“Arms Race” – A New Reality Show Pitch

When you’re shopping through the aisles do you ever stop and figure out what, if you had to, you could kill a guy with? I don’t mean any specific guy, as in, you’ve cracked and you’re really out to get someone. And I also don’t mean just any random guy, because you’re not a psychopath; you’re a decent, but imaginative fellow. This is more about survival fantasy which is something, I believe, is a part of any manly man’s nature. It’s the skill-set we admire in spies. It’s knowing your resources and maintaining options. In short, it’s seeing the potential to turn a kitchenware store into the scene of a fantastic bloodbath.

So I’m walking through this cook’s store downtown. I’m looking for a knife, but it’s all the other crap that impresses me. Look at this little spoon thing. You could really peel an eye out of someone with this little spoon thing. And it hits me. Goddam reality show, right?

Here’s the pitch:

We take four people, blindfold them. We put them in some big, busy store like this, the kind filled with crap just laying about so its half store, half garage feeling. We give them twenty seconds to run around the room blind, just searching for objects to grab onto. Then, off come’s the blindfolds. First one to kill all the others using household items wins a shopping spree in that very store. We could do themes, host newlyweds, maybe settle some minor court cases like in Judge Judy.
Point is, it promotes creativity over sheer athleticism or murderous skill, because happening upon the twin straightening steels is going to get you a lot further than if you get stuck in the section with hand-crafter scotch tumblers. Unless of course that guy’s got a real Yankee’s arm on him. It’s win-win.
And imagine the thrill as the blindfolded guy/gal rummages through various items. What if the underdog suddenly fines the section of German Woks? Huge fucking deal, right? You’d get excited, right? Of course you would! That’s like Christmas for the guy.