Could Online Writing Lead To A Lucrative Reality TV Show Career?

In all these months of writing online for a couple of different websites, HubPages being my first experience and it will always hold a special place in my heart, I have to admit that I've never received an email as strange as the one I received recently.

It was from someone who claims to work for TLC. Back when I watched reality TV, I jokingly started calling TLC "the little channel" because every new show coming out seemed to be about little people doing one thing or another, living in a big world or being a little married couple or owning pit-bulls. But lately, it seems like this channel loves to feature shows that are extreme... anything. That was when I stopped watching.

You name it, extreme hoarding, couponing, bizarre food or non-food things that people eat - any bizarre facet of some people's lives that this channel feels they can capitalize on, they make a reality show about it. If you can imagine it, they have probably already made a show about it or there is a bizarre show in the works. Have a weird habit or fetish, hey, go on TV and advertise... no thanks.

I have to admit though, there was one TLC show that caught my attention, kind of like a bad car wreck by the roadside. This was a series they were doing about gypsies and the unusual dresses that glowed in the dark that the girls would wear for their wedding or other special occasions. Some dresses had small LED type lights that were interwoven into the fabric and when the lights were turned off, these dresses literally glowed in the dark!

That was one show I did watch for a while, only because it was so bizarre that it fascinated me for some reason. The gypsy lifestyle and culture is so different from modern day society that I was glued to that show for a while. I guess I chalked that one up to learning about another culture. Yeah, that sounds good. No "junk TV" for me!

This particular email said that they had read something I had posted. I don't know if this means a hub I had written in the past, or a comment I made someplace else regarding someone else's writing, I'm not sure. But in any event, they read something and decided to extend an offer to me to be on a show about "Extreme Cheapskates."

After looking into it more, it appears that they have already aired a few episodes of this bizarre show. One was about a woman who makes her own toilet paper out of cloth and washes it, then the entire family re-uses it. YUCK. GROSS and unsanitary all at the same time. And all to save about $20 a month on toilet paper? Uh... no. I assure you, we DO use toilet paper, and we even THROW it in the TOILET after we use it and then we flush it. Wasteful? Maybe. But to me, SANITARY is worth the extra money!

Another pilot show was about a man who "Dumpster dives" regularly. He had even found some roses in one dumpster that he gave to his wife for their anniversary. Well, if that don't say "trew luv" than what does? And now this is going to be a series? Really?

First of all, I have never been an "extreme" anything, much less cheapskate. I have no idea what exactly they read that made them extend this offer to me (oh, and they DO pay cast members if anyone else is interested in trying out for this). The only things I can think of that I've written were articles on free things to do in Las Vegas (well, if that makes me a cheapskate, then OK!) Ha!! There ARE some fun and FREE things to do here!

Another one I wrote was about buying children's very gently used clothing from a thrift store... maybe that's the one they were referring to? I would buy things like little boys dress up suits for special occasions that they would wear once or twice. Brand new, these name brand suits would cost $50 to $100... in a thrift shop, they are much cheaper. When I bought them from our thrift shop they were $5, and they were barely ever worn so they looked practically new. I mean, kids grow so fast that if only one child wears something, it doesn't wear out!

And besides, I heard that the nineteen kids and counting family buys a lot of their clothes in a thrift store... oh wait, they are already ON a reality TV show...so we can scratch that one. It looks like "Extreme Cheapskates" will have to just keep on looking for their new star.

I also mentioned once that we don't watch TV any more, unless we watch a show we want to watch or the news on the Internet. This DOES save us over $100 a month, $1,200 a year on cable or satellite bills. If that's the reason, there are a lot of others out there who have done the same thing. Cutting the "cord" on cable and satellite seems to be a fairly new trend.

And it is a trend that we have embraced only recently, since we moved to Las Vegas. There is so much to see and DO here, we really don't have time for TV! We are so busy working during the week, and we do things on the weekends that keep us very busy. We just don't have time to sit in front of a television set. I think if we lived someplace other than Las Vegas that didn't have all of these fascinating and fun entertainment options, we would probably go back to cable or satellite TV, but we'll see! For now, this works for us.

I just found it to be really bizarre, funny and strange that I got an email like this! They are really fishing (or is that phishing) for new talent by looking through and reading online written articles and blogs to try to find their next reality TV show contestants.

Besides, I don't think I'd want to be on reality TV. Unless I get to dress like Snooki and have a dark fake tan and wear eight inch eyelashes... nah, even then I don't think I'd wanna do it. Somehow that fifteen minutes of fame isn't lucrative enough for me to even consider it. But then again, it could be fun to throw a few punches here and there... nah, maybe not. "Jeeee-rrry... Jeeee-rrry!" Springer anyone?

I cannot think of a single thing that I do that would put me in the category of extreme cheapskate anyway. I don't steal little ketchup packets and fill up a home ketchup dispenser to save $10 a year or anything... although that sweet n low stuff in restaurants is pretty tempting.... nah. I just don't think I qualify for a show like this! Not yet anyway, just give me a few more years here!