When the sun goes down and the streets go dark, scofflaws in this old industrial city wonder if this will be the night they’re brought to justice by La Toya Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne’s kid Jack or – and this would really be special – “Wee Man,” all 4-feet-7-inches of him.
Crime-fighting has entered the reality TV phase in Muncie, complete with a cast of five celebrities, TV cameras, free T-shirts and cash for suspects who agree to be photographed. And while only the most generous assessments would conclude that these C-grade actors in regulation blue are real police officers, they certainly play them on TV, and right here in Muncie.
All of this has the locals yapping like magpies.
In fact, it’s almost impossible to find citizen indifference to the daily production of “Armed & Famous,” a new reality TV cop show now in production here that has the Hollywood imports doing real police duty alongside Muncie’s finest, who are never more than a couple of steps away, just in case things get out of hand. That means making traffic stops, domestic calls, prostitution busts – that kind of stuff.
The show is scheduled for broadcast on CBS’ prime-time lineup starting Jan. 10.
Townspeople worried
Understand that Muncie is a rust belt city that has suffered an awful lot of painful, economic reality in the past 30 years. So the city’s grasp for the proverbial 15 minutes of network TV fame – and on a reality show – has some folks worried that when the video editors separate the recorded wheat from the chaff, the chaff will get aired and the people of Muncie will look like idiots.
“They got too damn many reality shows on TV already. Besides, this isn’t reality,” said a grumpy Chet Skaggs, who was selling sweatshirts in a gravel parking lot next to a liquor store on the city’s north side.
“They just brought a bunch of dummies in from California. … I think this is crazy,” Skaggs added, giving voice to the more vociferous viewpoint in Muncie.
The clincher for advocates is their belief that any publicity is good publicity – just as long as you spell my name right.
“This is an opportunity to showcase my police department and put Muncie on the map,” said police chief Joe Winkle, the city’s top cop for 11 years.
The idea was hatched during the summer by Muncie-born and -raised TV producer Mike Braverman, who said he wants to make a show “about the life of a cop seen through the eyes of celebrities. … We want to parachute someone into a police department and see if they sink or swim,” Braverman said.
Celebrity sightings
Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of buzz about celebrity sightings which, if nothing else, provides a temporary diversion from news that a big auto parts plant in town could be at death’s door.
Situated along the I-69 industrial strip between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Muncie has been under the spotlight before. During the 1920s it was the basis for the groundbreaking sociological study “Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture.” That spawned follow-up examinations and documentaries, which led to inspirations for such movies as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Hoosiers.”
“I think we’re more likely to be embarrassed by this,” said Jessica Wilburn, the executive chef at an upscale downtown restaurant. “I think it’s kind of silly for people to be pulled over by celebrities. I mean, who wants to be pulled over by Wee-Man?”
That’s part of the allure of this entertainment escapade – wondering who will pull people over for the busted headlight, the faulty blinker or the failure to yield. Bruce Ray said his cousin was stopped recently for a traffic violation by celebrity pro wrestler Trish Stratus, who last week was used in a late-night prostitution sting.
“I don’t think it’ll make us look outlandishly foolish or put Muncie on the map,” Ray said, adding that it’s a reality show “that will probably be forgotten a year from now.”
Looking out for “Wee Man”
Deeply tanned and a little paunchy, 57-year-old Erik Estrada, who starred in the 1970s motorcycle cop show “ChiPs,” is the only one of the five-person celebrity cast who has the remotest connection to a police force.
The five actors had to pass physical endurance tests to qualify as “reserve” officers – run a mile-and-a-half in 16 minutes and 28 seconds; 30 sit-ups in a minute; 25 push-ups in a minute. Jackson, an actor and sister of Michael Jackson, still has not satisfied the push-up requirement.
“We’re working with her on that,” Chief Winkle said. “I think she’ll get there.”
There are other safeguards, such as making sure that “Wee Man” doesn’t respond to any crime calls at Ball State University, where students might recognize him as the star of the MTV series “Jackass.” “Wee Man” is big with the college crowd, Winkle said.
“There are still a lot of public people who think this is a terrible idea and we’ll be embarrassed,” the chief said. “All I can say is, Muncie is what it is. I love this town and I’d never do anything to make it look bad. The only way we get embarrassed is if we embarrass ourselves.”
