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The AMC TV show "Mad Men" has taken television by storm. Now in the midst of its second season Angel dvds NCIS LA complete collection Hayao Miyazaki animated, the Matthew Weiner created flashback to the early-sixties continues to grow in both popularity and critical acclaim after having won both a Golden Globe and Peabody Award in its inaugural year. But recently, as a result of AMC's own shenanigans South Park box set series Arrested Development dvds the complete series Clint Eastwood dvd collection, hostility toward the show and its network has begun to arise among the ranks of its most loyal fans.The brain trusts at AMC had decided to host a contest for its show's ardent supporters Charmed dvd, beginning in July Hustle dvd complete series, in which the winner would be given a "walk-on" role in a future episode. Prospective entrants to the competition were instructed to capture themselves performing on video The Next Generation complete box set Sex and the City 1-6, a scene from any of five provided scripts. The submitted videos would then be posted to a contest webpage to be voted on by other fans of the show, with the top eighteen vote-getting submissions advancing to a final round. According to the published guidelines of the contest, entrants were encouraged to be innovative in their interpretations of the scenes. The winner would be chosen based on "creativity and/or compelling nature of the performance Brainetics box set South Park - the complete series Project Runway complete set, quality of finished product and popularity among the AMC community" The X files - the complete series, with Matthew Weiner himself chiming in on the final decision.So everyone from working actors to hockey Moms set about parading their talents in hopes that their videos would foster their mutation into the prey of the paparazzi. Being both a huge fan of the show and a creative type Rescue Me dvd box, I threw my hat in as well. Submissions consisted of everything from entrants reciting lines into low-quality webcams to elaborate productions with full sets The Good Wife complete collection, props and supporting casts. Some were actually quite good, others JAG boxset uk, well...As the contest began to unfold and the votes started rolling in, a funny thing seemed to be happening. Most of the more creative and compelling entries got relatively few votes, while others, some of which were quite mediocre at best, were inundated with extraordinary numbers of votes within a matter of hours. Granted Babylon 5 dvd box set, I'm no talent scout Grey's Anatomy complete series box sets Friends complete box set, but I know a hack job when I see one. And I certainly wasted enough of my youth, despite my parents' incessant warnings, within three feet of a television set to be able to recognize an entertaining production. Something strange was afoot on planet AMC.Apparently I wasn't the only television radiation surviving amateur entertainment critic with an eye on the contest. Another suspicious soul Googled the name of a guy who had received an inordinate number of votes within hours of the posting of his video. It turned out that a link to his submission Angel dvd set Brothers & Sisters dvd set complete, along with instructions to vote for it Brothers & Sisters complete series NCIS LA box set The Tudors - the complete box set, had been posted on a popular internet blog. And so it went as the contest progressed. Talent began to count for nothing. Being networked to a vote generating machine was all that mattered. The manipulation was reminiscent of Florida during the Presidential election of 2000 Babylon 5 box set, save for the hanging chads.A naïve heart might have suspected that AMC would be up in arms over such finagling of the voting mechanism. After all Voyager full set Pretty Little Liars complete sets Hustle the complete boxset, they had touted a contest for their fans based on innovation, creativity and compelling nature of performance. Tempers had begun to flare and mumbling spread throughout the contest blogs over the injustice of what was occurring. I even took it upon myself to fire off scorching emails to those running the contest as well as to AMC headquarters, detailing my feelings regarding how corruptly the entrants who were cheating their way to the finals had been behaving.And then it hit me like a performance enhanced Mike Tyson left hook. Was what was happening exactly what the goober heads and mucky mucks at AMC had wanted all along? Had we all been so gullible as to believe that their "contest" was about anything other than generating publicity by exploiting its loyal fan base?They weren't looking for talent to put on the show. They could find that a lot quicker and easier than dragging out a contest for nearly an entire summer. It was never about rewarding the loyal fan with the compelling performance or the most creative video. That was all smoke and mirrors. The huge majority of contestants had never stood a chance, regardless of the quality of their submissions. Granting a walk-on role was just their way of throwing a bone to one of the highly networked stooges who could promote their show for them by granting AMC access to their network. Rumblings in the blogs suggested that the contest had lost all credibility. Contestants had begun to feel duped by their beloved show.I eventually got an email from AMC in response to my rantings. They thanked me for expressing my concerns and hoped that I would continue my "enthusiastic support" of those who had made it to the final round. Speaking of the final round One Tree Hill dvd set, I checked the Mad Men website and found this advice for the contest finalists regarding their submissions: "Link to it on Facebook or Myspace and start emailing as many friends as possible." It seems that certain types of bloodsuckers never reach their fill.I guess we all should have known better. Such is the fate of those who enter a contest crafted by the producers of a show about unscrupulous men who work in advertising.