Casualties of the ratings war The grim reality of "reality TV," part two As reluctant as I am to side with a booted reality show contestant, this borders on cruel and unusual punishment... According to a New York Daily News article from a few weeks ago, the producers of a reality surgery-and-self-esteem show on ABC TV called Extreme Makeover are now being sued in L.A. Superior Court for literally ruining a woman's life - by rejecting her at the last minute after promising her a life-enhancing whole-body transformation as part of the show's run in the spring of 2004. Now, you're probably thinking right now exactly what I did when I read the first paragraph of the article: How did simply leaving the woman with the face and body she was born with ruin her life? Because they'd already taped the harsh, no-holds-barred comments her entire family and group of friends said about her natural looks - as the poor woman watched from behind one-way glass in the next room! Of course, this was all part of the show: The people that know her say mean but true things about the way she looks while they tape her crying her eyes out and feeling sorry for herself. Then they transform her into a goddess over a 6-week period (or however long a TV half-season is) through surgery, diet, exercise, and a makeover, and everybody loves her because she's beautiful. And happily ever after, roll credits... But here's where Extreme Makeover's producers went extremely wrong: After making her watch everyone who's supposed to love her for HER say the cruelest, most vicious things about the way she looks behind her back did they find out from the dental surgeon assigned to fix her deformed jaw and crooked teeth that the work would not heal in time for the grand finale episode - in which all the makeover candidates get unveiled to the oohs and aahs of both loved ones and the prime-time studio audience. So they nixed her from the show and sent her packing back to Texas, just the way she was. And that's when all hell broke loose. Keep reading, because what happened to this poor woman and her family because of this double-cross by ruthless TV executives is more shocking than anything they'd ever let you watch on a reality show... **************************************************** No "swan" song for this ugly duckling Soon after the woman returned home, her sister committed suicide. The lawsuit alleges it's because once she found out that her homely sib had been behind the glass in the next room, the now-deceased just couldn't handle the guilt of having said such horrible things about her - especially once the show's promise of beauty and self-esteem had been rescinded. Whether this is the true reason for her suicide or not, we may never know. But according to the Daily News article (and the lawsuit), this much is true: She'd tried to focus on her sister's good points in the studio "interview" - but was coaxed by the show's producers into talking about her shame and embarrassment at having such an ugly sis growing up! The eager execs also cajoled the woman's mother-in-law in a similar interview to confess that she didn't believe her son had married someone so unattractive. Now, this ugly duckling is stuck not only with her plain looks and the fresh knowledge that everyone she loves is repulsed by her, but her grief over the loss of her sister as well (which she no doubt blames herself for). Beyond this, she's now burdened with raising the two children her sister left behind in addition to her own pair of tykes. And as if this weren't enough, the poor woman's nursing some major psychological issues that make her virtually a shut-in - venturing out to shop only in the middle of the night at 24-hour grocery stores, according to her lawyer. If all of this turns out to indeed be true, and not some trumped-up play for an easy million or two from a high-profile lawsuit, what a disastrous human tragedy it will have turned out to be - and all for some ratings. And as much as I rail about frivolous suits, I almost hope this woman sticks it to ABC network good in a court of law - and better yet, on live TV. Now that would be some reality programming worth watching. Showing you the reality - even if it isn't pretty, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
