reality tv ... the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

Amsterdam - The planned airing of a game show in which a terminally ill woman will choose someone to receive her kidneys has stirred up controversy in the Netherlands and caused outrage internationally.

I don't know what's creepier, the Big Donor Show referenced above - or Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Do I really want to see how a member of KISS raises his children?

Long before Survivor, Dancing With the Stars, The Biggest Loser, The Apprentice, American Idol, The Bachelor, Temptation Island, Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire, Fear Factor, Extreme Makover, The Osbournes, and a host of other reality TV shows, reality TV was already at the forefront of popular culture as introduced by the television medium.

Of course there were game shows. No, life is not lived in the tic-tac-toe world of Hollywood Squares, nor the harsh and sterile electronic set of The Weakest Link, but outside of a few controveries, the competition has been real, so they qualify as Reality TV. But game shows, popular as they are, aren't the ultimate form of R-TV. Not even close.

If you need a clue, I'll point out that you've probably been watching R-TV for a couple days and will continue to do so for a couple more weeks. (And if you're not, maybe you should be!) I'm not just referring to the Olympics but to sports in general. Sports on TV has been an enduring success from Friday Night Boxing to the Little League World Series to the NFL and that strange little experiment of an all sports network called ESPN that has multiplied itself into at least 15 television networks, 10 internet networks, and another 3 radio networks.

What defines R-TV?

1. unscripted
2. real events
3. an uncertain outcome

Sure, R-TV manufactures outrageous and sometimes highly abnormal situations and locations to create voyeur ... I mean viewer interest, but what makes them universally appealing is that the participant's actions and emotions determine the outcome.

What has been more compelling than sports? And the Olympics have often been the greatest stage of all.

Jesse Owens winning four gold medals in front of the Fuhrer, refuting the notion of Aryan Supremacy ... Mark Spitz not just swimming to 7 gold medals, but breaking 7 world records ... Al Michaels shouting, "Do you believe in miracles?" as a team of no-name kids repelled Russia's Big Red Machine in hockey ...

Not all the stories have ended the way "we" wanted them to. But that's the point. The catchphrase of the long running ABC Wild World of Sports said it all: the thrill of victory ... the agony of defeat. What's more real than that? That's reality even without the TV!

Finding Your Voice

When Paul Potts, a mobile phone salesman from New South Wales, announced that he was "here to sing opera" on the television show, Britain's Got Talent - think American Idol with an English accent - it was all that Simon Cowell, his fellow judges, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, and the audience could do not to snicker out loud.

Poor guy. Rumpled suit. Gap in his front teeth large enough to drive a red double decker London tourist bus through. Slouched posture. A near-grimace of self doubt on his face that was truly painful to behold. An embarrassing moment just head. A car wreck you just couldn't take your eyes off. So I had to watch.

And then the miracle. A voice suited for the Royal Opera House in London or the Teatro alla Scala in Milan stunningly bursts forth on the opera classic, Nessun Dorma. The loquacious Cowell had no words - Amanda openly weeped. Audience members, including some who looked like they were on their way to a U2 or Linkin Park concert and might possibly have never heard of opera, gave Paul one standing ovation after another.

The timid phone salesman found his voice.

Many people seem to simply be going through the motions in life. Too many disappointments. Too many failures. Too little recognition and affirmation.

Of course, it's possible that some of us have given up dreaming and daring for the simple reason that we have held on to the wrong dreams for too long. We've been trying to sing someone else's song and haven't found our own calling, our own gifting, our own purpose that transcends gap teeth, rumpled suits, and any other shortcomings real or perceived.

Have you found your voice? When your moment arrives, will you be ready to sing?