Sunderland "reality" show preplanned before Abby's misadventure

[LouieFisk]

(Info derived from linked article)
Sunderland "reality" show was preplanned before Abby's misadventure:

Adventures in Sunderland (Reality TV Show) Distribution Rights: Magnetic Entertainment Exec Producer: Magnetic Entertainment

"A family oriented Adventure show, based on the Sunderland Family of Thousand Oaks, CA. We follow the family in their day-to-day lives as shipbuilder Laurence Sunderland and mother/teacher Marianne try to balance work and family."

http://www.magneticent.com/html/projects.htm

"Magnetic Entertainment" is the sponsor of the ill-fated voyage. (pdf list of sponsors)

http://abbysunderland.com/images/sponsors/abby_sponsorship.pdf

[DJ MacWoW]

It was heartbreaking that they bought everything that the press fed them.

[Charlespg]

thanks lol

[Charlespg]

Wow, that's some thread. With all the kool aid drunk on that one, no wonder they are obsessed with being "pants-pissers." Really something. Wonder how they feel now that the truth comes out and they find they were all worshipping "Balloon Boy II?"

Boy did that bring the kooks and the trolls!!. hope the mods are taking notes

[LouieFisk]

“Funny... I don’t see any of yesterday’s Abby worshipers on THIS thread.”

"Not even when they are getting pinged to show their faces..."

I wouldn't be too hard on them. I imagine most of us were concerned for the balloon boy when that story first broke. But as the details came in we soon realized we had been had (or were attempted to be had). So I expect those who were taken in by this "Balloon Boy - The Next Degeneration" reality show ploy to be mighty red faced right about now. In such cases, some people will admit "oops, they got me with this one" and others will double down in denial. Pride is a funny thing sometimes.

[dgroundhog]

I made the ‘we did it for a show’ crack when I first heard this story - but this is simply not the same. I said it as a joke - and I got a few laughs.

Balloon boy was a total hoax. Kid was never in the balloon. Abby was actually sailing - and would have likely completed her voyage had she not run into rough seas in the Indean Ocean.

I believe her brother was the former ‘youngest’ record holder for a short time until someone broke his mark. Abby was trying to set a new record and avenge her brother’s ‘loss’ of the title.

This is a family who is quite heavily into sailing and has been for some time. Not at all the same as the balloon boy hoax.

...and trying to liken her supporters to Terry Schiavo haters? Pathetic.

I suppose her critics want the state to take the kids away?

[momtothree]

One of the freepers said this not too long ago. I think it was more of a prediction. Sad when you can predict this stuff but good job to the one who did.

[dgroundhog]

Apologies for singling you out in my reply - the comment is for general consumption and wasn’t really directed at any individual.

[LouieFisk]

To: LouieFisk I made the ‘we did it for a show’ crack when I first heard this story - but this is simply not the same.
You are correct inasmuch as the Balloon Boy family didn't actually risk their child's life in their own attempt to get a "reality show".
The NY POST this morning has a story where the father confesses he was broke and decided to go the reality show route to instant celebdom -
Abby Sunderland's dad had TV deal as girl risked life at sea ‎

[dgroundhog]

Well the article starts off by saying he signed the deal weeks AFTER she left on her sailing trip.

They also mention they started planning this sailing excursion when she was 13. I highly doubt they planned 3 years ago to do a reality TV show.

I think it’s great these parents are encouraging their children to be exceptional. The fact she hit stormy weather, got stranded and was rescued shows she was prepared for this possibility and she handled it well.

I’d rather my kid be out doing something noteworthy than sitting on the couch playing XBox.

[LouieFisk]

LouieFisk Well the article starts off by saying he signed the deal weeks AFTER she left on her sailing trip.
The problem with that, dgroundhog, is that it is a total lie. The deal for the "reality" show was in the works beforehand. This can be easily confirmed if you read the pdf I linked to - in it, "Magnetic Entertainment" touts the yet be taken trip and is looking for sponsors. It also notes the family was already shopping around their reality show(s).
Heres the pdf file link again
(also note the date in the pdf "properties" section is from last year.)

[dgroundhog]

Can’t view the pdf currently.

I still beleive the family started planning this years ago - and the trip would have occurred whether there was a deal in place for a reality show or not.

It is a pretty amazing family - it wouldn’t surprise me that they would be the subject of a reality show. I believe the show is a result of the family’s long held lifestyle and not a desperate publicity ploy like Balloon Boy.

[DJ MacWoW]

it wouldn’t surprise me that they would be the subject of a reality show.

Reality shows are a sickness caused by the "look at me! look at me!" disease.

[DJ MacWoW]

...and trying to liken her supporters to Terry Schiavo haters? Pathetic.

Your sign up date is Mar 6, 2010. What was you name back then?

[Charlespg]

it’s getting crazier

Rescued teen sailor’s ‘team’ too poor to salvage lost yacht

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2534215/posts

[DJ MacWoW]

They were asking for donations. I think that I read last night that the yacht may not be salvageable anyway.

[ilovesarah2012]

Can’t they do something noteworthy without risking their lives?

[Otta B Sleepin]

I would just like to remind everyone that the media has their own biased agenda and they are doing a number on this family. Abby isn’t giving press interviews yet (and I don’t blame her - she’d be thrown to the wolves) so the media is jumping on every decision, remark or plan ever contemplated by her family and unlucky enough (in retrospect) to find its way into print. In addition, the Sunderlands have a large family, they’re homeschoolers, and they are born-again Christians. They are targets for media attacks on all fronts.

I’ve followed Zac and Abby’s voyages, faithfully reading their blogs every day, and have been repeatedly impressed by their maturity, resourcefulness, and sailing skills. It’s completely unfair to judge them by their chronological ages, and I believe their parents deserve accolades, not condemnation.

Seeing what the media is doing to the Sunderland family is reminiscent of the villification the Palins received at their hands. Neither family is deserving of such treatment, and it’s heartbreaking to see so many people rushing to join the lynch mob.

[LouieFisk]

I would just like to remind everyone that the media has their own biased agenda and they are doing a number on this family.

Otta - how exactly did the media force these people to try to get a "reality" tv show about their "daredevil kids" and then send off their minor daughter into an Antarctic seastorm?

[Otta B Sleepin]

What I’m saying is that there are two sides to every story and the media would now have everyone believe that the sole purpose of Abby’s voyage was for this reality show. However, Abby’s passion for sailing comes through loud and clear in her blog entries, and I don’t recall ever seeing any mention of a TV show. (Abby’s father says the concept was discussed after Zac’s voyage but never happened.)

Originally, Abby had planned to complete her voyage long before now but unexpectedly encountered many days of little to no wind, in addition to the auto pilot problem that resulted in her stop at Cape Town. Whether she should have continued on after that, given the season, is debatable but castigating her parents after the fact won’t change what happened. They did not intentionally “send” her into a storm, and I’m sure they’ve done plenty of second-guessing themselves. The rogue wave that rolled the boat 360 degrees, snapping the mast, could have happened to any sailor, regardless of age. Abby reacted just as she had been trained to do, activating the beacons and settling in for what she thought would be a long wait.

People can choose to believe what they want, but I’m giving the Sunderlands the benefit of the doubt here. Given how we’ve seen the media operate in the past, I wish people would be less quick to believe everything they read and hear.

[dgroundhog]

I signed up to discuss Lucas Smith’s CPGH BC. I am an occasional poster on his YouTube site and have done some minor research for both he and Butterdezillion.

Is that OK with you?