On Global Voices, meantime, there's quality in "Carmen Meets Borat." Yes, the Borat of the movie Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen. In Glod, Romania, the citizens knew they had been duped when Borat, which portrayed them as prostitutes and abortionists, showed up on their TVs. Then things got worse. Foreign lawyers offered them a shot at a big piece of 20th Century Fox's money through a lawsuit. "Carmen Meets Borat" traces the story in a TV place that's almost as obscure as Glod (or the Style Network): WHYY's Y Info channel (12.3 on your digital dial or 258 on most Comcast cable outlets). The fascinating one-hour film airs at 9 a.m. and 3 and 10 p.m.
Nobody said the Entertainment Man's money bag was overflowing. The guy who inadvertently played the Borat abortionist says he got about $5. Reality-show producers never divulge how much their players are paid. Almost always, however, the people do it for the "fame" - and maybe a little exposure for their business. Jerseylicious seems so fake, it may also be that some of its principals are getting an acting paycheck.
The series pathetically tries to copy Jersey Shore, the most popular doofus reality show, in which the participants at least seem to recognize they have little but their silliness and boffo bodies to offer the world. The focus of Jerseylicious is the Gatsby Salon in north-central Jersey. It's about 30 miles from the Shore. "The salon decided to throw a 'bronzed-and-beautiful event,' " says owner/TV star Gayle Giacomo. A million will get you five it was Endemol USA, which produces Jerseylicious, that decided to build a beach in the strip-mall parking lot and lure in some bikini babes so that a gofer named Filippo could spray-paint them.
