How Far Can A Reality Show Go?
I’m not a big fan of Italian television, but sometimes it's interesting to see how far the creators of a television reality show can go.
The Jump
This was not a lucky year for the Italian reality show “L’Isola dei Famosi," aka, The Island of Famous People, or “L’Isola” for short. Each season of “L’Isola” starts with a jump from a helicopter for all the competitors. This year however, they jumped in a portion of the sea where the depth was just one meter. After the jump, several competitors were injured and had to spend some nights in the hospital.
The actor Luca Ward (above in the photo from onetivu.it) had the most painful experience, which was a deciding factor in his decision to leave the island. In the face of his injuries, Ward was forced to endure the requisite speech from the host encouraging him to remain on the show: “Many competitors left the adventure, then they were very sorry for that.”
Obviously, Mr. Ward had very good reason to leave the adventure — a fracture of the sacrum and several other severe injuries to his spine. As a result of the show's insane helicopter stunt, he could be paralyzed now. Clearly Ward won’t ever be sorry for accepting the invitation to join the adventure, let alone for leaving “L’Isola”.
The Cathedral of Diarrhea
Another competitor of “L’Isola,” Simone Rugiati, a cooking show host from the Sky Italia channel was at the center of another disaster. From the beginning of the show, Simone Rugiati was put in charge of cooking for all the survivors: his dish with rice and beans sent three people to the hospital. One of the survivors Aldo Busi, an Italian writer, described the situation as a “Cathedral of Diarrhea”.
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