Mini Recap: Armed and Famous: This Show Has A Right To Remain Awesome - 
by B-Side
I'm not a big fan of celebrity reality shows -- they tend to be overly staged in an effort to either protect or manage the star's image. The Surreal Life is about as close as I get to "celebreality," and even that tries my patience. It was with that mindset that I began watching Armed and Famous, the new CBS reality show that places five celebrities in the Muncie, IN police department and has them enforce the law. My expectations were low. Very low. But here's the shocker: Armed and Famous is awesome. Very little of it feels staged, the celebs take it seriously, and the cast's amiable rapport seems genuine. This is what The Simple Life should have been. Most critics have bashed it, probably in fear that their peers will think less of them, but let's not forget the writers who assail Armed and Famous are the same ones who affectionately praise The Class. Of course, since this is the blogosphere, I don't really care what other people may think of me for endorsing this silly show. So... ha!
There's only one problem with this show: it's not very recap-able. Much in the same way that it's impossible to recap a comedy, it feels weird trying to make jokes about things that the producers are already making jokes about. Needless to say, the premiere had several noteworthy moments that just can't go unnoticed.
The show began with the five recruits arriving at the Muncie, IN police department. Our "stars" were Erik Estrada, LaToya Jackson, Canadian WWE star Trish Stratus, Jack Osbourne, and Jackass favorite Wee Man (a.k.a. Jason Acuña). They seemed like a ragtag bunch, but they all approached this assignment very seriously, as they all told us in their interviews (which were filmed in EXTREME closeups. Needless to say, Latoya's surgically enhanced face was not what I wanted to see on my widescreen TV).
Anyway, off the get-go, the police officers seemed dubious of the celebs' commitment to the show, especially Jason and LaToya, but despite a preemptive scolding by the training officer, the stars seemed undeterred from their mission at hand. The cast dove into training with nary a hissy fit or a complaint.
First up, the gang had to learn the basics of a routine traffic stop. Erik Estrada boasted about his wealth of experience from the CHiPs days, but I'm not sure how a cop show from the '70s could have any bearings on modern day techniques. This was most evident during a drill when Erik demanded that a driver step out of a car, get on his knees, and put his hands on his head -- for a traffic violation. At least he fared better than LaToya who actually shot a man she had "pulled over."
LaToya, it turned out, had a bit of rage built up in her or something like that. She was a crazy woman when it came time for violence. During the hand-to-hand combat lessons, she managed to give Jack Osbourne a nasty welt, but I guess what goes around comes around. LaToya also fell victim to one police officer's vicious blows to her shoulders. I thought she'd burst into tears and storm out, but instead, she actually sucked it up pretty well. Good for Toy-Toy! Somewhere amidst this, she called her brother Jackie and revealed that she was training to be a cop. He was understandably shocked, and when he threatened to tell "Mother," LaToya pleaded for him to be quiet. DO NOT TELL MOTHER!
Later, the stars had to learn the fine nuances of the Taser. According to state law, no one could carry a Taser unless they'd been Tasered themselves. You know what that meant: time to fry some celebs! They all took the Tasering pretty well, even if Erik Estrada's testicles swelled up like water balloons. I particularly enjoyed LaToya's reaction to the Taser -- she basically collapsed on the floor in a swoon of pain. Most impressive, however, was Trish who requested to be actually shot with the Taser (everyone else was having prongs carefully attached to her back). Needless to say, it did not look like a particularly pleasant experience, but since Trish cut her teeth at the WWE, she showed little discomfort. I probably would have gone into a coma.
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