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Nine Nobel Peace laureates are calling on NBC to cancel its competition show Stars Earn Stripes as the network aired the first episode tonight. The show hosted by retired U.S. General Wesley Clark puts eight celebrities such as singer Nick Lachey and Sarah Palin’s husband Todd through military-style training including helicopter drops and long-range weapons firing. Celebrities are paired with former members of the U.S. Marines, Green Berets and other forces to compete for a cash prize that goes to a charity of their choosing. In addition to Palin and Lachey, the show’s contestants include actors Dean Cain and Terry Crews, wrestler Eve Torres, TV fitness trainer Dolvett Quince, former Olympic skier Picabo Street and boxer Laila Ali, daughter of former champion Muhammad Ali.
In an open letter to NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, the Nobel Prize winners said “preparing for war is neither amusing nor entertaining” and asserted that “people — military and civilians — die in ways that are anything but entertaining.” NBC takes the view that “Stars Earn Stripes is about thanking the young Americans who are in harm’s way every day. This show is not a glorification of war but a glorification of service,” the network said in a statement. Signatories to the laureates’ plea to NBC included retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and American anti-landmines campaigner Jody Williams.
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No worries Nobel prizewinners – I’m betting it sucks so badly it never finds an audience and doesn’t last 3 more episodes. Nick Lachey, Peek-a-boo Street, and Todd Palin are not exactly the “A-list” of “stars”… and what the hell was Dean Cain trying to hide with that gay-as-hell scarf around his neck? Turkey fat, or some kind of plastic surgery, or what?
Mark Burnett productions all look alike and they’re all 100% predictable, boring, and tiresome as hell. It’s so last-century. Gen. Clark looked like a Madame Tussaud wax figure – the whole thing was just absurd. Please make it go away.
How about they cancel it because it’s utter crap.
Hey, they used to be owned by a defense contractor. Probably put into play when they needed some biz dev done.
To sum up the attitude towards these Nobel prize winners and their mamby-pamby feelings and hissy-fits: Just “Frack” ‘em.
The expression is “to frag” as in, throw a fragmentation grenade at them. The fact a fan of this show would use the wrong “tough-guy” expression underlines the kind of audience the show is aimed at – armchair chicken-hawks.
He’s making a reference to Battlestar Galactica, not trying to say “frag.” Google can be your friend.
That was awesome.
Oh, dude! Mr. Liberal-know-it-all just got *schooled*. Why do these people think they’re so smart when they keep making these mistakes time-and-time-again?
Un no, frag has a totally different meaning. It means to assassinate your commanding officer.
I thought the show rocked. Visuals looked like a movie.
Why don’t we ban video games Call of Duty and the Battlefield series while we’re at it? People always need something to complain about….
They should. Those games suck as well. Mindless jingoism is not what the children need.
Hope and change. The biggest one of them all.
Pull it NBC.
And Wesley Clark, now I know why I left that fundraiser for you unconvinced.
Perhaps its because you are a NY Liberal who would rather bow down to our enemies than stand up to them.
Why would NBC think anyone would find this entertaining? Spare us and cancel it now.
I saw some of it today, and it’s so fake. They rig all the targets to shatter on impact. There’s no way targets will disintegrate on impact. It will be cancelled, I’m pretty sure.
I actually kind of liked it. Could have been one hour instead of two but it was entertaining.
It’s 2 hours?? I hope they’re showing this to detainees at Gitmo. Who needs waterboarding, when you’ve got NBC.
The premier was two hours. The finale along with the rest of this crap will likely be posted on the internet and will be much easier and better to view than the streaming pile of crap that was NBC’s Live Extra coverage of the Olympics.
Add some “Hunger Games” type realism and I’ll watch.
Do the folks in the military REALLY take this as “a glorification” of their service.
I would think if I were in the military, I would find this show a (profound) insult.
That probably one fo the reasons you aren’t in the military
To be honest “Nobel Peace Laureates” & “NBC” are probably the words i never thought i’d see together.
love love this comment!
