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ExecTV
Buy directly from the $12.00 Fast-forwarding Reality TV to its logical extreme, an unemployed documentary filmmaker extraordinaire arranges to have an execution broadcast live on pay-per-view television, in as flamboyant a form as his bizarre vision can conjure to amuse the masses.
Convicted of the serial killings and mutilations of a number of South Beach gay residents, Randall Snell — a former altar boy infamously dubbed the Killer Castrator by the television media — fatalistically awaits his end on death row.
When Snell’s overstarched attorney, Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, pontificates on CNN that his client has the right to choose by which method he’s put to death, eccentrically brilliant and perpetually unemployed documentary filmmaker Dov Montana sees an opportunity. He teams up with Lerz Feingold, programming director at pay-per-view reality TV outlet ’Tude Entertainment, and together they plan to bring reality TV to its logical apotheosis.
The equation seems simple Conrad Rangefork Thistle III ostensibly believes that the climate of debate that would ensue from a return to public executions will secure his client a stay of execution. Lerz Feingold, despite his tenuous relationship with Montana, sees an opportunity to catapult ’Tude Entertainment to the top of the ratings. But for Dov Montana, payoff lies not at the top but rather at the bottom, where he’s determined to expose the grazing herds of mediocrity that sit stuffed in front of their TV trays, infected by the insipid notion of reality TV and “news as entertainment.” The Nielsens, as he refers to them, are Montana’s target; the Killer Castrator, along with Conrad Rangefork Thistle III and Lerz Feingold, just means to an end.
Convicted of the serial killings and mutilations of a number of South Beach gay residents, Randall Snell — a former altar boy infamously dubbed the Killer Castrator by the television media — fatalistically awaits his end on death row.
When Snell’s overstarched attorney, Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, pontificates on CNN that his client has the right to choose by which method he’s put to death, eccentrically brilliant and perpetually unemployed documentary filmmaker Dov Montana sees an opportunity. He teams up with Lerz Feingold, programming director at pay-per-view reality TV outlet ’Tude Entertainment, and together they plan to bring reality TV to its logical apotheosis.
The equation seems simple Conrad Rangefork Thistle III ostensibly believes that the climate of debate that would ensue from a return to public executions will secure his client a stay of execution. Lerz Feingold, despite his tenuous relationship with Montana, sees an opportunity to catapult ’Tude Entertainment to the top of the ratings. But for Dov Montana, payoff lies not at the top but rather at the bottom, where he’s determined to expose the grazing herds of mediocrity that sit stuffed in front of their TV trays, infected by the insipid notion of reality TV and “news as entertainment.” The Nielsens, as he refers to them, are Montana’s target; the Killer Castrator, along with Conrad Rangefork Thistle III and Lerz Feingold, just means to an end.
- GenresFiction
194 pages, trade paperback
First published January 1, 2005
42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 10, 2010
Exec TV was an interesting and well written take on society’s dependence on television and the obsession with the aptly named reality TV.
The story follows “genius documentary filmmaker” (his words) Dov Montana as he attempts to put together a brilliant and disturbing reality television show called “ExecTv”, a televised execution of a notorious death-row inmate.
Montana enlists his old friend, Lerz Feingold, a successful but gullible producer for “Tude Entertainment to help him put together this brilliant idea of his. With Feingold’s sexy secretary Serena, Montana heads to Miami where his subject, the Killer Castrator, Randall Snell is on death row. Snell is famous for murdering and castrating his victims, and for wanting to determine how he is executed.
With the help of Snell’s perpetually acting lawyer, Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, Montana puts together a crew to reenact Snell’s crimes. As the execution date grows nearer, Montana’s schemes grow bigger and the novel’s readers, as well as the rest of the characters, have no choice but to sit back and enjoy the ride.
A fascinating look at our obsession with fame, gore, violence and good old “reality”, ExecTV is thought provoking and entertaining.
The story follows “genius documentary filmmaker” (his words) Dov Montana as he attempts to put together a brilliant and disturbing reality television show called “ExecTv”, a televised execution of a notorious death-row inmate.
Montana enlists his old friend, Lerz Feingold, a successful but gullible producer for “Tude Entertainment to help him put together this brilliant idea of his. With Feingold’s sexy secretary Serena, Montana heads to Miami where his subject, the Killer Castrator, Randall Snell is on death row. Snell is famous for murdering and castrating his victims, and for wanting to determine how he is executed.
With the help of Snell’s perpetually acting lawyer, Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, Montana puts together a crew to reenact Snell’s crimes. As the execution date grows nearer, Montana’s schemes grow bigger and the novel’s readers, as well as the rest of the characters, have no choice but to sit back and enjoy the ride.
