Fire Me...Please was an hour-long hidden camera reality series which aired on CBS in summer 2005. It was based on a BBC series called The Sack Race. Two contestants each reported to a new job at separate locations and figure out how to get fired as close to 3:00 p.m. as possible (the store owners are in on the gag, but the managers are not). When both contestants are fired, they report back to host Dave Holmes, and whoever was fired at the right time wins $25,000. A hidden camera is a still or video camera used to film people without their knowledge. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Dave Holmes (born March 14, 1971 in St. ...

Fire Me...Please was believed to be the first reality show to employ a laugh track. The show was also believed to be the first reality series to have one half of an episode feature a repeat, and the other half feature new material. Although critics were not overwhelmed, the series did fairly well in the 18-49 year olds demographic, often placing second against the popular drama House. The show was announced as one of the debut selections on CBS's Innertube website in May 2006, but never appeared on the website. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... House, also known as House, M.D., is a critically-acclaimed American medical drama television series created by David Shore and executive produced by Shore and film director Bryan Singer. ... May 2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → May 1, 2006 (Monday) Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association outraged Vatican by planning to ordain another bishop, Liu Xinhong in Anhui Province. ...

The show's on-air title was Fire Me Please! but CBS insisted the official title was Fire Me...Please.

The show is a close adaptation of a short-lived British format, The Sack Race, devised by Hugh Rycroft and first broadcast on BBC Three in 2003, with a repeat run on BBC Two in 2004. (Although the show is often considered to parody the popular series The Apprentice, The Sack Race in fact debuted some months earlier.) The main difference between the two versions is that the UK version was played entirely for laughs, with all of the contestants being young stand-up comedians (including an early appearance by Laura Solon), and no significant prize money at stake - the prize being merely the average daily wage for the job they took on. Whereas The Sack Race was promoted purely as a comedy programme, Fire Me...Please was advertised as a reality television show, which is the exact opposite of The Apprentice, because on The Apprentice, you try to get hired, and not fired. The Sack Race received low ratings and poor reviews, and was not recommissioned after its original eight-episode run. BBC Three, the successor to the similar BBC Choice, is a British television channel from the BBC broadcasting only on digital cable, terrestrial and satellite. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The Apprentice was a television franchise that originated in 2004 in the United States. ... Laura Solon (aged 26 as of August 2005) is an English comedienne, writer and winner of the 2005 Perrier Comedy Award, only the second female to win as a solo performer (the first being Jenny Eclair in 1995). ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. ... The Apprentice was a television franchise that originated in 2004 in the United States. ...

External links

• Official website
• The Sack Race at UKGameshows.com