TVSquad

Oh, I know some folks think the entire genre of reality television is odd. But I'm a reality television junkie, yet there are some shows that even I can't justify existing. I'm not talking about Being Bobby Brown or living with the Bonaduces or shows of that ilk. I'm talking outright strange, bizarre, odd, sometimes dangerous, and just plain out there shows.

Now, I've personally thought of shows with names like So You Think You Can Skydive (self-explanatory) or Piranha Pond (marooned on an island in a piranha-filled pond and must swim ashore), but no one takes my ideas seriously. But the shows on this list either existed, were canned after production or will be coming your way!

A show I actually watched a few times makes it first on my list, who woulda thunk it?

When Good Pets Go Bad was a FOX television series back in 1999. It featured home videos and reenactments of events such as spooked horses stampeding, alligators chomping the head of the person who feeds them, dog attacks, and other generally normal behaviors of animals who are frightened or feel threatened. It was exploitive and trashy TV. I would personally rather watch a kitten unrolling the entire roll of toilet tissue and dragging it around the house. Or, heck, the dog who gets up on the couch every time he's told not to get on it. There's a reason the videos of pets on America's Funniest Home Videos are a hit and this show was not.

I Want a Famous Face was a failed MTV series circa 2004-2005. In this one, fans would undergo surgery to make them appear like their favorite celebrity. Ack! Drew Barrymore was just one of the celebrities shocked when one of the contestants wanted to go under the knife to look like her. Kate Winslet was distraught about the fan who had surgery to look like her. I'm personally not a huge fan of unnecessary surgeries, but this took it a step further. If I were the celebrity, I'd be creeped out. It would be like Stephen King's Misery taken to the max. "I'm your number one fan and your doppelganger!"

The Baby Borrowers is an NBC series slated to appear sometime this season. My first thought was of people running around kidnapping babies -- something that would be bizarre and illegal! No, that's not it, but it's still weird if you ask me. Reminiscent of the kids carrying eggs around pretending the eggs are babies, this series has young couples caring for an infant, then a toddler, and so on up to caring for an elderly parent. Remind me, please. Why would something like this be considered entertainment? We may as well drop a covert camera in a parenting class for wayward parents or something. Better yet, get the couples a puppy and see how they do with it first.

I think some of the most intriguing bizarre reality shows seem to stem from across the pond. As a matter of fact, the one above is based on a reality show called Borrowers in the UK. I'm rounding out this list with some defunct reality shows from the UK, but they're near and dear to my heart ... in the theory of bizarre reality shows, that is.

Space Cadets might possibly be listed more as a prank than an actual reality show, but it makes my list anyway. They enlisted clueless ... um ... space cadet kind of people under the guise that they would actually train for and go on a real space mission. The spaced-out contestants thought they were training in Russia. They weren't. After they finished the training, they thought they were on a real space mission. They weren't. Who's a space cadet now?

Priest Idol -- you have American Idol, Pop Idol -- why not an Idol show for priests, eh? After all, the formula must work, right? The show features a new vicar trying to breathe life into his lackluster and failing church. Does he sing? Does he dance? Is he a triple threat? Does he have the It Factor? No. But he did bring in a Pop Choir for Christmas Eve services! Maybe he should team up with Whoopi Goldberg as she revives the Sister Act. This whole thing is reminding me of a Hip Hop Church which recently opened near me in New Jersey. Hallelujah! It's got a good beat, but can you dance to it?

I saved the best for last.

Celebrity Shark Bait. Yes, you read that right. This 2005 defunct ITV1 show threw celebrities in shark infested waters along with chum to attract the sharks. Oh, they spoiled it by putting them in shark cages, but still ...! I just can't imagine the thought processes of those who create a show like this. I feel I should mention that there are some celebrities here who might make good shark food, but the sharks would probably get indigestion. Then we'd be talking cruelty to animals.

Y'know ... a mix of these shows could be interesting. Let me get that idea off to Hollywood now!