A fascinating look at our obsession with fame, gore, violence and good old “reality”, ExecTV is thought provoking and entertaining.
August 12, 2009
Exec TV is the amusing story of an egotistical filmmaker's quest to create something new and revolutionary. He teams up with several ridiculous characters to have an execution broadcast on television. It's an interesting story dealing with the realities of...well, reality TV. As a society America has become more and more immune to the violence we see on an everyday basis. Exec TV is a criticism of the way television is broadcast today, and where it may be headed if we aren't careful.
September 7, 2010
In David Brensilver’s novel ExecTV, readers are given an in-your-face look at the dependency American’s have on both television and other human’s problems.
Dov Montana, a self-proclaimed “genius documentary filmmaker”, is inspired to create a reality television show after hearing about Randall Snell, aka the “Killer Castrator”.
Snell, convicted of mutilating and murdering several members of the South Beach gay community, is represented by his laywer, Conrad Rangefolk Thistle III. Thistle believes that his client Snell should have the right to choose by which method of killing he will die from while on death row.
To Montana, this seems like the perfect opportunity to reinvent his career. Montana approaches an old colleague, Lerz Feingold, a programming honcho at ‘Tude Entertainment, to present his idea. Despite some hesitation due to past experiences, Feingold agrees to work with Montana and they attempt to bring “ExecTV” to life.
While both Feingold and Montana see this as an opportunity for success, it’s not for the same reasons.
Through satirical humor, Brensilver brings to light the current views our country has on “reality television” and brings up the question of “how far will it go?”
Dov Montana, a self-proclaimed “genius documentary filmmaker”, is inspired to create a reality television show after hearing about Randall Snell, aka the “Killer Castrator”.
Snell, convicted of mutilating and murdering several members of the South Beach gay community, is represented by his laywer, Conrad Rangefolk Thistle III. Thistle believes that his client Snell should have the right to choose by which method of killing he will die from while on death row.
To Montana, this seems like the perfect opportunity to reinvent his career. Montana approaches an old colleague, Lerz Feingold, a programming honcho at ‘Tude Entertainment, to present his idea. Despite some hesitation due to past experiences, Feingold agrees to work with Montana and they attempt to bring “ExecTV” to life.
While both Feingold and Montana see this as an opportunity for success, it’s not for the same reasons.
Through satirical humor, Brensilver brings to light the current views our country has on “reality television” and brings up the question of “how far will it go?”
November 4, 2011
ExecTV by David A. Brensilver is a sharp satire of reality TV, cable news, and the culture of mass media. It tells the story of Dov Montana, an unemployed documentary film maker, who, while watching a news story about a man on death-row, decides to create a reality TV show about an execution. Montana is disgusted by the way cable TV channels turn news into sensational entertainment, and by the pleasure people take from it. He thinks that a reality TV show about a man’s execution would be so grotesque that people would be forced to notice how manipulative the media is, and how easily they give into their prurient instincts. Montana’s goal is to convince the prisoner to ask for the most disgusting execution possible, and then broadcast it on live TV. (I won’t go into too much more detail here, as it would ruin the surprise).
ExecTV was very enjoyable. Brensilver has a good ear for dialogue, and he has given each character a memorable voice with verbal quirks like stammers, ums, and “likes”. In fact, much of the story and character development is done through dialogue, and I could imagine the novel making a good play or movie.
The characters are also very memorable and interesting. They are a rather unpleasant group of people, reflecting the unpleasant nature of the business with which they are involved. Dov Montana is arrogant yet insecure. He likes to think of himself as a principled artist, exposing the corruption of the media, yet he is completely unscrupulous in pursuing his goals, and will use people however he wants. Lerz Feingold, executive of an entertainment company and old friend of Montana, is obese, unimaginative, and inarticulate. His secretary is a shallow aspiring actress who uses her looks and body to get what she wants. Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, the prisoner’s lawyer, is vain and self-promoting.
One of my favorite things about the book is that ultimately two characters seemed the most sympathetic to me. Randall Snell, the Killer Castrator, the man who murdered several gay men because he believed he was doing the work of God, had basically accepted his fate, and just wanted to be left alone. The other sympathetic character was Myron, a gay man who Montana wanted to help with the filming – in fact, he struck me as the only person with a grain of decency. In the end, the condemned man and one of his potential victims are simply used by the people creating the media circus around them, with no regard for their humanity.
Ultimately, anyone who enjoys satire, and has noticed the disturbing convergence of news and entertainment over the past several years would probably enjoy this book. I certainly did.
ExecTV was very enjoyable. Brensilver has a good ear for dialogue, and he has given each character a memorable voice with verbal quirks like stammers, ums, and “likes”. In fact, much of the story and character development is done through dialogue, and I could imagine the novel making a good play or movie.
