Reality TV…
As if the now-omnipresent phenomenon of reality TV weren’t enough, the newest reality series of the summer (NBC’s The Restaurant) comes complete with a handful of unofficial, unsanctioned websites and blogs by Rocco DiSpirito’s eager young staff. There’s newly-departed Topher, gimpy-armed Gideon, as-of-yet-barely-seen Uzay, and badass-with-a-new-moped Lola.
The idea of reality TV “stars” commenting on the ways in which their on-screen personas were shaped by editing is nothing new (though I’d have to defer to my friend Amber for links to the message boards populated by Amazing Race and other reality TV castmembers), but there’s something particularly…well, intense…about the websites by and for The Restaurant‘s waitstaff. Considering that they’re mostly aspiring actors and actresses in New York City, and that according to the first episode of the show the first step in the hiring process was a resume and headshot, we really should expect more flat-out self-promotion from these folks, and they don’t fail to disappoint.
My favorite part is watching an episode, then reading the comments by various castmembers (usually posted within hours of the show airing), and trying to piece together a sense of what might really have happened from the Rashomon-like fragments of narrative. The only thing I’m sure of is that the French guy is a good guy.