REALITY TV HAS come a long way since the days of Jerry Springer's talk show, when the hopeless and self-deluded were paraded in front of the cameras to air their dirty laundry. Having since dispensed with the pretence that contestants are there for self-betterment as opposed to simply whoring themselves for fame, the ante for 'real life' challenges on TV has been upped considerably.
Germany's plans for a new version of Big Brother, for example, raise a bevy of philosophical questions. Mimicking the concept behind The Truman Show, it will apparently feature a small town, a forest, a town square complete with shops, a church tower, schools and businesses. The somewhat ambitious hope is that contestants will live there for years - going to work, getting married and sending their children to school.
Elsewhere, a decidedly sadistic South Korean show puts competitors in a military biochemical warfare exercise room, forcing them to inhale near toxic tear-gas and stand barefoot on an ice-cold floor, while being hit over the head.
The time when reality TV eats itself, however, may have arrived. Tonight sees the Hong Kong debut of Reel Race, the Discovery Channel's latest take on the genre.
Its twist: contestants are getting in front of the camera in the hope of ensuring a career behind it. As well as an audiovisual package from Samsung being up for grabs, the winner will be given a production stint at Discovery Channel. Grace Phan hosts.
'They're auditioning now for a career that will hopefully last a lifetime,' says Michael McKay, the show's Australian producer. 'They're getting exposure by being in front of the camera so that the industry can see what they're capable of doing behind it.'