The Red Door

This is an idea I had for a reality show a while back, I think it's a very good idea, in that it appeals to my specific sense of humor.

You start with the requisite group of contestants, men and women, from diverse age groups and backgrounds. Give them a physical exam; we don't want (physically) frail people on this show (Mental/emotional frailty, on the other hand, is what reality TV is based on, and my show especially) and have them sign a waiver (very important). We tell the contestants that this is a "Big Brother" type show, where they will be sequestered from the rest of the world for the duration of the program. For the first episode, we'll have something of a send off party: last chance to see family/friends for a while, a chance to get to know their fellow contestants, etc. The evening ends with a private dinner for the contestants. At which point we drug them. Or gas them, or whatever. The point is, they all need to be very compliant for an hour or so, and the less they remember, the better. (This is why that waiver is so vital.)

Our contestants awake in the Room. It is white, windowless, and square. Table and stools (bolted to the floor) in one corner, sleeping mats in another, toilet in a third, shower (no curtain) in the fourth. I haven't decided on the exact dimensions on the Room, except that it should be a little small for the number of people in it. The only things of interest in the Room, are the security cameras plainly displayed on the wall, and the Door, which is bright, candy-apple Red. (An aside, I never understood the fun in Big Brother with having the cameras hidden behind mirrors. If the contestants can pretend the cameras aren't' there, they will relax and act normal. We don't watch reality TV to see normal people.) For the moment, the Door is locked.

Eventually, they will notice that they are not wearing what they were at dinner. They are all wearing identical white jumpsuits. Any personal items (jewelry, etc.) are missing. Once all the contestants are awake, we give them a little time to come to terms with their situation. When the time is right, a voice comes over a loudspeaker and says, "The rules are simple: You may leave whenever you want. The last one in the Room is the winner." There is an audible click as the Door is unlocked, and we leave them to their devices.

Food is delivered at regular intervals through an opening in the wall by the table. Remember the gruel from the Matrix? That's what I'm going for: all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals a body needs. The only thing it lacks is flavor and appealing texture. At 12 hour intervals, the lights cycle on and off. When the lights are out, it is pitch black, and then in the 'morning' they come back on at full intensity. The contestants will bitch and moan and complain, and some may feel horribly violated (again, we need some boiler plate liability waivers here) but the kicker is, they CAN leave when whenever they want. It they're unhappy, it's only because they're stubborn or greedy, and won't leave. No one is forced off, no one is voted out. If you hate someone in the Room, you're stuck with them until either you or him has had enough and leaves.

After the initial shock, I figure that many people will adapt and be able to take it. Also, watching people sit around a featureless white room makes for boring TV. That's when we start fucking with them. We could take away the hot water. We could start increasing the length of the 'day' by 15 minutes each cycle, until there's only a few hours of 'night.' Or the reverse, making the 'night' overly long. Or we could make it a permanent twilight for a week or two: neither dark enough to sleep, nor bright enough to see clearly. We could play with the temperature of the room, making it as hot of cold as we please. The Room could be on hydraulics so we put it a few degrees off level. Or 25 degrees. The room could start rotating the Room very slowly, then increase it until it's distracting. Then stop it abruptly. We could start playing soft, classical music. Or Hanson's "Mmm Bop" ad nauseam. Or, we could start playing sounds very very softly, so that only those contestants with excellent hearing can detect it. One morning, the contestants (though, at this point, the word 'victims' may be more appropriate) may wake up to find a red rubber playground sitting on the floor. We''l let them play with/fight over it for a while, and hopefully, it will become an object of great importance to the group. That will make it much more satisfying when we take it away. We could mess with the menu. After a few weeks of gruel, I'll bet pepperoni pizza would be pretty good. I wonder if they'll still like it five days later...

The things that could be done to them are limited only by imagination, and the language of that oh so important release of liability. They can be as subtle or as overt as the producers decide, though I favor more subtle actions.

The show is pointless for the contestants. There are no challenges to complete, no immunity tokens to be won. There is no strategic value in forming alliances, as no one will leave until they're good and ready. The point for the viewers at home is much the same as it is for other reality shows: watching people unravel and seeing what people will go through for a fat wad of cash. The big kicker here is that the contestants are doing it to themselves. They can leave as soon as it suits them. If it looks like people will be leaving too fast to fill a seasons worth shows, we could always announce that the prize money went up. Or, perhaps, the prize money will slowly climb the longer the show takes.

Some technical considerations:

If there are women on the show, I haven't decided what to do about menstration. That is, if tampons should be provided, or if, in keeping with the broader themes of the program, they should just suffer without.

I like the idea that Big Brother started, of people being able to go online and choose what camera to watch.

I've thought about having one camera assigned to track each contestant, either by manual control, or perhaps some kind of RF identifier in their jumpsuit.

If it's totally black when the lights go out, then conventional night vision cameras won't work, as they amplify available light to create an image. I'm not certain how well thermal or infrared cameras would work. I may have to concede a little ambient light at night so the cameras can function.

The physical screenings will have to be exhaustive. While psychological damage is the name of the game, I don't want anyone who's likely to have a heart attack or stroke getting on the show.

Also, what to do if someone gets violent with another contestant? Ideally, the other contestants will put a stop to it, but I will need a contigency plan if things get out of control. The best thing I've got is having the lights go out, perhaps soak the room in ice cold water to get people to pay attention, then have some burly men come in and remove the offending person/persons. When the lights come up, the violent one is gone and the others have little idea what happened.

That's about it. I could go on and on with the ideas I've had for messing with the people, but I'm sure you get the idea. Let me know what you think.