Word: boote
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Even TV reviewers charmed by "Boot Camp" didn't miss the similarities between Fox's new military-themed reality TV show and the giant of the genre, "Survivor." Man struggles with challenging Reality TV circumstances, man talks about man to cameraman, man votes off man in ritualized social Darwinism...
...Survivor Productions, though, it's copyright infringement, and they're suing over similarities both structural and aesthetic, including the use on "Boot Camp" of "romantic landscape photography and picturesque shots of wildlife." (Have those been patented?) And they've also got an industry tale to tell that says a lot about why so many TV shows, reality and non-, look so much alike: CBS passed on "Boot Camp" first...
...According to the lawsuit, "Boot Camp" producers LMNO pitched CBS on the show last June, with one twist: The drill sergeants - those real-life Marine "save the drama for yer mama" guys with the big hats - would do the voting...
...when Fox bought the show, that format must have sounded a little too, well, different. According to the suit, Fox promptly hired Scott Messick, a producer of the original "Survivor," as executive producer of "Boot Camp." (Yes, the suit does accuse Messick of illegally divulging trade secrets, and names him as a defendant.) And the voting off by drill sergeants - the one thing besides the military setting that might have made the show different and refreshing, not to mention more realistic - was one of the first things to go. Contestants would vote each other off. That was what worked...
...training during summer school, but there they taught just nine or 10 children in leisurely two-hour blocks. As rookie teachers, they had to teach 100 or more students each week in 50-min. periods. What's more, in exchange for their rapid certification and bonuses, the so-called boot-camp teachers agreed to work in schools with more low-performing students and discipline problems, where experience in classroom management is as important as knowing your subject. Similarly, in New York City a court ruling requires the city to assign a newly certified teacher to the lowest-performing school...