I found it pretty entertaining. A little repetitive but promising
And of course blowing things up, shooting at targets, hanging from helicopters etc is entertaining. If it wasn’t, Stallone and Arnold would be unknowns and video games would still be Pac-Man
So what? this is the reality!!
If they are so concerned about peace, these Nobel Laureates should have written a letter to the Syrian President instead.
Shooting the wrong target!!
Actually, I found the show entertaining!
Not gonna lie. I watched the whole thing and enjoyed the heck out of it. That’s the most time I’ve ever spent on NBC. it is what it is, Reality junk, but it was an entertaining show for me. However, I did really hate the host. She bugged.
After watching a clip on the NBC site – and scrolling past the row of sundry assault weapons used in NBC’s Shoot Out online game where you can “Take Your Shot!” and “Test your marksman ship skills!” – yes, this clearly glorifies the violence of war.
To me the tone is very different than what is depicted in scripted entertainment, because it’s celebratory here; there’s something creepy about simulating war in a reality competition, with all the cheerleading on the sidelines and the “Woo hoo! Did you see Picaboo take out that target? Awesome!”
Stay classy NBC!
Ha, just because there are shoot out online games and gun competitions on the show DOESN’T mean that they are glorifying violence. Do you think that the shooting events at the Olympics glorify war?
I take it you haven’t seen any promos for this show, or you wouldn’t try to compare shooting events(sports) at the Olympics to a show that glorifies combat. Don’t see anyone at the Olympics pretending to wear army fatigues or combat clothes and attempting to blow things up, do you?
Um, they were not pretending to wear fatigues and combat gear. They actually were wearing them. Just to make it clear.
Shooting events at the Olympic Games are very different than Stars Earn Stripes. Most Olympic events see the shooter aim at lifeless targets that are mechanical, made of paper, or at clay disks. I should mention that their uniform of choice is not fatigues and combat gear, but their country’s uniform. What was aired last night glorifies war and is a new low for NBC. In fact, this is an example of the high class entertainment that used to be attempted by FOX to the point that one could expect Rainer Wolfcastle to be one of the contestants in this series and it comes with a zinger from The Simpsons. Example, “Wow, look at McBain blow up that tower,” shouted Bart.
Lisa asked, “Are you watching FOX again?”
“It’s their best new show of the year,” replied Bart.
Quit glorifying war for all the armchair warriors who live vicariously through the boob tube. Maybe they should enlist if they
can pass the physical exam which is doubt-full.The real war should
be against the food they eat!
Shouldn’t it be called D-listers earn stripes?
Am I missing something? Like the stars. Todd Palin-LOL. enough said there
I have a bigger problem with the title….STARS? Really? Epic fail, NBC.
I thought the show was great. I praise our service men and women everyday; and I think this show gave me even more appreciation for this outstanding service.
Um, of course the targets were rigged to shatter on impact – it’s a TV show. I have no issue with that, they still needed to hit the target to make them shatter…
Are we sure the Nobel Peace Prize letter isn’t a hoax or pr manipulation? Two years back Burnett produced Palin’s Alaska, so maybe seeming to irritate liberals like me is now a formula to get eyeballs? Thinking about Bristol Palin on DWTS and Chick-Fil-A appreciation day, there might be a point there.
Let’s be honest. Survivor has very little to do with what would be needed to survive on a deserted island. The best of celebrities on Dancing With the Stars are no where close to the quality of dancing seen in real ball room competitions. The set-up is just an implementation detail in order to catalyze audience engagement, either in rooting against judges, booing the “villains,” or cheering on favorites, and roles are often created via casting and editing.
Someone will whine about their misery and seem nigh-on grateful when they wash out. Someone will strive with all their being and fail and be sent home with tears and good wishes. And there will be a winner, someone better looking and more fit than us who will be anointed as having awesome stuff. It’s the unreality of reality tv. Putting a few famous faces through the semblance of elite squad training actually devalues the very difficult challenges that a person must overcome to be a SEAL or Green Beret or to execute their assignments.
But, hey, it’s just tv. Knock yourselves out.