The characters are also very memorable and interesting. They are a rather unpleasant group of people, reflecting the unpleasant nature of the business with which they are involved. Dov Montana is arrogant yet insecure. He likes to think of himself as a principled artist, exposing the corruption of the media, yet he is completely unscrupulous in pursuing his goals, and will use people however he wants. Lerz Feingold, executive of an entertainment company and old friend of Montana, is obese, unimaginative, and inarticulate. His secretary is a shallow aspiring actress who uses her looks and body to get what she wants. Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, the prisoner’s lawyer, is vain and self-promoting.
One of my favorite things about the book is that ultimately two characters seemed the most sympathetic to me. Randall Snell, the Killer Castrator, the man who murdered several gay men because he believed he was doing the work of God, had basically accepted his fate, and just wanted to be left alone. The other sympathetic character was Myron, a gay man who Montana wanted to help with the filming – in fact, he struck me as the only person with a grain of decency. In the end, the condemned man and one of his potential victims are simply used by the people creating the media circus around them, with no regard for their humanity.
Ultimately, anyone who enjoys satire, and has noticed the disturbing convergence of news and entertainment over the past several years would probably enjoy this book. I certainly did.
February 3, 2011
Oh, America…how we crave new waves of entertainment. ExecTV certainly delivers, along with the mirror up to our hypocrisy. When the ‘Killer Castrato’ decides that his execution should be done his way, filmmaker Dov Montana sees the opportunity to revolutionize reality TV. Alongside and old colleague, Lerz Feignolf, who runs a pay-per-view reality tv company, Montana sets out to capture the ‘Killer Castrator’s’ journey on death row. The story is nothing short of amazing. Brensilver highlights the ugliest aspects of our society and the scary part is the accuracy. For anyone who is concerned with today’s problems, this is a must read.
February 15, 2012
I recently received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway and was deeply intrigued by the plot. The undertones and dark, cynical humor amused me greatly. The parallels to today's society and how it gives way to human nature, how we subconsciously—or quite knowingly but refusing to admit—gravitate toward the morbid, disgusting side of human nature.
The reason why I gave this book only three stars is because I felt the colloquial stutters were a bit excessive with Lerz and distracted from the meaning behind his words, and the way Dov acts throughout the book contradicts the initial image painted by his vivid description in the beginning. The swearing was also excessive as it took away from the proud, condescending yet not-descending-to-unnecessary-swearing sort of man the character could have been.
The final page amused me greatly as he road off in the car, claiming he kept bees in his closet and didn't feed them. I honestly appreciated this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, deep read.
The reason why I gave this book only three stars is because I felt the colloquial stutters were a bit excessive with Lerz and distracted from the meaning behind his words, and the way Dov acts throughout the book contradicts the initial image painted by his vivid description in the beginning. The swearing was also excessive as it took away from the proud, condescending yet not-descending-to-unnecessary-swearing sort of man the character could have been.
The final page amused me greatly as he road off in the car, claiming he kept bees in his closet and didn't feed them. I honestly appreciated this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, deep read.
March 1, 2018
Written by a friend of mine. I really enjoyed the story, his excellent development of characters, and the fact that the novel kept making me laugh!
Very funny!
Very funny!
December 1, 2011
David Brensilver has created a brilliant but pained critique of media and culture in the postmodern era in ExecTV. It is brilliant because of its insights into human motivations; and pained (and painful), because those motivations, in ExecTV, are varied only by degree, running the gamut from malice to ignorance. The postmodern world to the postmodern novelist is chaotic and repugnant--yet worth saving. This is a novel not for the faint-of-heart, but readers who are willing to be challenged, frightened, even disgusted. The pain, it soon becomes clear, is worth it.
ExecTV follows the comically abrasive Dov Montana, a brilliant, self-absorbed documentary filmmaker who wants just one thing: to film an execution, live. With Randall Snell, “the Killer Castrator,” behind bars and on death row, Montana finds the perfect subject for his piece. Snell’s lawyer, Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, is demanding that Snell be permitted to choose his manner of execution. And Dov Montana is determined to be Snell’s guiding hand in his life’s last decisions.
The novel is full to the brim with absurdities, paralleling and accentuating the absurdities of the modern media. Thistle bursts into spontaneous song at the most inappropriate moments. Snell, a seemingly apathetic man, spouts homophobic remarks at the drop of a dime, justifying his murders of gay men with bizarre biblical citations. And Lerz Feingold, the (morbidly obese) man providing the funds for Montana’s foray into reality TV, is described in sickening, almost excessive detail.
The style and content make the message clear: the state of the multimedia industry in 21st century America is so dire as to be irreparable. “The Nielsens,” as Montana calls the millions of sheep-like consumers of mass media and mass entertainment, call the shots--they determine, through their choices, what programs will be canceled and which will be continued--but they are also guided, driven by marketing departments and cheap ploys. Montana endeavors to give them exactly what they want: the cheapest possible ploy, something so absurd, violent, and disgusting as to make clear the cesspool which American media has become.
It is ironically from this central contradiction--Montana’s desire to save the very world he despises--that Brensilver’s aptitude as a writer emerges. Montana is a mass of contradictions, the ultimate victim of postmodern media. His ideas, his brilliance and plans, can never come to fruition due to their unorthodox approach. With this one last attempt to give the people exactly what they crave, by giving in to “the enemy”--”The Nielsens” and all they represent--Montana manages, in some small way, to escape or even beat his persecutors. But in the end, as the cliche goes, there are no winners. “Justice” is served: to the Nielsens; to Randall Snell; and to Dov Montana, perhaps most of all.
ExecTV follows the comically abrasive Dov Montana, a brilliant, self-absorbed documentary filmmaker who wants just one thing: to film an execution, live. With Randall Snell, “the Killer Castrator,” behind bars and on death row, Montana finds the perfect subject for his piece. Snell’s lawyer, Conrad Rangefork Thistle III, is demanding that Snell be permitted to choose his manner of execution. And Dov Montana is determined to be Snell’s guiding hand in his life’s last decisions.
The novel is full to the brim with absurdities, paralleling and accentuating the absurdities of the modern media. Thistle bursts into spontaneous song at the most inappropriate moments. Snell, a seemingly apathetic man, spouts homophobic remarks at the drop of a dime, justifying his murders of gay men with bizarre biblical citations. And Lerz Feingold, the (morbidly obese) man providing the funds for Montana’s foray into reality TV, is described in sickening, almost excessive detail.
The style and content make the message clear: the state of the multimedia industry in 21st century America is so dire as to be irreparable. “The Nielsens,” as Montana calls the millions of sheep-like consumers of mass media and mass entertainment, call the shots--they determine, through their choices, what programs will be canceled and which will be continued--but they are also guided, driven by marketing departments and cheap ploys. Montana endeavors to give them exactly what they want: the cheapest possible ploy, something so absurd, violent, and disgusting as to make clear the cesspool which American media has become.
It is ironically from this central contradiction--Montana’s desire to save the very world he despises--that Brensilver’s aptitude as a writer emerges. Montana is a mass of contradictions, the ultimate victim of postmodern media. His ideas, his brilliance and plans, can never come to fruition due to their unorthodox approach. With this one last attempt to give the people exactly what they crave, by giving in to “the enemy”--”The Nielsens” and all they represent--Montana manages, in some small way, to escape or even beat his persecutors. But in the end, as the cliche goes, there are no winners. “Justice” is served: to the Nielsens; to Randall Snell; and to Dov Montana, perhaps most of all.
February 18, 2012
I received this through First Reads and wasn't too thrilled with it. The only way I was able to continue reading this to the end was the author's stark description of society's obsession with entertainment; so obsessed that news and entertainment are overlapping. The author uses incredible language to communicate these thoughts and for that alone it is worth the read.
The book relies heavily on dialogue between the characters. It was severely redundant. For instance, the main character dreams up an idea which takes a few pages. He then telephones a producer to explain the idea. Next, he visits said producer and explains the idea again. He continues internal dialogue about his grand idea of a live televised execution as he drives to meet with a lawyer. He then pitches the idea that we've read several times already AGAIN. It was almost unbearable.
The book relies heavily on dialogue between the characters. It was severely redundant. For instance, the main character dreams up an idea which takes a few pages. He then telephones a producer to explain the idea. Next, he visits said producer and explains the idea again. He continues internal dialogue about his grand idea of a live televised execution as he drives to meet with a lawyer. He then pitches the idea that we've read several times already AGAIN. It was almost unbearable.
March 20, 2012
This book never quite lived up to its potential, I think, but did offer a good look at our love affair with "reality TV" programs and cumulative desensitization. As a satire, development and insight into the characters takes a backseat, which I think could have been used to greater effect, and the writing itself sometimes put me off through sheer volume of aggressive description. After a few pages of Dov Montana's pacing, drinking, and smoking, I wanted to break out in hives. For whatever reason, it just never quite came together for me as the story and satire it could have been.
February 12, 2012
This was a great thriller. I haven't read a book that kept me this captivated in a long time. The plot was intriguing and kept me guessing. It was a little hard to get into at the beginning because I didn't read one big chunk in the first sitting, so I found myself having to go back and figure out who was who. Great book!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews