Sky shelves show over transsexual row
Can I just state for the record that the entire "Reality TV" genre is tired, worn, and horribly overdone? Can we please move onto something else, or are TV networks so enamored of not having to pay scriptwriters that they're willing to milk this cow until it's producing powder?
Sky One has shelved a reality show which set up six male contestants with a gorgeous woman - only to reveal that "she" was a transsexual.
The broadcaster said the show, Find Me A Man, would not be included in the current schedule. It had been provisionally scheduled to go out next month.
The six contestants had hired lawyers to block transmission of the programme.
They have made a string of allegations against Sky and the programme makers, Brighter Pictures, including conspiracy to commit a sexual assault, defamation, personal injury and breach of contract.
London law firm Schillings, acting on behalf of the men, wrote to Sky yesterday giving the company until the end of today to act on the allegations.
In a statement, a Sky spokesman said: "We have made an initial response to the letter of complaint received yesterday and confirmed that the show is not in Sky One's schedule at present.
"We continue to examine the complaint in detail."
Find Me A Man challenged the contestants to woo a leggy South American brunette called Miriam. At least some of them reached levels of "intimacy" with her, including kissing.
Only at the end of the show did they learn the truth - that Miriam was a pre-operative transsexual. The men were said to be "horrified" by the discovery.
The truly sad thing about this idea is that the show probably would have garnered very good ratings. We LOVE watching the embarrassment and mortification of others, don't we? I'm not sure that I like what that says about Western culture....
