Just Keepin' It Real

I had this great pitch for a reality series. It was based on Disney's "The Lion King," and it follows the lives of the Mufasa pride, who became wealthy from their family-operated business. The problem was when we went to shoot the pilot, the lions tended to do one of two things: lay around and sleep, or attack and viciously kill their meerkat and warthog co-stars. As it turns out, reality is nothing like Disney.
As it turns out, the folks on "Duck Dynasty" aren't quite ready for their time slot on the Disney Family of Networks either. That's why the House of Mouse only maintains a fifty percent stake in A&E, formerly Arts and Entertainment, Television.  While it is certain that there is a great deal of entertainment to be found on this channel, discussion will continue on the whole "Art" portion of that moniker. Their show follows the lives of the Robertson family, who became wealthy from their family-operated business. That business is based in Louisiana and the products they sell are for duck hunting. Hence the Duck in the title. It is not the story of Donald and his nephews. They aren't real. The Robertson family, headed up by patriarch Phil, have been crafting duck calls for more than twenty-five years, hence the Dynasty in the title.
And since it's a reality show, why were we surprised to find out that the sixty-seven year old star would have some reality to share with us all: "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men." That's what Phil told GQ magazine in an interview for their January issue. Now A&E is suspending him from their show because, in their words, "We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson's comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty. His personal views in no way reflect those of A&E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely."
Sorry kids, daddy's been put on hiatus. You know, just like real life, only back then it was Phil who was kicking his family out of his house. Colorful characters like these are the kind that make reality TV work. If they didn't open up their mouths and let colorful thoughts fly it's doubtful they would put a camera crew in their living room. You can take it from somebody who knows, Kim Kardashian: "It seems that shows like Teen Mom are all of a sudden making teen pregnancy seem cool in the eyes of young girls. The kids from these shows are all over the news, even on the covers of magazines, and have been become almost like celebrities, but girls, these are not people you should idolize!"