The Joe Schmo Show

A average, everyday person finds themselves selected for a reality TV show with a large prize at stake. Little do they know they're the only contestant: all the other "competitors" are actors and the whole show is just a set up to test how they react to different scenarios and moral dilemmas.

A show that that uses reality TV as a basis for a competition but has the opposite effect, and degree of quality, as reality TV. While reality TV is cheap, dime-a-dozen broadcasting bringing out the worst in people, The Joe Schmo Show was a clever, quality production showing the best in people. Watching Season 1 gave me a new, positive view on mankind: whatever the producers/writers threw at our hero - all manner of moral tests - he passed with flying colours, always doing the honourable thing.

Wonderfully life-affirming and a great a parody of the blight that is reality TV.

I love this show. Genius idea if you ask me. I've never watched any of the reality shows...I've seen bits and pieces, and to me- that has to be the dumbest stuff on tv ever. This makes fun of all of that stuff, so I enjoyed it a lot. Even if it wasn't making fun of "reality" shows, it would be entertaining. Matt is clearly a really nice guy, and that helps the show a lot. He's so cool in general, you can't help but like the guy and want to see what happens. The actors do a fantastic job, all playing over-the-top stereotypes of reality show contestant personalities. The gay guy, the jerk, the rich snotty girl, the old guy, etc.

In Matt's defense...I'm not sure why some call him dumb. I don't think ANY of us would ever think that we were being set up on a fake show and the rest of the contestants were actors. Why would that thought even come to mind if you were on a show like this? You're just thinking you're on a show with some normal people and some not so normal people...none of our reactions would be- "wait, are all you guys actors?" He surely wouldn't have recognized any of the other actors from previous work, since none of them have had any leading roles in a thing- I looked at all the actors pages on this site, and the hutch has done some work, but not much, and not too many people would recognize him from his past work.

Very nice idea, well played out so far...but you can't help feel bad for good ol' matt who is being duped. Then again, he's on tv, he's going thru this adventure, and I'm sure they paid him in the end- so I guess it's not TOO bad of a deal for him.

this is the funniest television show i've seen in ages. if you haven't seen an episode yet, trust me, give it a chance. the show's posing as a reality show with eleven fake contestants and one real one. the eleven are really actors, while matt, the sole contestant, is the show's basis.

all the actors play a different type of character from different backgrounds, a gay guy, white trash, a geek, a southern bell, and a couple others. each actor stereotypes their characters to the max, while matt hasen't at all a clue he's being played. sorta like the truman show, but on crack.

the difference between this game and others, is that it's really based on a 'joe schmo' - the average guy. he isn't very good looking, nor wealthy in any means. he's just a nice guy, or like two of his fellow 'competitors' refer to him as 'just the nicest guy in the world, the kinda friend all girls love.'

trust me, watch it. shame though, that it's on spike. bet if it was on nbc or cbs, it'd be recognised as the next best thing.

WOW! From someone who really wants "Reality" shows to be taken off the air and all copies of all their tapes be destroyed utterly I really enjoy this show. I usually avoid "Reality" shows like the plague because of the fact that they appear so phony and the people on them really annoying but this one parodies those shows to the "T". Of course they will have to figure out a way to keep future "Joes" in the dark as to the real purpose of the show. After seeing this people will know that the show "Lapp of Luxury" is a fake and is really "The Joe Schmo Shoe". Unless when the producers poll potential candidates they (the applicants) have never seen any reality shows. It's possible but they have probably at least heard of the big ones like "Survivor" and "Big Brother". The producers will also have to keep finding new actors for the other "candidates", which isn't as difficult as finding the "Joes". I think being one of the actors on "The Joe Schmo Show" would be better than being a real contestant on any of those quote "Reality TV" shows.

For those of us who have become annoyed with the producers, screenwriters and excessively-enthusiastic viewers of the reality game shows that have come out in the last few years (starting with SURVIVOR) , this show is a welcome alternative. Although one person is putting on an act using his real first name, the stars are pretending to compete with each other on a nonexistant reality show called LAP OF LUXURY while lying about their names, ages, homes, occupations, families, incomes, backgrounds, education and personal experience. Only one guy doesn't know that it's not for real. Everybody else struggles to keep a straight face and prevent Matt (a law student turned pizza deliverer from Pittsburgh) from getting suspicious. Instead of going to the watercooler each morning and hearing people gossip about "who got voted off this week", we'll hear about the clever joke that's being played- which I'm sure for many of us is a vast improvement and possibly even a sadistic thrill.