Invasion Iowa

★ 9 · 2005 · 60m · Comedy · Reality

Invasion Iowa is a television series that aired on Spike TV beginning on March 29, 2005, on ITV4 beginning on 3 November 2005 and The Comedy Channel in April 2007. The series depicts events from September 2004, in which William Shatner played a hoax on the small town of Riverside, Iowa by claiming to film a science fiction movie there. Unbeknownst to the residents of Riverside, the movie was in fact fake, a satire on the genre. In front of and behind the cameras, Shatner and his purported entourage performed a living, breathing parody of Hollywood. Producers designed the various plots and gags to elicit reactions from the townspeople. Shatner played the part of the eccentric star. Improvisational actors pretended to be members of his entourage. Residents of Riverside were encouraged to audition for parts in the movie and take jobs on its crew, only to bear witness, firsthand, to an elaborate send-up of tinseltown. Producers chose Riverside because it is the self-proclaimed future birthplace of Shatner's most enduring character, Captain James T. Kirk. Invasion Iowa was created by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who also created Spike TV's earlier "reality parody" series, The Joe Schmo Show, and its sequel, Joe Schmo 2.

Episodes

▶1. It Came from Hollywood60m · William Shatner and his cast and crew roll into Riverside, Iowa, where he meets with the residents and informs them of his plan to film a sci-fi movie there. He convinces them that he's casting members of the town for roles as cast and crew on the movie, none of them knowing that they're actually part of a reality TV series and the movie, Invasion Iowa, is a fake. Shatner gets a small tour of the town, meets with the mayor, He and his team then do the ""casting,"" choosing a wide mix of Iowans to be in the ""movie."" Among the cast are a farmer, a stand-up comedian, a reverend and many others. The cast learns their various roles and begins ""filming"" on the movie project. Later, they are all for an early screening of the film, which brings mixed reactions.▶2. It Came from the Silos60m · As the filming continues, one cast member expresses suspicions about the legitimacy of the project. The Iowa cast is introduced to Max, the evil studio executive. The cast and crew are introduced to ""Love Bombs"" by Bill's ""sensitive"" --- Steve, while one is forced to keep an eye on Desi and stop her from fraternizing with Tiny. Filming on the fake movie project continues to roll and the film's villain is introduced --- the Disintegratix 3000 (Gryffyn.) Everyone has trouble pronouncing her name and some feel that an on-screen kiss in another part of the movie is going overboard. Additionally, a local store owner is introduced to Gryffyn's kleptomaniac tendencies when William Shatner slips her a $50 bill and then watches as she shoplifts several items of no use to her from the premises.▶3. It Came from His Raccoon Bone60m · William Shatner and Scotty (Bill's assistant's assistant) are doing there motivational sayings. They say they want to be nice to Max. Shatner prepares to tape the part of the fake movie where he must say ""Nooooo!!!"" for a long period of time. William needs help remembering the line, so he makes Diana (cue-card lady) hold three pages saying ""Nooooo!!!"" and makes her count the Os out loud. After that important line is taped, Shatner and Scotty go to Scotty's house to use the washroom. While Shatner is using it, Scotty receives a call from the fake Sean Connery. The fake is very mad that he is not getting everything he was promised from Max. William Shatner later decides to have an auction, auctioning off things used in the fake movie such as gum, chewed by one of the actresses. The next scene has Tiny (Shatner's body double) running to a man. Shatner makes him sprint the run over and over again. Gryffyn shows her new book about a penguin that had plastic surgery on her wings to look goo ▶4. It Came from Her Popo60m · The shenanigans continue as Shatner puts in place a prank to change the name of Riverside to ""Billville."" Shatner meets Don Rath ""Coon,"" who shares the story of his ""raccoon penis."" Gryffyn reports on changes made to her Popo story, based on feedback, but it turns out that it's even more outrageous than before. Filming is completed on the phony Invasion Iowa movie, at which point Shatner tells the Iowa cast and crew that there's not going to be any movie. After he reveals the reality TV show hoax, the actors and actresses reveal their real identities, but one of the Iowans is so incensed that they feel they've lost him. Still, everyone comes back together in time for the big reveal to the entire town. The town is given $100,000, plus an additional $12,000 to the Riverside Elementary from the crew, as well as special prizes to many of the Iowa cast and crew. Following this is the world premiere of the phony Invasion Iowa movie. Finally, the audience learns about what happened following

More Like This

$25 Million Dollar Hoax

2004 · ★ 7

$25 Million Dollar Hoax is an unscripted television series that was originally shown on American network NBC in November 2004. It is based on a United Kingdom show titled The Million Pound Hoax, broadcast on Sky One earlier that year. $25 Million Dollar Hoax consists of three unscripted hour-long episodes in which small-town girl Chrissy Sanford plays a hoax on her family by convincing them she had won a US$25,000,000 lottery prize through the internet, and that it had changed her from a sweet girl into a spend-a-holic. This program is an example of reality television. $25 Million Dollar Hoax contained guest appearances by Ed McMahon, George Gray, and N*SYNC's Lance Bass. Chrissy successfully pulled off the hoax, which won her and her family over $400,000 in cash and prizes.

More info →

The Joe Schmo Show

2003 · ★ 8.2

An average, everyday person finds themselves selected for a reality TV show with a large prize at stake. Little do they know they're the only contestant: all the other "competitors" are actors and the whole show is just a set up to test how they react to different scenarios and moral dilemmas.

More info →

Space Cadets

2005 · ★ 7.5

Space Cadets is a British television program made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. Presented by Johnny Vaughan, it was aired across ten consecutive nights beginning on 7 December 2005, with the final episode aired on the evening of 16 December 2005. It was accompanied by a behind-the-scenes sister show Space Cadets: The Satellite Show, with interviews and phone-ins.

More info →

Bedsitcom

2003 · ★ 10

Bedsitcom is a British reality television hoax series that was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2003. The series follows the lives of six young people living in a loft flat in London - three of them actors being directed by the writers.

More info →

I Wanna Marry "Harry"

2014 · ★ 5.7

Summer love is in the air, as an average English "bloke" is given the royal treatment and an upper crust makeover before meeting 12 single American women searching for Prince Charming. Will he be able to convince them he's regal? And if he does, will they fall for the crown, or fall in love with the real him? Join "Harry' as he courts each of the ladies, taking them on romantic dates worthy of a princess and trying to make some version of their fairytales come true.

More info →

Finding Bigfoot

2011 · ★ 5.5

From small towns in the South to remote areas of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, four eccentric but passionate members of the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) embark on one single-minded mission - to find the elusive "creature" known as Bigfoot or the Sasquatch.

More info →