Reality TV passed on balloon boy’s family

Plus: Trial date set for Parker-Broderick surrogate case

The Heene family, clockwise from back left, Richard, Mayumi, Ryan, Falcon and Bradford are shown at their home in Fort Collins, Colo. on Nov. 15, 2008. The Heene family were featured on the 100th episode of the ABC reality series, "Wife Swap."

By Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

msnbc.com

updated 10/18/2009 9:55:32 PM ET

Print
Font:
+
-

One thing about the Heene family appears to be true, at least according to one sheriff: The story of a boy floating away in a homemade helium balloon was a hoax , dreamed up by the Heenes in the hopes they could land a reality TV deal, according to officials.

What’s not certain: Why, in a climate where everyone from ill-mannered housewives to cantankerous cake makers can score a reality show, a family clearly capable of making captivating television, couldn’t.

According to several network sources, the Heenes had more than one production company that shopped their family around. Reality Real was one of them, as was RDF USA, which produces “Wife Swap.” And yet, though the family proved interesting enough for viewers to vote the Heene family back to “Wife Swap” for an encore episode, other networks passed on the family. One TLC source said that “months ago” the Heenes were pitched, and “Thank God, they didn’t pick up the show.”

One reason the Heenes might not have been able to score a deal is that they were already on “Wife Swap.” “Being on one reality show doesn’t make you fit for your own, necessarily,” said one ABC source. “And if you become famous, or infamous as the case might be on one network, others don’t necessarily want to pick them up.”

Then there’s this (file it under “hindsight, 20/20”): “You can’t tell if you’re being had or not any more. ‘Reality television’ has moved so far from reality. The Heenes and their quirks didn’t seem entirely real,” said one person with knowledge of their failed pitches. “Or at least, you hoped what they were putting out there couldn’t be real. Either way, they weren’t going to be believable reality.”

Trial date set for Parker-Broderick surrogate case
A trial date has been set for the two police officers accused of scheming to remove personal effects of the surrogate who carried twin girls for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.

Slideshow: Celebrity Sightings Martins Ferry, Ohio, Police Chief Barry Carpenter will go to trial Nov. 16, and Bridgeport, Ohio, Chief Chad Dojack will go to trial Jan. 12. Both, who have pleaded not guilty, have been accused of trying to steal items from the surrogate’s home and sell them to celebrity magazines.

Rumpus at the box office
Video: 'Wild Things' tops movie charts Even though reviews of “Where the Wild Things Are” don’t indicate the film was loved by all, it was loved enough for it to have exceeded expectations. “Wild Things” was No. 1 and took in $32.5 million in ticket sales, and helped make this the most successful October weekend in history. Others chipping in: “Law Abiding Citizen,” which came in No. 2 with a $21.2 million opening, and “Paranormal Activity,” which continues to attract massive audiences. It was in third place, and made $20.1 million, which brings its domestic total to $33.7 million.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc

Video: Police: ‘Balloon boy’ saga was a hoax

Open in new window

Closed captioning of: Police: ‘Balloon boy’ saga was a hoax

Advertise | AdChoices

>>> let's begin with the latest on the so-called balloon boy saga which investigators are now calling a hoax. nbc's lee cowan is in ft. collins, colorado with more on this. lee, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, ann. those who knew richard heene the best say that a stunt like this was really only a matter of time. he's a self-described adrenalin junkie who loved being in the spotlight who told those he work with to remember one thing -- no publicity is bad publicity. for the larimer county sheriff, this was an embarrassing admission.

>> they put on a very good show for us and we bought it. it has been determined that this is a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt .

>> reporter: the heene family's balloon caper may have looked and sounded like science fiction from beginning, but as the lead responder, the sheriff said he had no choice but to believe the impossible -- at first.

>> we have to operate on facts and what we can prove as being facts.

>> reporter: but within hours he says the facts began to fall as flat as the balloon itself.

>> we were manipulated by the family and the media was manipulated by the family.

>> reporter: he says evidence shows the balloon wasn't big enough to lift a 37-pound child in the first place. red flag number one.

>> are you sure that he's in that?

>> yeah, we looked everywhere.

>> reporter: second, why did the family call the news media before dialing 911. and then there's the family's back story. getting on reality tv , some say, was priority number one.

>> this is his life. it's about the media and getting himself into the media.

>> reporter: barbara should know, she worked with richard heeb on his storm-chasing videos and appeared with him on the abc reality show "wife swap." he loved it so much, she says, getting another shot at a reality show was his passion. when it came to the kids, that's when some alarm bells went on.

>> definitely.

>> reporter: but her biggest concern now she says is the children, especially the youngest, fall could con, who the sheriff says blew his dad's cover on cnn. child protective services is investigating what happens to the three kids especially since one of the proposed charges is contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

>> the information that we have at this point is that they were 100% involved. a former family court judge predicts regardless of the charges, the heene family will never be the same.

>> they've involved their children in something that's truly deceptive and somewhat evil if you ask me.

>> reporter: the heenes continue to insist they're innocent, although they admit their story is convoluted. for now, they remain free while investigators determine just how deep their legal trouble may be. in addition to all those felony charges, they could also be asked to pay back the massive cost of that search effort last week, something that most agreet heen the heenes would have a hard time doing.

>> lee cowan for us in

Show transcript