on FOX:

See, what I figure is, if people will do anything on television just for money, and if there's basic entertainment value in watching them scramble for it, the one variable that matters is where and how you drop the money. So fuck it... drop the money in a dung heap. Or a medical waste dump. Or on a twelve-lane freeway at rush hour. Or give it to a bunch of horny strip club patrons and let them dance for it, a dollar at a time.

Dropping a bunch of money for some shameless assholes to grab for is fine, but you may as well see how far these pukes are willing to go. So drop it somewhere disgusting or dangerous. Now that would be a fucking teevee show.

Think of it: sixteen lucky contestants are chosen from an available pool of applicants who sent in tapes, selected chiefly for their insistent claims that they'll do anything for money. We meet them, one at a time, in short video segments from their own self-made tapes. Then, they're brought to the studio to meet each other and learn the rules. They are assured over and over that yes, one million dollars will be in play, and yes, they can grab and keep as much as they are able. However, we remind them, they did say they'd do anything for money. That's still true, right? It is? Then game on, kids.

Next, they're blindfolded and escorted to that week's playing field, a location which they know nothing about. Our cheerful little money grubbers are then arranged around the perimeter of the drop zone and unmasked, just as the first quarter million bucks is dropped onto... oh, I don't know... the rejects pile at a meat packing plant. [read more...]

Open note to Bob: patent your idea now, before somebody else latches onto it ;)