Tuesday 3 June 2014

Mars One colonisation show directorial challenges

What are the Mars One team going to do to spice up the reality show funding the trip if it turns out to be rubbish? The way they normally cast reality shows like this is to put the loudest, most obnoxious, most insane people they can find in a tiny house and point the cameras at the carnage. When you put that same type of "TV-interesting" person in a tin can and fire them at another planet, waving goodbye forever, my bet is that exactly one of them arrives intact, smeared with the blood of his former crewmates, wearing their ears as a necklace. If you cast the reliable scientists who will get along and get the job done, by gum, then you'll have the most boring geology-focused reality show ever. So the best bet is probably to play it down the middle, choosing folk who are not completely crazy-town, but not mayonnaise-and-golf boring either.

Next problem. Sooner or later, someone is going to die on Mars, and that is a major bummer. Despite what all other TV has taught us, I don't think death would spice this one up. Instead, it would remind us of the mortality of all of our chosen reality-TV-nauts and we may cut ourselves off to save the pain.

One day, the ratings will slip. I mean, "Day 400 on Mars. Found some more red rocks." is not going to cut it. What do you do, then, as a producer of the show? Command someone to do something to spice things up? How? You are limited to asking politely from millions of kilometres away or sending a refresher crew to introduce something unknown. That's my guess. Once the ratings pay off, "season 2" is crew 2, on the way to Mars to expand the colony. Or, more likely, to form a separate faction and go to war with the old guard, because, seriously, screw those guys.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - There has to be a self-sustaining tipping point we aim to reach.
PPS - At least before "Europa One" takes off.

No comments: