First off, for the record, I wasn't invited to participate in this media call. I'm still getting into 'loops of information' within various circles. (For the last one, I finally figured out they sent out everything via fax only. D'oh. So I got a toll-free online fax number and new sources of info start coming in. Fax! I'm grateful for the information, though.) In any case, The Washington Post has a good article about the conference call with Chief Joe Winkle, the producer of the show, and others.

From the article:

Still, Winkle told the reporters Osbourne's well-documented instability was "not a concern" so long as he had not been arrested for his actions. "My understanding is he's not had an arrest for any of those things," Winkle told reporters. He said Osbourne passed the psych test, and the show's executive producer, Tom Forman, who was also on the call, jumped in to say Osbourne passed it "with flying colors."

Reporters on the conference call seemed remarkably un-knicker-knotted about the premise of this show -- Jack Osbourne + La Toya Jackson + guns.

... SNIP ...

Forman went on to say that he wanted to make this series to show people how tough it is to be a rookie cop "through the eyes of someone they can identify with."

You know, like La Toya Jackson.

But anyway, the reporters seemed to swallow that one, which is probably what gave Forman the confidence to start laying on the applesauce very thick -- like when he said the skills that make "a good Hollywood star" (we think he meant the C-listers here) also make for a good police officer.

Ouch.

To be honest, I'm not that upset I didn't participate in the conference call. I wish I would've gotten an invite at least, though. In any case, I agree that the show doesn't need any more publicity than it's already getting. On the other hand, I *know* the TSP's traffic is spiking from the sensationalism.

I dunno, but 2007 is indeed shaping up to be an interesting year.

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