Nathan Clutter

Nathan Clutter leapt to his death from a cell pohne tower last October. So far, simply a sad suicide, an all too common occurence. However, This was just a month after Nathan Clutter had been taping a reality TV show: were the stresses of that to contribute to his suicide?

My Network TV's "Paradise Hotel 2" (9 tonight WPMY, 1 a.m. Fox Reality Channel) may seem on the surface like just another guilty pleasure reality show about young, attractive singles who "hook up," as the kids say, in a ritzy hotel. But scratch the surface and it's revealed to be perhaps the first reality show to feature a now-deceased contestant. Nathan Clutter, depicted on the show and described on the show's Web site as "the gentleman" of the group, killed himself by jumping from a cell phone tower just a few weeks after filming of "Paradise Hotel 2" wrapped in the fall. This all brings up the concerns that have long existed about reality shows: Are the people who appear on them mentally stable enough?

There is the thought that anyone ready to appear on reality TV isn't stable, but that's a cheap shot following Nathan Clutter's death.

Some of you may remember that I was excited about the return of PARADISE HOTEL. Okay, excited might be something of a mild understatement. And after some slow going, Monday night’s PH2 eventually morphed into the kind of hot mess that made the first season such gloriously trashy viewing. So far, none of the models… er, contestants have morphed into characters as memorable as 2003’s psycho Zach, explosive Toni or Charla, the eventual winner who will always be remembered for the truly hard to watch scene in which she admitted that the touch of roomie Dave made her “skin crawl.” But Raheim is an egomaniacal time bomb who is only a few ticks away from exploding, pretty-boy James seems like the type who will do some serious damage and Tidisha has some serious self-esteem issues waiting to turn her into a sloppy mess. And did I mention the virgin cheerleader? It is tough, however, to sink into this debauchery knowing that one of the guests, Nathan Clutter, passed away this past October. Fox Reality is doing its best to sell us the sleeze, and yet their web page notes that Nathan “touched everyone he encountered with his thoughtfulness and decency.” True as those words may be, it’s tough to sell decadence and decency on the same web page.

Quite, the show does seem to be a set up for titillation:

The premise of Paradise Hotel 2 is pretty much the same as the first.  A group of sexy singles are thrown together in an exclusive resort all competing for what is mysteriously referred to as the “ultimate prize”. Each week they pick roommates. The single left without a mate is booted out and another sexy single brought in. Underlying message: skank it up or you’ll be yesterday’s news. The host, Amanda Byram, is the same as well.  One new element is the so-called “envelope girl”, McKenna. She is actually a spy, reporting back to viewers on what she sees. The hotel guests are the same mix of cliches as the first season. You’ve got Charte “the gossip”, Chelsea “the tease”, James “the pretty boy”, Krista “the virgin”, Lauren “the tomboy”, Mike “the charmer”, Raheim “the combatant”, Ryan “the surfer dude”, Tidisha “the straight talker”, Tanya “the flirt"and finally Nathan “the gentleman”. On a sad note, Nathan Clutter committed suicide in October 2007 less than a month after taping ended. Police reports say the 26-year old Danville, Illinois native leapt to his death from a cell phone tower in Amarillo, Texas. As macabre as it sounds, his family and producers of the show have decided to keep his scenes in the full run of episodes.