New reality/parody show on SpikeTV: Joe Schmo (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

Great finale of a wonderful show!

I liked how they did the reveal gradually. It was an emotional moment that really could have been handled badly, but they did it in a classy manner. Oddly, "classy" is how I'd describe this show even though it definitely had a lot of "smutty" content.

I couldn't believe how well Matt took the news that it was all fake! He was the perfect choice for this show, not only is he smart and likeable, he seemes to have real empathy for others, which I think is why he could see "the other side" even after the revelation, that even though they had played a trick on him, they were never really out to hurt him.

Really, sometimes it just seemed like Matt was too good to be true, I was waiting for him to just show his "real" side, but it never happened.

This show deserves some kind of recognition, it was genuinly unique, very entertaining and despite its concept not at all mean spirited. I'll miss it.

/Mike

 

[Michael Henry]

Ya know, with all the crap out there on TV now-a-days, all the reality shows with people screaming at each other, backstabbing and general BS that HAS to be on a show to get ratings...this show was such a treat....

The ending was so well done, and was in SO much good spirit to actually take care of Matt in the end - I really think this was the best show on TV for a while...and on SpikeTV no doubt!

I loved the aftermath show - sitting with Matt and showing him all the behind the scenes and all...

He's a great guy. Period.

Any chance we'll see him again? SpikeTV should develop a sitcom starring him (as himself) with a great cast around him - kinda like Seinfeld...

Oh well, great ending to a great show....

 

[Jason Boucher]

I have to second the thoughts. My wife and I agreed that this was the best reality show we had ever watched. The emotions from all where so real. I also want to put in a plug for the actors. They were great and I hope their careers get a bit of a boost.

 

[MikeFR]

Great ending to a great show.

They sure have their work cut out for them if they are looking for a Joe Schmo 2, it will be very hard to top Matt.

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Did anyone else feel that they overdubbed that one scene outside where the producers were discussing whether they should continue the show (after Earl's eviction and Matt's subsequent emotional outburst)? The voice that said (I'm paraphrasing) "...Let's let him get a good night sleep first..." sounded definitely like it was dubbed over after the fact (no ambient noise when he was outside, voice didn't match his body movements, etc.). I'm sure it could just be that the audio track wasn't very good and they simply re-recorded what they said that night, but I have to say it put a damper on the rest of that behind the scenes footage. It started to smell fake...

Hey, I'm not one to cast stones at "reality" shows for being fake (especially one that wasn't real to start with), but that one scene just jumped out at me...

I also wasn't terribly keen on their promos stating that you shouldn't miss the first 15 minutes of the show when the first half hour was solely recaps. Nothing new for any network promo to exaggerate slightly, but this was kind of blatant.

All in all though, Matt seemed like a really good guy and very personable. What I saw of the series was pretty entertaining.

 

[Tim Markley]

Great ending to a great show. I'm sorry to see it end.

 

[JustinCleveland]

They sure have their work cut out for them if they are looking for a Joe Schmo 2, it will be very hard to top Matt.

They can't top Matt for his character. However, if they do a sequel, they need to get a different person, one they can maliciously manipulate. Matt was too nice, he was a great PERSON.

 

[Richard Travale]

yeah, the next Joe should be a "the Hutch"

 

[Steve Y]

I'm surprised to see negative opinions about this show on other web sites I've browsed. It seems to come mostly from people who completely missed the satirical elements of the show. (the HTF seems to be full of people who "get it", however) Matt Gould turned the concept, which could have turned out so-so, into a surprisingly hilarious (and in the end, moving!) series.

I loved the music in this show, especially during the "eviction ceremonies". It captured the pompous "survivor" vibe.

I loved "The Hutch" (knowing he's not real helped a bit). Anyone who saw the SF season of "real world" should see the parallels between this character and "Puck".

I think people also underestimate how the pressure of being filmed in a network-opening "reality show" can make it difficult to see the forest for the trees. I'm not surprised he never figured it out. (it certainly does NOT make him feeble-minded)

s!

 

[Marc_Savoie]

I loved the music in this show, especially during the "eviction ceremonies". It captured the pompous "survivor" vibe.

I liked it too... because a lot of it was the EXACT SAME music used throught the ABC reality show "The Mole"!

Anyways, a fun end to a very fun show!
However, let's not go crazy: the best show on Spike TV is Most Extreme Elimination Challenge!!! Seriously. But Joe Schmo was indeed great too.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Before thsi show started, I figured it would likely be mean-spirited and was prepared to hate it. Many of you probably had the sae reaction. Then, when watching it, I was surprised by how good-natured it was. The show was good-natured largely because Matt himself was so good natured and itt appeared to be contageous.

It took a grown man who still lives with his parents, dropped out of college, works a menial job and loves porn and showed how he's the kind of we shoudl aspire to be. He's quite simply the most likable guy I've ever seen on a reality show.

THe the general satirical nature of all the ridiculous stuff they ahd them do wasn't bad, either. At first, I wondered how Matt was buying all this, then I realized it's only slightly more ridiculous than the things they really do have people do on these shows and there is a general spirit of one-upsmanship. So basically, it's funny because it's true and heartwarming because Matt is just such a great guy.

 

[Chris Dias]

I saw an ad on Spike TV that said they are replating the show (no surprise since it always seems to be on) but this time Matt will be giving a commentary as it goes along. Should be pretty good.

 

[MickeS]

Cool idea.

Is this the re-run that's on tonight? There's no mention of a commentary track on the website as far as I can see.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I read somewhere that it's not really a commentary "track" per se, but more like little 60-90 second breaks before and after commercials to explain what was going on from his perspective. Still, it's cool to see a channel bowing to the power of commentary. Fox did one with "The O.C." two weeks ago. That was an actual track to be synced with the episode, and may still be available on the website. Very cool, and promising for the eventual DVD release(s).