MOLI VIEW™

At this point, we all know someone on a reality TV show. There are so many of these dysfunctional festivals of humanity running on the boob tube's hundreds of cable channels, I feel like the ratio of people who have been or will be on a reality TV show in their lifetime is, like, one out of every 100. Myself included.

But, for all those clamoring to become famous just for being themselves, let me share some sage advice. If you get picked to be on one of these reality TV shows, it's just as likely the producers are picking you because they dislike you (and think you'll make for crazy good TV) as that they like you and think you have a modicum of talent. And it's very likely that once the show airs (if it airs: There are many who shoot TV pilots that never see the light of day), you won't recognize yourself.

Sure, you'll look like you, and the voice is really yours, but the character that's created out of the weeks of filming you nearly 24/7 will be just that: a character. Or even worse, quite possibly, a caricature of you, that people who don't know you will think is really you. And that version of you will live in perpetuity and possibly be quite a bit bigger than the real you, who will live in its shadow, forever meeting people who think they know you just because they saw your TV show.

And while in some cases you may win $50K+ of prize money, or really get a boost in your career from your TV notoriety, it's also possible that being on a reality TV show will hurt you. Hurt your career, hurt your credibility, and hurt your feelings. And if you think about all the reality TV stars who actually turned their 15 minutes of fame into a real career in Hollywood, you might understand that it's an unlikely way to become a respected film or TV actor.

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