James J. Lee, the 43-year-old gunman who was killed by police Wednesday after taking hostages at the Discovery Channel's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland may have been motivated by feelings of rejection after having his script ideas ignored by the network.
One of Lee's reality show treatments outlined a show called "Race to Save the Planet" where contestants would be asked to come up with solutions to environmental problems.
Lee was a radical environmentalist who was obsessed with the Daniel Quinn novel "My Ishmael" and believed that humans need to stop having babies to curb the destructive effects of overpopulation.
In February 2008, Lee made a web posting asking people to join him in a protest against the Discovery Channel because they would not greenlight his ideas for environmental shows.
"I have tried to submit television show ideas to the Discovery Channel about saving the planet and they have outright rejected all ideas and won’t even listen. My question is: What will it hurt to broadcast shows about seeking solutions to saving the planet? What would it hurt to at least TRY to find solutions by televising shows asking the public for new ideas on how to live?" Lee wrote.
That protest ended with Lee being arrested for disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, all but 14 of which were suspended for time served.
Following the protest, Lee launched a "Save the Planet Essay Contest!" where he promised "about $200,000 worth of commercial real estate property in Hawaii plus $10,000 in cash for the best TV show idea to save the planet." Lee asked contestants to submit "an essay or a package presentation about a TV show that could be developed based on Daniel Quinn's book, 'My Ishmael.'"
"The title of your TV show should be very catchy ... Think of titles like 'American Idol,' 'The Apprentice,' and other shows that are obviously good and memorable because of their catchy, well-thought out, titles. Then think of the titles that are obviously bad and try to avoid making your show title sound like those," Lee wrote.
As part of the contest, Lee showed applicants an example of one of the failed reality show scripts that he submitted to the Discovery Channel. Lee's treatment was for a show called "Race to Save the Planet" where "contestants would come from all over to compete with each other and come up with ideas to save the planet."
"Race to Save the Planet" contestants would fight for a cash prize and be judged by a panel of scientists. Lee also created a promo video for the concept.
Lee's reality show treatment is reprinted in full below, contact information has been redacted:
By: Mister Lee
XXXXXX 16th Street Suite #348
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Phone: (XXX)-XXX-XXXX
Lee@savetheplanetprotest.com
Summary
This is an idea for a reality-game show called “Race to Save the Planet.”
