Some time back, Ells and I were talking about reality TV shows or the Speed Channel or something, and he told me about the show "PINKS" and (if my hazy recollection is anything close to accurate) how it was pretty disappointing because not many potential competitors would race a decent car and risk losing it, and how they'd created a spin-off show without that risk of losing a car to get more quality competition.
And I guess that would have been the show "PINKS All Out," which seems to be a whiz-bang success based on what I've been seeing now that I have access to to Speed TV. I sure like it a lot more than the original for sure--lots more car action, lots less whining and begging by greasy rednecks. It's so successful in fact (as many as 500 cars showing up at the strips to make their two timed passes in hopes of being chosen for the final 16, 24, or 32-car elimination bracket) that the creators have scheduled a bunch of "Armdrop Live" events this year, which will apparently be the same format as "PINKS All Out" but without the cameras.
That strikes me as something of a paradigm buster: a made-for-reality-TV event which works so well and draws such crowds that it becomes an untelevised live spectator event--maybe paradoxical even. I guess it could be that Speed only has so many program slots open this season for the show, and perhaps just so much editing resources available to cut the raw video into finish show episodes, and that there was way more interest from drivers, race fans, and track owners than the TV show could accomodate. Dunno, but it seemed worth remarking on.
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