Review of "Cue The Sun: The Invention of Reality TV" by Emily Nussbaum

 Author Emily Nussbaum is an award-winning American journalist, magazine editor, and television critic. Nussbaum first conceived a book about 'reality television' in 2003, when "reality stars were bumping actors from the covers of magazines" and "every week something weirder debuted." Advised that reality television was a fad, Nussbaum dropped the idea. Yet reality shows continued to proliferate, and Nussbaum resurrected her book idea two decades later.

 Author Emily Nussbaum

 
Nussbaum did a PRODIGIOUS amount of research for this opus: she watched endless hours of reality programming; read comments and reviews; interviewed cast and crew members, etc. The result is a comprehensive history of the genre, including discussions of reality shows' forerunners; development; themes; contents; creators; producers; champions; critics; stars; racial diversity (or not); editing; long-term consequences; and more. I'll just give a brief glimpse of some of the book's contents, and would urge interested fans and detractors to read 'Cue the Sun.'

Reality television has evolved considerably from its early days in the 1940s, when the long-running show 'Candid Camera', created by Allen Funt, began playing pranks on people.


Allen Funt - producer of 'Candid Camera'

Nussbaum mentions "a wonderful bit in which small-town postal customers, among them a small child, politely chatted with a talkative mailbox." In addition to silly gags, 'Candid Camera' took aim at peoples' prejudices and fears. For instance, in a 1963 sketch "the actress Fannie Flagg pretended to be the first female pilot on American Airlines, triggering bug-eyed alarmed expressions from bystanders." Candid Camera aimed for laughs but a few critics savaged the show, calling it "sadistic, poisonous, anti-human, and sneaky."




Lousy License Plate Gag on 'Candid Camera'

A cousin to the prank show, called 'The Gong Show', began airing in 1976. Described as "a talent contest for the talent-free", the program featured a trio of celebrity judges who watched contestants demonstrate their 'talent.' If a judge considered an act to be especially bad, they stopped it by striking a large gong. One regular act featured "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, the show's stagehand, boogying ineptly as the audience threw trash."


A contestant on 'The Gong Show'

Once again, The Gong Show had harsh critics, who called the show's producer, Chuck Barris, "a viciously cynical man who made a fortune by helping people make jackasses of themselves." Nussbaum notes, "One contestant who got gonged got angry, then broke into Barris Productions offices and lit them on fire." On the other hand, fans of the show viewed it as a camp delight.


Chuck Barris was the producer and host of 'The Gong Show'

'An American Family', televised in 1973, sent reality television down a new path. Created by Craig Gilbert, the program followed the daily lives of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California. The show featured Bill Loud; his wife Pat Loud; and their five children, ranging in age from 13 to 19. The family was an upper middle-class White family whose issues included a philandering husband; a divorce; and a gay son called Lance - who might have been the first gay man to be presented in a sympathetic manner in a television series. Nussbaum writes, "The show would become the most divisive, explosive, endlessly debated pop-culture sensation of that year."


The Louds from 'An American Family'

Nussbaum writes extensively about 'An American Family', depicting (among other things) the relationship that developed between the Louds and the filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond, whose aim was to make a cinéma vérité. Inevitably, though, there was 'prodding' of the Louds, which was a precursor to the blatant producer manipulation of later reality shows.

Filmmakers Susan and Alan Raymond
   

Nussbaum goes on to describe other reality programming, including:

Clip shows like 'America's Funniest Home Videos' (1990 -), which features viewer-made videos;




Clips from 'America's Funniest Home Videos'

and 'Cops' (1989 - ), which follows law enforcement officers as they do drug busts, arrest people, and so on.


Scene from 'Cops'

Reality shows such 'The Real World' (1992 - ) and 'Big Brother' (2000 - ), which puts strangers together in a home, and films their lives. The producers finagle these shows to encourage romances; love triangles; racial strife; homophobia; and so on. In addition, when these programs air, the cast members became superstars, "but without the paycheck or social protection that usually accompanied mind-blowing celebrity." Thus the consequences can be unfortunate.


Photos from 'The Real World'


Season 1 cast of 'Big Brother'

Competition shows like 'Survivor' (2000 - ), which places a group of castaways in an isolated location such as Borneo, where they must obtain their own food, water, fire, shelter, etc. The contestants compete in challenges, and periodically, one castaway is voted off. This format is harrowing for the castaways AND the film crew, who must follow the contestants while carrying heavy equipment. Nussbaum devotes many chapters to 'Survivor', which - like 'Big Brother' - exemplifies many aspects of 'reality television' that isn't so 'real'.




Photos from 'Survivor'

The reality show phenomenon exploded at the turn of the 21st century, with a HUGE number of new programs, including the travel competition 'The Amazing Race';




Photos from 'The Amazing Race'

the singing contest 'American Idol';




Photos from 'American Idol'

the mating show 'The Bachelor';




Photos from 'The Bachelor'

the design competition 'Project Runway';




Photos from 'Project Runway'

the eclectic 'Real Housewives'; and more. Many of the programs weren't successful, but some of the popular ones became blockbusters.




