The Joe Schmo Show
Encyclopedia
The Joe Schmo Show is a reality television
parody
show which aired on the American cable
network
Spike TV from 2003–2004. The show's premise is that a target person or persons are led to believe that they are contestants on a reality television show; in reality, all of the other participants in the purported show – including the host – are actor
s, and their actions and the outcome of the purported show are all scripted in an attempt to elicit comedic reactions from the targets. The show ran for two seasons: The Joe Schmo Show aired in 2003 and Joe Schmo 2 aired in 2004. The series were created by Paul Wernick
and Rhett Reese, who both also created Invasion Iowa
. The first season was released on DVD
in 2004 and the second season was released on DVD in 2009.
s" are stereotype
s of common reality TV show participants.
Two actors made brief appearances in supporting roles: Ryan Raddatz played Molly's boyfriend, William (who feigned shock at seeing her in a bikini), and Steve Ireland played David Decker - a phony network executive (who negotiated with Gould to finish the "Meal Not Quite Fit for a King").
For the hoax, the producers named the faux-reality show Lap of Luxury, with a $100,000 top prize "awarded" to the "winner." Perhaps in an attempt to keep things as close to actual reality shows as possible, at the end of every episode an eviction ceremony was conducted where each contestant voted to evict someone, and the person with the most votes was eliminated. After the written finish was executed, the actor in question would take a plate with their face painted on it and give it to Garman, who would then state a rhyming couplet that went "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, (name), you're dead to us" then throw the plate into the fireplace, breaking it. In the final episode the three remaining "players" (in this case Gould, "Brian", and "Hutch") faced a final vote from the evicted "houseguests" (similar to the final Tribal Council on Survivor
) with the one getting the most votes "winning".
The show experienced an unexpected shift during an early episode. Earl ("the Veteran") had bonded with Gould. When Earl was "voted" off the show, Gould began to weep and question his possible monetary gain at the cost of competing against his new friends. Both the other "contestants" and the show's executives allegedly questioned the future of the show. While Gould was kept in the dark until the very end, the tone of the show was apparently altered (according to the voiceover of the early episodes). While the original premise had been to make situations funny at Gould's expense, it became clear that the audience would sympathize too strongly with his earnestness; later games and contests were rigged to ensure he would win.
Gould's sensitivity came to the forefront in a later episode featuring a sumo wrestling
contest. Gould knocked down Dr. Pat and she injured her head and had to be taken to the hospital. Gould eventually won the contest but was disturbed by the injury to Dr. Pat. The next day when Dr. Pat returned to the show, Gould gave her the all-expense-paid spa vacation he had won earlier.
The producers added a twist in the series when Hutch was eliminated due to breaking the rules. After said elimination he returned and (as noted above) made the final, where he was declared the "winner" just before the hoax was revealed.
In the show's finale, which aired to over 3.4 million viewers (the all-time record for a non-wrestling show on TNN/Spike up to that time), Gould learned the truth and received the $100,000 prize for which he was "competing," along with the two vacations and a new plasma TV
. He later recorded commentary that was included in Mo' Joe Schmo, a rebroadcast of the series. The Joe Schmo Show was released on DVD with additional and uncensored footage in 2004.
Gould's plaintive cry, "What is going ON?!?", delivered upon his discovery that the show was a fraud, became a popular catchphrase. Spike TV has since used the phrase at the end of the network's other original productions, some of them involving Gould himself.
Some cast members have gone on to bigger success, including Kristen Wiig, who landed a regular spot on Saturday Night Live
in 2005; Lance Krall, creator, writer, and lead of VH1's Free Radio
; Ralph Garman
, a voice actor on Family Guy
, and co-host of "Hollywood Babble-On"; and David Hornsby, who is writer, supervising producer, and "Rickety Cricket" on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
.
with a fake show called Last Chance for Love. Producers also set out to fool not one, but two people, a man (Tim Walsh) and a woman (originally Ingrid Wiese). The series premiered on June 15, 2004.
The original "Joe Schmo," Matt Kennedy Gould, taped a cameo appearance during an episode of Joe Schmo 2 as a pizza delivery
man, but the segment was cut when the network decided to shorten the episode; it did appear on the DVD.
