Reality Show Turns B-list Into Gun-toting Cops

Just when you thought that reality TV had reached the end of its natural life and the pot of mindless, vapid "concepts" had finally been emptied, along comes Armed and Famous.

The idea, courtesy of CBS television, is simple. Take a bunch of minor celebrities, give them guns, train them to use said weapons, give them a police uniform and badge, and send them out to uphold the law on the streets.

These new "recruits" as reserve officers are La Toya Jackson, Michael's sister, Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy, and the skateboarder and Jackass star Wee Man. Also taking part are Erik Estrada, star of the television series CHiPs, in which he played a motorcycle cop, and Trish Stratus, a former wrestler . The series is being filmed in Muncie, Indiana (population 66,000), chosen for its quintessential middle-America features. The city's police are doing the training.

The celebrities are shown firing in the gun range and learning how to stop people in their cars and on the streets.

Muncie residents were allowed to view filming recently, during which Estrada joked with the crowd that he might not be recognisable as an officer as he would not be wearing his toupee. Associated Press reported that he wiggled his hairpiece.

Filming continues until mid-January, though a date has yet to be set for the broadcast. A few hiccups have already occurred. Jackson failed her fitness test, the Muncie Star Press revealed, because she was unable to do 25 press-ups.