Photos from 'The Real Housewives' franchise

Nussbaum ends her book with a discussion of 'The Apprentice' (2004 - 2017), produced by Mark Burnett, and hosted by Donald Trump for the first fourteen seasons. 'The Apprentice' was a competitive reality show in which Trump was portrayed as a "universally beloved New York real estate tycoon, legendary for his business prowess." Nussbaum notes, "The 'Apprentice' managed to unite the two most successful reality models of the era - twisty, scheming team competitions like 'Survivor' and talent contests like 'American Idol' - and then added a shameless capitalistic twist."




Photos from 'The Apprentice'

Nussbaum isn't a fan of 'The Apprentice' or Trump, and she writes, "Taking a failed tycoon who was heavily in hock and too risky for almost any bank to lend to, a crude, impulsive, bigoted, multiply-bankrupt ignoramus, a sexual predator so reckless he openly harassed women on his show, then finding a way to make him look attractive enough to elect as the president of the United Sates? That was a coup, even if no one could brag about it."

In addition to discussing the reality shows themselves, Nussbaum focuses on the working conditions for the crews, which could be brutal. To make shows like 'Big Brother', which were filmed around the clock, the camera operators might have to work 7-day weeks; snatch sleep on the premises; be absent from their families; and so on. And to make shows like 'Survivor', set in exotic locations, the environs might be hot; bug-infested; far from home; and the like. The pay isn't generous; the producers can be difficult; and the workers can't join the Hollywood unions.

On the upside, work on a reality shows, for cast and crew alike, can sometimes be a springboard to additional (sometimes better) jobs.


Production Assistants

I haven't watched most of the shows discussed in 'Cue the Sun' (aside from a few random episodes here and there), though I'll admit to being a fan of 'Project Runway' (said to be a hunting ground for producer Harvey Weinstein's pursuit of models, which I didn't know); 'The Great British Baking Show'; 'Judge Judy'; and early seasons of 'American Idol'. Still, I found Cue The Sun to be interesting and enlightening. For folks who love reality television, the book is a must read.

 Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Nemesis: An Orphan X Novel" by Gregg Hurwitz

In this 10th book in the 'Orphan X' series, assassin Evan Smoak reluctantly hunts Tommy Stojack, his armorer and one-time friend.

*****

When Evan Smoak was a scrawny twelve-year-old living in an orphanage, he was removed and placed in a black ops program that trained orphans to be highly skilled assassins. Evan was dubbed Orphan X.



After doing his assassin job for many years, Orphan X left the black ops program and set himself up as 'The Nowhere Man', a badass who helps people in trouble.



Evan now resides in a tricked out, completely secure Los Angeles penthouse, his cover story being that he imports industrial chemicals. (Evan's interactions with his neighbors, like Mrs. Rosenbaum - who insists on drawing Evan into social gatherings - is a hoot.)



Tommy Stojack - a grizzled gunsmith and armorer - has been supplying Evan with weapons, customized vehicles, protective gear, and so on for 15 years, but Tommy is now on Evan's blacklist.



The rift occurred when Evan learned that Tommy supplied weapons to a psychopathic female assassin called the Wolf, who'd garroted a teenage girl and tried to kill Evan with a .357 Magnum revolver and a Savage 110 sniper rifle and an SUV with an unyielding front bumper. Tommy hadn't told Evan he was arming the Wolf, which Evan considers a declaration of war by omission.



Evan decides to give Tommy one last chance to explain himself, and drives to the gunsmith's Las Vegas armory. There Evan is ambushed by a group of assassins, and Evan kills most of them and gets away.



Meanwhile, gunsmith Tommy Stojack is fulfilling an old promise to a soldier called Delmont Hickenlooper Sr. (Hick), who was killed in the Middle East. Tommy had promised Hick to help his son Delmont Jr. if the need arose, and it has. Junior called Tommy to say he was involved with the death of some Mexicans in a town called Calvary, and he needs Tommy's assistance.



Tommy hares off to Calvary, and finds Junior living with a ragtag white power militia called the 'Calvary Liberty Guard', who profess hate for Blacks, Mexicans, Jews, Muslims, etc. Tommy makes it his mission to help Junior while also attempting to show the militia youths the error of their ways.



When Evan discovers Tommy's whereabouts, he follows the armorer to Calvary, planning to kill him.



In Calvary, things get very complicated between Orphan X, Tommy, the militia, and the Sheriff's Department. As always, Evan encounters bullies and corrupt cops, who desperately hope 'The Nowhere Man' is an urban legend.

The story provides plenty of opportunity for the author's well-choreographed fight scenes; shootings; stabbings; broken bones; caved in eye sockets; crushed tracheas; and so on.



Concurrent with all this, Evan has a situation with his 17-year-old mentee Josephine (Joey), who was also trained by the Orphan program. College student Joey is an extraordinary computer hacker who's made well-meaning but unfortunate memes about 'oppressed women.' Evan and Joey have a falling out about this, but Joey nevertheless uses her computer skills to assist with Evan's missions.



For readers familiar with the series, there's a great scene with beautiful Candy McClure (aka Orphan V), who has a complicated history with Orphan X.



Both Evan and Joey have changed over the course of the series, as they've strived to fit in with 'normal' society. The Orphans are making progress. Among other things, Orphan X has learned to take care of his aloe plant called Vera....



.....and Joey has come to love her Rhodesian ridgeback called Dog.



This is an excellent addition to the Orphan X series, well written and exciting.

I had both the digital book and the audiobook, narrated by Scott Brick, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Greg Hurwitz, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for copies of the book.

 Rating: 4 stars