The series took an unexpected twist within minutes of its beginning when Wiese became suspicious of some of her fellow contestants (especially when one, who had only been hired for the first episode and was not aware of the nature of the program, stated that her agent had arranged for her to appear on the show). Things reached a head when the character of "Cammy", who was supposed to be telling Ingrid a secret, paused her story in order to allow the cameraman to change batteries. Wiese began openly questioning the contest, eventually stating during an interview segment that she didn't believe it was real. At this point, the series alternated between the hoax and a debate among the producers and writers about how to handle Wiese, particularly since Walsh had, up to that point, not yet begun to question the hoax. Ultimately, the producers decided to reveal the hoax to Wiese (during an activity in which Walsh was not present) and gave her the choice either to leave the show or to stay and become one of its characters, with a promised $100,000 payout at the end if she were successful in helping fool Walsh. Wiese chose to join the cast. In order to preserve the original intent to fool both a male and a female star, the producers brought in another woman (Amanda Naughton), who had thought she was an unsuccessful applicant, to serve as the second "schmo." The faux bachelor and bachelorette were asked to choose one of two doors in order to bring a new contestant into the game. Walsh and Naughton were told that one door hid a male suitor and one door hid a female; in actuality, the choice was scripted and Naughton was the only new contestant present.
The cast members (including Wiese) played broad stereotypes of dating-show personalities.
Two other actors (Timothy Brennan and Robin McDonald) portrayed supporting roles in two separate episodes. In one episode, Brennan played Piper's over-protective father, Frank, while McDonald played Piper's loving mother, Betty. The other episode, which aired the following week, featured Brennan as Austin's fun father, Dallas, and McDonald as Austin's strict mother, Lois. Each "schmo" only met the pair in one of their two sets of roles.
In addition to revealing the hoax to her and inviting her to join the other actors, producers also gave Wiese storylines of her own including one in which her character was accused of faking a death in the family in a bid to win Austin's affections. At one point she was temporarily evicted from the house, but was later allowed to return; Tim Walsh was also evicted at one point, but this was part of the ongoing storyline, and he, too, rejoined the contest soon after.
The show's major ongoing plot involved the character of Bryce, who began stalking Piper, the Bachelorette, even after he was evicted twice from the show.
The series ultimately resolved itself at a "promise ceremony", attended by all the previous contestants on the show, where Piper and Austin, whom it was revealed were in fact an estranged couple, were given the choice of either promising themselves to Amanda and Tim (the last two contestants), or marrying each other. Realizing their love had not died after all, Piper and Austin agreed to marry, but the ceremony was interrupted by the manic Bryce, who proclaimed his love for Piper, and then revealed the true nature of the program. After a tense moment (the producers were prepared for the usually easy-going but sometimes irritable Tim to react badly to the revelation), Tim broke the tension by exclaiming, "Jackpot!"
All three "schmos" (Walsh, Naughton, and Wiese) received the same amount ($100,000) that Gould earned in season one, plus vacation packages they won playing contests during the show. It was also stated that a Third World
child would be adopted in Walsh's name (the first episode had "Ernie" adopting a Third World child on behalf of Piper).
Garman dyed his hair blond and wore a fake beard, fake glasses, blue contact lenses and false teeth so he would not be recognized by the new contestants. During the finale, however, Naughton recognized one of the actresses who had been eliminated prior to her arrival, Natasha Leggero
, because she had seen the woman perform as a stand-up comic. The discovery did not derail the illusion because Naughton did not know the false identity that Leggero had created for the show.
Much of the final episode detailed the immediate aftermath of the revelation to Amanda and Tim. The actress who played Piper the bachelorette tearfully expressed remorse at the hoax. Both Amanda and Tim took the revelation of the hoax in relatively good (if somewhat stunned) spirit.
by Touchdown Television
as Living The Dream
in 2004. The same year, France released Gloire et Fortune : La grande imposture. In 2006, the show arrived in Spain with the name of El Show de Cándido on the Spanish TV channel La Sexta
by Globomedia (Promofilm
).
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
show which aired on the American cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
Spike TV from 2003–2004. The show's premise is that a target person or persons are led to believe that they are contestants on a reality television show; in reality, all of the other participants in the purported show – including the host – are actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s, and their actions and the outcome of the purported show are all scripted in an attempt to elicit comedic reactions from the targets. The show ran for two seasons: The Joe Schmo Show aired in 2003 and Joe Schmo 2 aired in 2004. The series were created by Paul Wernick
Paul Wernick
-Television:Wernick created, executive-produced, and wrote The Joe Schmo Show with writing and producing partner Rhett Reese for Spike TV. The critically acclaimed series drew Spike's highest ratings in history...
and Rhett Reese, who both also created Invasion Iowa
Invasion Iowa
Invasion Iowa is a television mini-series that aired on Spike TV beginning on March 29, 2005, on ITV4 beginning on 3 November 2005 and The Comedy Channel in April 2007. The series depicts events from September 2004, in which William Shatner played a hoax on the small town of Riverside, Iowa by...
