I got a kick this week out of a piece Slate did on the doomed reality show contestants who have been voted or kicked off in the first episode, complete with tips on how to avoid their fate. At first I struggled to remember a single first contestant, but then this piece reminded me of Jerry and Nimma from Bravo's Project Runway and Top Chef.
If you are planning on competing on one of these reality shows, these are some pretty good tips for sticking around for more than one episode. If not, you'll probably find them as fascinating as I do and will watch to see if they hold true for shows like The Amazing Race, which premieres tonight.
Here are some of the tips and excerpts from the article:
- Lesson 9: Everyone loves a comeback story: "A bad first episode doesn't mean a contestant can't make a comeback. But if you want a shot at post-reality fame, you first have to make it past Week 1."
- Lesson 8: Know your demographic: "VH1 understands the ratings power of the loudmouth; who among the channel's viewers wouldn't want to watch a plus-sized Omarosa gone ghetto?"
- Lesson 6: Know your eliminator: "On a reality show, it's almost always good to be memorable. But if your fate is in a single person's hands, you'd better be indelible for the right reasons."
To see some more, just read more!
- Lesson 5: Don't clam up: "With so little time to break through the clutter, no one has the luxury of opening-night jitters."
- Lesson 3: Don't be chicken: "Sometimes, a reality contestant signs up for adventure but winds up looking sorry she didn't stay home."
- Lesson 2: Nice guys finish last. Same with nice ladies: "This was an island of snakes and rats, and Sonja's guileless personality made her seem impossibly weak."
Do you agree with these? Do you remember any reality contestants who went home first?
by Terry
Nike
Nails Inc
Enjoyed the article and the tips, though I don't plan to compete any time soon! Loved "Don't be dull."
1Lol, yeah I never remember who the first person to get kicked off was until the reunion or article. But definitely, don't clam up but being a chicken I think is worse. It's definitely about adventure and if you don't do something adventurous (yet tasteful) you look stupid. Yeah, Jerry is definitely the only person I remember being kicked off first. I was kinda hype about the raincoat he was doing but that thing just crashed and burned. I'm not competing on any show but if you do, just make sure you have the gusto to do it.
2is there a lesson 1?
3caryatid — there is. check my link to the original Slate article — I didn't post them all here because some didn't make sense out of context. Here's that link again.
4i think that this is so funny - that we;re thinking about the stars that left on day 1 - that's really almost sad if you think about what you have to give up to shoot the show and to go home right off the bat. i think that the most memorable for me lately is the guy from project runway, cause he used a shower curtain to make a coat and he said that he was this AMAZING designer - but no one saw that.
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