The Real LP -or- The Most Boring Show on TV

I have to believe that this is a hoax. But nonetheless, check out this article from TheBay.net:

Casting Call to be Held in St. Mary's County

The producer of NBC's The Biggest Loser and Beauty and the Geek director are coming to Southern Maryland to cast 18- to 25-year-olds for a "Laguna Beach" type series that will be shot in St. Mary's County. The casting call is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11, from noon to 7 p.m. at TheBAYNET.com, 45370 Alton Lane, Suite 301, in California.

According to the production company, 25/7 Productions, the producer, Dave Broome of "The Biggest Loser" and Brian Smith, director of "Beauty and the Geek," will cast both males and females for a soft-scripted docu-soap similar to "The Hills" reality series.

"Aspiring actors and charismatic young people are asked to be incredibly enthusiastic, passionate and open to adventure," said Yong Yam of 25/7 Productions. “Casting good-looking young actors is a definite a plus, she said, adding casting participants must have some acting and improvisational skills and feel very natural in front of a camera. “We are looking for people with water and boating skills as well,” Yam said.

Once the show is cast, 25/7 Productions will shoot the episode within the month.

Those interested in participating should e-mail pictures of themselves – headshots – along with personal information to casting1@257tv.com.

Get involved! Perhaps someone you know will be the next world famous heart-throb, right here in St. Mary’s County!

Really? It's not just that this could be the worst reality show in a long line of terrible television- I mean, what are they going to show the kids doing? Going to Wal-Mart on a Saturday? Hitting the Green Door? Crabbing? Eating everything with Old Bay on it? The only interesting thing to do is to take day trips to DC or Annapolis, and if that's the case, why wouldn't you set the show there?

No, what really baffles me is how someone in Hollywood (California) purportedly sat down with a map of the United States, perhaps the world, and thought "Where would be a good setting for a new teenage faux-reality television series?" and came up with St. Mary's county, Maryland. There's nothing of note here other than a Navy base. And if that's what you want, there are at least one-hundred Navy bases in more interesting locations. Plus, as my co-worker Dan pointed out, you can't star anyone who works on base, because they'd never get the camera crew through the gate. There's also St. Mary's college, but...yeah.

So if they wanted an interesting place, why are they here? And if the point was to choose a boring place with nothing to do, why pick a small town that's only an hour from actual interesting places? This to me does not add up. What was the list of criteria? Did it have to be one of the top 3 micropolitan areas in the USA?

Man, if I was between 18 and 25, I would so check that out just to investigate.

And for the record, I despise reality television. I like how we now admit that it is "soft-scripted," which is a pleasant way to say "fake," and that they are openly searching for cast members with "acting and improvisational skills." For a "docu-soap" series. I think we really need to set hard definitions for "reality" and "documentary."