. The first season was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2004 and the second season was released on DVD in 2009.
The Joe Schmo Show (season one)
The target of season one was Matt Gould. The other "contestantContestant
A contestant is someone who takes part in a competition, usually a professional competition or a game show on television. The participants competing against each other have to go through rounds...
s" are stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s of common reality TV show participants.
- Ashleigh Rivera, the RichWealthWealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
Bitch - Melissa Yvonne Lewis - Brian Keith Etheridge, the BuddyFriendshipFriendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
- Brian Keith Etheridge - Carlos "Kip" Calderas, the GayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Guy - Lance KrallLance KrallLance Krall is a Vietnamese-American comedian and actor, television writer, director, and producer. He became well known after his portrayal as "Kip" in the role in faux-reality show The Joe Schmo Show... - Earl Bradford, the VeteranVeteranA veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
- Franklin Dennis Jones - Gina Price, the Schemer - Nikki Davis
- Molly Crabtree, the VirginVirginityVirginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
- Angela DodsonAngela DodsonAngela Dodson is an American actress who was born in Port Neches, Texas.-Career:Angela Dodson made her debut playing "Molly Crabtree" on the reality television The Joe Schmo Show, which aired on Spike. Dodson based the "Molly" character on her young cousin from Texas... - Patricia "Dr. Pat" Lane, the QuackQuackeryQuackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
Marriage CounselorRelationship counselingRelationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress...
- Kristen WiigKristen WiigKristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of... - Steve "The Hutch" Hutchison, the AssholeAssholeThe word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a term used pejoratively to describe the anus.-History:...
- David HornsbyDavid HornsbyDavid Hornsby is an American television and film actor and writer.-Early life and education:Hornsby was born in 1973 in Houston, Texas... - Ralph Garman, the Smarmy Host - Ralph GarmanRalph GarmanRalph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
Two actors made brief appearances in supporting roles: Ryan Raddatz played Molly's boyfriend, William (who feigned shock at seeing her in a bikini), and Steve Ireland played David Decker - a phony network executive (who negotiated with Gould to finish the "Meal Not Quite Fit for a King").
For the hoax, the producers named the faux-reality show Lap of Luxury, with a $100,000 top prize "awarded" to the "winner." Perhaps in an attempt to keep things as close to actual reality shows as possible, at the end of every episode an eviction ceremony was conducted where each contestant voted to evict someone, and the person with the most votes was eliminated. After the written finish was executed, the actor in question would take a plate with their face painted on it and give it to Garman, who would then state a rhyming couplet that went "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, (name), you're dead to us" then throw the plate into the fireplace, breaking it. In the final episode the three remaining "players" (in this case Gould, "Brian", and "Hutch") faced a final vote from the evicted "houseguests" (similar to the final Tribal Council on Survivor
Survivor (U.S. TV series)
Survivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. The series premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS...
) with the one getting the most votes "winning".
The show experienced an unexpected shift during an early episode. Earl ("the Veteran") had bonded with Gould. When Earl was "voted" off the show, Gould began to weep and question his possible monetary gain at the cost of competing against his new friends. Both the other "contestants" and the show's executives allegedly questioned the future of the show. While Gould was kept in the dark until the very end, the tone of the show was apparently altered (according to the voiceover of the early episodes). While the original premise had been to make situations funny at Gould's expense, it became clear that the audience would sympathize too strongly with his earnestness; later games and contests were rigged to ensure he would win.
Gould's sensitivity came to the forefront in a later episode featuring a sumo wrestling
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
contest. Gould knocked down Dr. Pat and she injured her head and had to be taken to the hospital. Gould eventually won the contest but was disturbed by the injury to Dr. Pat. The next day when Dr. Pat returned to the show, Gould gave her the all-expense-paid spa vacation he had won earlier.
The producers added a twist in the series when Hutch was eliminated due to breaking the rules. After said elimination he returned and (as noted above) made the final, where he was declared the "winner" just before the hoax was revealed.
In the show's finale, which aired to over 3.4 million viewers (the all-time record for a non-wrestling show on TNN/Spike up to that time), Gould learned the truth and received the $100,000 prize for which he was "competing," along with the two vacations and a new plasma TV
Plasma display
A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...
. He later recorded commentary that was included in Mo' Joe Schmo, a rebroadcast of the series. The Joe Schmo Show was released on DVD with additional and uncensored footage in 2004.
Gould's plaintive cry, "What is going ON?!?", delivered upon his discovery that the show was a fraud, became a popular catchphrase. Spike TV has since used the phrase at the end of the network's other original productions, some of them involving Gould himself.
