Reality TV gets real on the Web and in "The Vault"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Want a look at real, reality TV? Try clicking on an upcoming Web show called "The Vault," which for one year will lock more than a dozen people in an underground bunker after a simulated nuclear holocaust.

The goal: stay in, because if you leave, you die.

The makers of "The Vault" expect to have their program up-and-running at thevault12.com in April, with a cast of people whose goal will be survival -- 40 ft. underground.

"People are going to get caught up in who's going to crack first, (or) who's going to hook up with whom and how will that play out," said "The Vault" creator Russ McCullough.

McCullough said initially he set out to make an independent movie about a group of 12 people who survive a nuclear attack in an underground bunker, but before filming, he and his partners thought it might make a better "reality TV" show.

A problem for the group, however, was getting their foot in the door at any of the major networks where shows like "Big Brother" shut people inside a home.

Moreover, McCullough said he was fed up with "reality TV" shows because they weren't truly real, but were contrived settings and situations put in place by writers, directors, producers and others. So, he took it to the Web.

In "The Vault," cameras will be turned on 24 hours-a-day. No crew members will be allowed in the bunker, instead they will be above ground editing the footage into episodes with the goal being one new show per day.

The "cast", who will be paid, will have no communication with the outside world -- not much of anything except food, clothing and shelter -- and will have to "survive" by their own wits.

Executive producer John St. Anthony said cast members were from all walks of life, ethnic groups and nationalities, and they range from a musician to a former military officer.

"They've all got to be able to bond together ... as opposed to being combative," he said. "Survival instincts were a key component."

McCullough said the creators will put up some obstacles for the group to overcome, in order to keep the show active.

The first test will be that 14 people will start, but there will be food and water for only 12. The group will have to decide who will be sent outside to their certain "death."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)