Second City's Next Comedy Legend

[Rob Not Bob]

Has anybody here been watching this show? Last night's episode had a finish I have never seen or heard of before in any reality series.

For those who haven't seen it, the format is similar to Next Top Model in showing the contestant's living together as well as competing for the final prize, in this case a spot in the current Second City comedy troupe. By day they do various comedic competitions to try and win immunity. At night, they perform together at Second City in front of an audience and the panel of judges (former Second City members) in material they have written together. The judges then critique everyone's performance and progress, then declare who is safe until the last two contestants, who each have to perform an improv. The judges then declare who has been eliminated, and put their picture through the shredder.

Well, last night they were down to 5 contestants, and it had gotten to the point where the last two were going to perform an improv, when one of the contestants who was safe stepped forward with a statement written by all of them. He said they felt they had all gelled together and grown together as a group, and requested that they all be allowed to stay together as a troupe with no cuts until the last episode, where one of them would be declared the winner. Cue remarks of disbelief and disapprobation from the judges, to the effect that they hadn't earned the right to be a troupe and were auditioning to become part of a troupe, and had agreed to be a part of an audition process that required eliminations, with Elvira Kurt (one of the judges) saying "How typically Canadian ... 'Why can't everyone win, just a little bit?'" Another one of the contestants said that was how they felt, and if they were going to cut one of them, they might as well cut all of them. Elvira Kurt replies, "You mean you would just disrupt the whole format of the show and walk out, just end the show right here?", to which Dave Thomas (another of the judges) said, "I'd like to see that!" Then all of the contestants as one walked off the stage and out of the theatre (Dave Thomas : "I guess I shouldn't have said that."), dissolve to "To be continued ..." graphic.

Does anyone know of anything like this ever happening in any other reality series?

[Schwa.]

Cool.

[DevO]

sounds kinda staged..

[bradm]

If I had been part of the group of contestants, I gleefully would have participated in their actions, provided the group came back in a minute or so later, proclaiming, "Foooled youuu!!!!"

Aloha,

Brad

[Jaimoe]

Since this was filmed, these antics could have been staged. Still, it makes for decent TV, even with Elvira Kurt.

[Rob Not Bob]

Oh, sure, it can always be staged ... it's just I've never seen anything like this on a "reality" show before.

[LXQ42]

An interesyting dynamic of 'the contestents against the judges' rather than 'contestants against each other.' It is typically Canadian, but it is also typically 'comedy troupe'. Chances are it was staged, as another means of providing the drama.

[Ms.Huxtable]

This show also had another moment on it where I'm not sure it's happened on another reality show.

About episode three (I may be wrong)one of the judges Joe Flaherty left because he just couldn't be a dick to the kids who were auditioning (again, how Canadian), so Dave Thomas took over. He has no problem being a prick.

[Jaimoe]

I love Flaherty and Thomas, and all those SCTV alums. BTW, Joe is American as is Andrea Martin... although they are honourary Canadians in my books.