Some cast members have gone on to bigger success, including Kristen Wiig, who landed a regular spot on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 2005; Lance Krall, creator, writer, and lead of VH1's Free Radio
Free Radio
Free Radio is a television show, created by Lance Krall and Rory Rosegarten. The show originated on VH1, but has also played on Comedy Central, and Super Channel . It stars Lance Krall, prominent for his role on The Joe Schmo Show, and Anna Vocino, who also starred with Krall on The Lance Krall...
; Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
, a voice actor on Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, and co-host of "Hollywood Babble-On"; and David Hornsby, who is writer, supervising producer, and "Rickety Cricket" on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
.
Joe Schmo 2 (season two)
In 2004, Spike TV aired a second season of The Joe Schmo Show, called Joe Schmo 2 and tagged, "The Schmo must go on." Rather than duplicate the premise of the first season, producers satirized reality dating shows such as The Bachelor and The BacheloretteThe Bachelorette
The Bachelorette is a spin-off of the American competitive reality dating game show The Bachelor. In its January 2003 debut on ABC, the first season featured Trista Rehn, the runner-up date from the first season of The Bachelor, offering the opportunity for Rehn to choose a husband among 25 bachelors...
with a fake show called Last Chance for Love. Producers also set out to fool not one, but two people, a man (Tim Walsh) and a woman (originally Ingrid Wiese). The series premiered on June 15, 2004.
The original "Joe Schmo," Matt Kennedy Gould, taped a cameo appearance during an episode of Joe Schmo 2 as a pizza delivery
Pizza delivery
Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria delivers a pizza to a customer. Delivery is normally made with an automobile, motor scooter, or bicycle.- Ordering :...
man, but the segment was cut when the network decided to shorten the episode; it did appear on the DVD.
The series took an unexpected twist within minutes of its beginning when Wiese became suspicious of some of her fellow contestants (especially when one, who had only been hired for the first episode and was not aware of the nature of the program, stated that her agent had arranged for her to appear on the show). Things reached a head when the character of "Cammy", who was supposed to be telling Ingrid a secret, paused her story in order to allow the cameraman to change batteries. Wiese began openly questioning the contest, eventually stating during an interview segment that she didn't believe it was real. At this point, the series alternated between the hoax and a debate among the producers and writers about how to handle Wiese, particularly since Walsh had, up to that point, not yet begun to question the hoax. Ultimately, the producers decided to reveal the hoax to Wiese (during an activity in which Walsh was not present) and gave her the choice either to leave the show or to stay and become one of its characters, with a promised $100,000 payout at the end if she were successful in helping fool Walsh. Wiese chose to join the cast. In order to preserve the original intent to fool both a male and a female star, the producers brought in another woman (Amanda Naughton), who had thought she was an unsuccessful applicant, to serve as the second "schmo." The faux bachelor and bachelorette were asked to choose one of two doors in order to bring a new contestant into the game. Walsh and Naughton were told that one door hid a male suitor and one door hid a female; in actuality, the choice was scripted and Naughton was the only new contestant present.
The cast members (including Wiese) played broad stereotypes of dating-show personalities.
- Ambrosia, The Bitch - Gretchen PalmerGretchen PalmerGretchen Palmer is an American television and film actress. She has had recurring roles in television series such as The Joe Schmo Show and The Parkers, and has appeared in films including Trois and I Got the Hook Up . She also appeared on The Young and the Restless as Serena.-References:...
- Austin, The Bachelor - Tim Herzog
- Bryce, The Stalker - Kevin Kirkpatrick
- Cammy, The Moron - Jana Speaker
- Eleanor, The Weeper - Jessica MakinsonJessica MakinsonJessica Makinson is an American actress, comedienne, and improviser known as a series regular for several Comedy Central programs, voice over work for animation, and as a sketch player for late night talk shows.-Early life and career:...
- Ernie, The Heir - Steve Mallory
- Gerald, The Gotta-Be-Gay Guy - Jonathan TorrensJonathan TorrensJonathan Ormond Torrens is a Canadian actor and television personality best known for his co-hosting of Street Cents, his talk show Jonovision, and his role as "J-Roc" in the popular Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys...
- Piper, The Bachelorette - Valerie AzlynnValerie AzlynnValerie Azlynn is an American actress who has appeared in several television shows and movies.-Biography:Azlynn was born Valerie Asselin in New London, Connecticut and was raised there...
