Unreal Reality TV

One of the few "reality" TV shows that we watch from time to time at Casa de Todd is "Storage Wars".  The premise of the show is that people compete at auctions for the contents of storage containers.  The folks on the show are given a limited opportunity to view the container from an aisle way (no touching/entering please) before bidding on the contents.  What they see is what they get.

In theory.

A recent story suggests that the show's producers were juicing some of the containers that were won by the show's paid participants.  One of the participants, Dave Hester, had a spine and a conscience and protested the deceitful practice.  As a result, they stopped juicing his containers.  And then they fired him from the show.

David Hester's suit claims producers have added a BMW Mini and newspapers chronicling Elvis Presley's death to lockers in order to build drama for the show and that his complaints about the practices led to his firing.

Hester is seeking more than $750,000 in his wrongful termination, breach of contract and unfair business practices lawsuit. A&E Television Network declined comment, citing the pending lawsuit.

"Storage Wars" follows buyers who bid for abandoned storage lockers hoping to find valuables tucked inside.

"A&E regularly plants valuable items or memorabilia," the lawsuit states. Hester's suit claims he was fired from participating in the series' fourth season after expressing concerns that manipulating the storage lockers for the sake of the show was illegal.

What is interesting is that on the show, Mr. Hester is presented as a bit of a self-centered ass.  Perhaps he was just covering his.  Or perhaps reality TV really isn't all that real to begin with.  In either case, it is good to see someone doing the right thing for a change.