Fox's Drive Celebrates the Faltering American Economy

MaryAnn Johanson,  Apr 03, 2007

I'm looking forward to Drive, the new Fox series debuting on April 15 (though apparently it won't air for long), partly because it stars Nathan Fillion, whom I adore, and partly because it looks like "Lost meets The Amazing Race." Drive is a fictional narrative, not a reality show, about ordinary folks forced to compete in a cross-country road race with life-and-death stakes, but it sounds like a good example to work from for reality TV -- perhaps if "voted off the island" meant being thrown into tropical waters to be eaten by starving sharks instead of being sent home First Class to do the talk-show circuit, Survivor would actually be worth talking about.

Anyway, The Mayor of Tevevision is reporting that the stars of Drive will -- har, har -- be pumping gas at a Los Angeles filling station this Thursday morning to promote the show, though I suspect that a far bigger draw than TV stars will be the fact that the gas they'll be pumping will be free. That's a brilliant move on Fox's part, but it's also a really sorry indication of the state of American society. It sounds like Great Depression-era stuff -- you know, "Hey, the stars of Gone With the Wind will be handing out free potatoes. Bring the kids!"

What's next? "Come see Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard -- stars of The Riches -- pass out quarters"? "Meet the cast of Scrubs and get your blood pressure prescription filled free"? Yikes.

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MaryAnn Johanson
author of The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride
minder of FlickFilosopher.com