ROFLMAO! Actually, if you wade through the online journals of the volunteers and explore newspaper articles about them, you will read that they didn't get paid for participation or compete for a prize. But they might be playing with language. There might have been a stipend given them that the producers would insist was not pay. Otherwise, it just boggles the mind to think of the hit to the budget participation meant to the volunteers. Your point about keeping your job is spot-on as well. At my last employer, they tried to write me up for an unexcused absence for being gone one day for my uncle's funeral. They only eased off when they found out that another of my uncle's pallbearers, the chairman and CEO of a major insurance company, was on the board of directors of their parent corporation. That scared them silly. I can't imagine trying to get three months off to volunteer for a television show from them.
To be honest it deppends on where your from. Here in Alaska there are people who dont work durring that time of year do to seasonal tourist jobs. Personaly id do this show even if i werent to get even a stipened.
