Cirque du Soleil Reality Series Fire Within

[worldwidese]

Anybody who had a contract with CdS caught the new Series on Bravo Monday evening? Is this really how it is?

[Steven Ragatz]

Sorry, I don't have any network TV at home, so I haven't seen it. I suspect that the program is pumped up a bit, unless it was an hour long special on backstage dominos or connect-four tournaments...

Was the show good?

Steven Ragatz

[Lynneski]

The series has run in Canada since September. Unfortunately, it's at an akward time for me, so I've only caught a few episodes near the beginning. I'm guessing it's a reasonably fair portrayal, with a lot of the boring bits left out. Much of what I watched centred on one artist who was brought to Montreal boot camp from the UK, and was having trouble fitting in, homesick, etc. It clearly showed the less-than-glamorous accoms and lifestyle, the endless physically and mentally taxing rehearsals and rewrites. Lots of attention paid to rehearsals, rigging, and equipment - guess that's stuff the punters find mystifying. One interesting sub-plot followed the music director as he scouted the backwoods of former eastern bloc countries trying to find the voice he heard in his head for the show.

Having not been there, I'm only surmising. But it seems they left at least a few of the warts on. It's shot with pretty high production values for a CDN effort (ie - it doesn't "look" CDN ;-)

The whole thing should be out on VHS/DVD soon. I'd be interested to hear anyone who followed it through the season.