Huh. That line’s not as good when it’s not being delivered by the Governor of California in a thick Austrian accent. Alas.
Anyway…here’s the question of the day: it’s 2010. “Survivor” has been on the air for ten years now. Reality is firmly established as a legitimate TV genre, not just a fad. How is it possible that there is not a reality TV series on the air today based on/inspired by/ripped off from the Stephen King novella/Governor of California sci-fi action movie The Running Man?
Okay, so you have to remove the whole “ghoulish, trumped-up public execution of convicted criminals” angle from the movie, obviously. But you get yourself some contestants, offer a million-dollar prize for a contestant who reaches a pre-determined goal “alive” (“alive” being determined by some means – maybe something like flag football, or like a paintball/laser tag kind of thing), you get yourself some colorful larger-than-life characters as “hunters” or “gladiators” or whatever you choose to call them, buy the biggest warehouse space you can find in Van Nuys or wherever and convert it into the Game Zone studio, and…well, how does this not work? Who would not watch this?
It’s got a hook for fans of “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race.” It’s got a hook for sports fans, especially if you get some retired pro athletes to play hunters. If you take the movie as your example and go more outlandish with your hunters – give them themes and characters to play – you’ll draw in the people who like pro wrestling.
Seriously, how is this not already on the air? I can’t be the first person with this idea, can I?
I figured we had it covered with American Gladiators.
Jane stole the words right out of my mouth.
Adding the other bits makes the struggle last 13 weeks though.
Now, how close are we to Death Race 2000? (10 years late)