Reality TV Breaths Fresh Life into Celebrities Sagging Careers

Since the arrival of "reality" based shows on TV, we have discover what happens to a lot of former celebrities that have fallen off the grid. They become recycled back into the mainstream media, via cable TV.

Scott Bao, just finished up his reality show a couple of months ago, for VH1 as well as those two rascals, Corey Feldman and Corey Haim, "The Two Coreys", from A&E.

We have learned Scott is suffering from the "Peter Pan" syndrome. He can't seem to grow up. Corey Haim is still stuck in, "The Lost Boys", and can't find his life.

What happens when reality hits hard times for some of these other former celebrities? What will they do, if they can't find any more "reality show" projects to help pay the bills; or they never made the reality show cut?

If the former stars wait long enough, another ''reality' based project will come along in a moment. Reality TV is the largest growing industry in the market.

Back in the 70s and 80s, TV land took care of it's own. Shows like "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" gave fading stars a platform to be guest stars on; to shine for a moment, once again.

When my oldest son was young enough to still believe in the tooth fairy and Santa Claus, his favorite super hero was Batman. Brian had so much Batman paraphernalia, I would have made a small fortune on Ebay today, if all that stuff was still around, packed away in the basement.

For my son's fifth birthday, I had a coworker call Brian up at home that evening, pretending to be my son's hero; Batman. Well, it worked so well, Brian waited around for weeks, expecting him to call back.

Some former celebrities have found gigs at ,Hollywood Is Calling. For a few bucks, you can get a personal call from the likes of, Lou Ferrigno, the Hulk, Larry Holmes, World Heavyweight Champion, title holder (78-85), Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding), from "Saved By The Bell", Joseph Gannascoli (Vito Spatafore), from "The Sopranos", Russell Johnson (the professor), from "Gilligan's Island" and quite a few more. My favorite is, Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson) from, "Lost In Space", the TV series.

When "Lost In Space" aired, my body was busy discovering what male hormones could do. I had such a crush on Judy Robinson!

Some former celebrities crossover to unexpected fame in areas we never would have considered. Gabe Kaplan, "Mr. Kotter" gave up teaching those "Dead End Kids" and found a life playing high stakes poker. When Gabe's not sitting at a table, he's ringside, giving insightful bid, by bid commentary.

Speaking of Vegas, the city has always been a gold mine for former celebrities to pick up a few bucks at different publicized events around town. Back in the day, Johnny Weissmuller, of old Tarzan fame, was a greeter at the MGM Grand Hotel for a while.

Still, the best draw these days has to be the glut of "reality shows", flooding the networks.

Current athletes and former ones are scrambling down these paths, to shows like, "Dancing With The Stars" on ABC, "Pros Vs. Joes" on Spike TV and a host of others.

Last summer, NBC's "Age Of Love", gave Mark Phillppoussis, one of Australia's biggest tennis stars, a shot at seeking true love. Some of the women were old enough to be his mother. Other young lovelies were closer to his 31 years. They all competed for his undivided attention.

"Pros Vs. Joes", from Spike TV, is a real knock out. Ex-professional athletes compete against ordinary people in a variety of sporting events, to see who comes out on top.

I am waiting on pins and needles, for some network to distill the reality fad even further. Here is my concept.

Let's get some celebrity's dogs into this "reality" mix. The show is, " Top Dog". The contestants are the pets. Each week, one is voted off the show, until one dog is left standing as the winning "Top Dog".

The winning pooch gets a signed deal with Disney, for, "Lassie, Where Are You Now?". The pet's owner gets a walk on part, in the major motion picture.

Malcom-Jamel Warner's Rottweiller, Bo Derek's most neurotic Greyhound, Fran Drescher's Pomeranian, Joan River's Yorkshire Terrier, Liza Minelli's Terrier, Gloria Estefan's Dalmatian, etc.

The premise is, all of the pets reside at a the "Big Brother" house, sharing sleeping accomodations and competing for food and favor. Who will win, "Top Dog" each week and which dog gets voted off the show each week, is anyone's guess. Would anyone tune in to watch "Top Dog"? Hmm.. Maybe a couple of million viewers.