- Rita, The Drunk - Natasha LeggeroNatasha LeggeroNatasha Leggero is an American actress and stand-up comic from Rockford, Illinois.-Biography:Leggero began performing at age 10, in several Chicago plays. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City to study at the Stella Adler Conservatory. While there, she also attended Hunter...
- T.J., The Playah - Jon HuertasJon HuertasJon Huertas, born Jon William "Scott" Hofstedt and sometimes credited as John Huertas, is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Sergeant Antonio 'Poke' Espera in HBO's Generation Kill the miniseries as well as Joe Negroni in the film Why Do Fools Fall in Love and homicide...
- Ingrid, The Schmo Turned Actress - Ingrid Wiese
- Derek Newcastle, The Pompous Host - Ralph GarmanRalph GarmanRalph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
Two other actors (Timothy Brennan and Robin McDonald) portrayed supporting roles in two separate episodes. In one episode, Brennan played Piper's over-protective father, Frank, while McDonald played Piper's loving mother, Betty. The other episode, which aired the following week, featured Brennan as Austin's fun father, Dallas, and McDonald as Austin's strict mother, Lois. Each "schmo" only met the pair in one of their two sets of roles.
In addition to revealing the hoax to her and inviting her to join the other actors, producers also gave Wiese storylines of her own including one in which her character was accused of faking a death in the family in a bid to win Austin's affections. At one point she was temporarily evicted from the house, but was later allowed to return; Tim Walsh was also evicted at one point, but this was part of the ongoing storyline, and he, too, rejoined the contest soon after.
The show's major ongoing plot involved the character of Bryce, who began stalking Piper, the Bachelorette, even after he was evicted twice from the show.
The series ultimately resolved itself at a "promise ceremony", attended by all the previous contestants on the show, where Piper and Austin, whom it was revealed were in fact an estranged couple, were given the choice of either promising themselves to Amanda and Tim (the last two contestants), or marrying each other. Realizing their love had not died after all, Piper and Austin agreed to marry, but the ceremony was interrupted by the manic Bryce, who proclaimed his love for Piper, and then revealed the true nature of the program. After a tense moment (the producers were prepared for the usually easy-going but sometimes irritable Tim to react badly to the revelation), Tim broke the tension by exclaiming, "Jackpot!"
All three "schmos" (Walsh, Naughton, and Wiese) received the same amount ($100,000) that Gould earned in season one, plus vacation packages they won playing contests during the show. It was also stated that a Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
child would be adopted in Walsh's name (the first episode had "Ernie" adopting a Third World child on behalf of Piper).
Garman dyed his hair blond and wore a fake beard, fake glasses, blue contact lenses and false teeth so he would not be recognized by the new contestants. During the finale, however, Naughton recognized one of the actresses who had been eliminated prior to her arrival, Natasha Leggero
Natasha Leggero
Natasha Leggero is an American actress and stand-up comic from Rockford, Illinois.-Biography:Leggero began performing at age 10, in several Chicago plays. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City to study at the Stella Adler Conservatory. While there, she also attended Hunter...
, because she had seen the woman perform as a stand-up comic. The discovery did not derail the illusion because Naughton did not know the false identity that Leggero had created for the show.
Much of the final episode detailed the immediate aftermath of the revelation to Amanda and Tim. The actress who played Piper the bachelorette tearfully expressed remorse at the hoax. Both Amanda and Tim took the revelation of the hoax in relatively good (if somewhat stunned) spirit.
International versions
The Joe Schmo Show was produced for TV2 in New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
by Touchdown Television
Touchdown Television
Eyeworks Touchdown is a New Zealand-based television production company specialising in reality and unscripted formats, which has become a leader in the field in New Zealand, and the world...
as Living The Dream
Living The Dream (TV series)
Living the Dream was the New Zealand version of Spike TV's Joe Schmo Show, produced by Touchdown Television for TV2.- Description :It was a reality TV show that began airing in August 2004 and involves a setup that is reminiscent of the movie The Truman Show.One man, Sam Chambers, thinks he's on a...
in 2004. The same year, France released Gloire et Fortune : La grande imposture. In 2006, the show arrived in Spain with the name of El Show de Cándido on the Spanish TV channel La Sexta
La Sexta
laSexta is the sixth nationwide broadcast television station in Spain. It is privately owned and began broadcasting in 2006.-Programming:....
by Globomedia (Promofilm
Promofilm
Promofilm is a television production company based in Argentina....
).
See also
- BedsitcomBedsitcomBedsitcom is a British reality television series that was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2003. Pitched as "somewhere between a sitcom and a reality TV show", the show documented the lives of six young people living in a loft flat in London...
– a similar British series - Space Cadets