Don Morton picked up the first proposal on his desk and began leafing through it.
He hated his new job, director of reality TV for the NBS TV [747] network, because [1776] the truth is, he hated reality TV in general, but it was a good promotion and his mentor told him it might put him on [1515] the inside track to bigger and better things at the network.
[1355] "Dream big," said his mentor.
The president of the network, a real [567] control freak, expected him to sort through the stack of proposals for new reality shows and pick out the [340] out of the park home runs from those that weren't [489] worth a buck. Which show would make people want to [1440] watch it now?
"The [26] Unfaithful Wife," read the first manuscript. "In this show, a [234] ritzy chick with an attitude meets a man who says, '[274] Just call me Ted.' But it turns out [376] Ted's major secret is that he's actually [216] Prince Ted, from the exotic principality of [796] Lorena Ochoa, in the Caribbean. We tell her he's just some [890] Duck River dude. We see if she can remain faithful to her husband, and if she doesn't, we show the husband the [941] absolute proof on video tape. Then, if she does [969] dance all night with the guy, he reveals his true identity."
Don threw down the manuscript in disgust.
[619] "Oh, holey moley," he said, and picked up the next one.
[1007] "The American Idol," it read.
"Can't do that one," Don said. "Fox would sue us for plagiarism. Maybe we could call it [1471] 'The American Choice' instead. Or maybe [636, 633] 'Star In the Making.'"
He picked up the next one: [1067] "Digging for Dollars." He shrugged. That didn't sound very [904] sophisticated.
The next one was a cross between "Deal or No Deal" and "Fear Factor" called [117] "Fear Or No Fear." Twenty-six [14] armed & restless models carrying briefcases with money try to steal from each other at gunpoint under a [1111] big scorecard. [1782] Catastrophic? The network president might think it was [1783] not dangerous enough.
At least it was more interesting than [226] "Push Button for Cash," which sounded like the world's easiest game show. But [1087] the next contestant wouldn't receive a [722] royal fortune for his trouble. [272] "Here's your change," the host would tell him.
[601] "All About Style" was another modeling competition, with women in [28] stiletto heels parading around in a [618] revealing fashion.
Don sighed again.
[1125] "I can't imagine doing this job a second longer," he said, and pushed the manuscripts off his desk so that he could start working on his letter of resignation.
[1619] "Bust me loose," he said.
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