Fox has started a new reality show cum social experiment where 15 contestants have to live for a complete year together in a remote California set, to build a "civilisation from scratch". The twist of the show is that there is apparently no goldpot at the end of the rainbow, i.e there is no prize money for the winners. So in a sense, the group of people with eclectic personalities will not be gaining riches, but certainly lots of publicity. The show premiered on Sunday, September 7 and is available for viewing online, where already more than a million people have watched it.
The show has already created a buzz online, due to its quirky content. In the first week itself, viewers witnessed frequent fighting, nudity, crazy hook-ups, a medical evacuation, pregnancy and even a duo forming their own camp. Entertainment Weekly, that got an exclusive access to the place where the reality show is being shot with robotic cameras, said that two of the players have already removed themselves from the group. Another, a Midwesterner called Hex who describes herself as a 'huntress', had to be rushed to the hospital for severe dehydration.
According to the rules of the game, the society has no heating, electricity or plumbing, but has a a self-filtering lake for water and a barn with two dairy cows and twelve chickens. The 'Utopians' have been allotted $10,000 and they have to decide how to use it to form a new economy to sustain for one year. The contestants have been shortlisted out of 5,000 applicants. It includes people from all walks of life including a a bellydancer, a naturalist, a Manhattan lawyer, a Libertarian, a pastor and a veterinarian technician. "This is the most pure form of reality that I have ever produced in my career," said executive producer John de Mol, who was also behind 'Big Brother'.
Fox has invested an estimated whooping 50 million dollar for the 20-part series and they are counting on it to replace 'American Idol' and 'X-factor'. While the edgy show with raw emotions seems to have started well, it remains to be seen if it becomes a global sensation like 'Big Brother' or 'Survivor' with spin-offs happening in every country.
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