Introduction

Stars Earn Stripes is a reality television programme that aired for one season on NBC beginning 13 August 2012.

A group of celebrities experience the day to day operations of the military.

Outline

Produced by Mark Burnett, the series follows a group of celebrities, accompanied by current and former members of the United States Armed Forces and law enforcement, competing in various challenges for charity based on training exercises used by the US military.

The series is hosted by retired NATO Supreme Allied Commander and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark and former Dancing with the Stars co-host Samantha Harris. The title is a reference to how the stars would earn stripes on their uniforms when they advanced to the next round of the competition.

Cast

The cast of Stars Earn Stripes was unveiled by NBC in June 2012. Each celebrity will represent various military and veterans charities, and their winnings will be donated to these charities.

• Dean Cain: Actor, playing for Wounded Warrior Project.
• Dolvett Quince: Trainer for The Biggest Loser, playing for Got Your Six.
• Eve Torres: Three-time WWE Divas Champion and 2007 WWE Diva Search Winner, playing for USO.
• Laila Ali: Former boxer and television host, playing for Military Child Education Coalition.
• Nick Lachey: Singer and actor, playing for Badge of Honour Memorial Foundation.
• Picabo Street: Winter Olympics downhill skiing medallist, playing for Hiring Our Heroes.
• Terry Crews: Actor and reality TV star, playing for the Pat Tillman Foundation.
• Todd Palin: Outdoorsman and former First Gentleman of Alaska, playing for Armed Services YMCA Alaska.

Each celebrity was paired with a special operations or law enforcement professional who trained them in weapons and combat tactics. These “operatives” included:

• Chris Kyle (Navy SEAL): paired with Dean Cain.
• Andrew McLaren (Marine): paired with Dolvett Quince.
• Grady Powell (Green Beret): paired with Eve Torres.
• Talon Smith (Navy Corpsman): paired with Laila Ali.
• Tom Stroup (Orange County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Commander): paired with Nick Lachey.
• Brent Gleeson (Navy SEAL): paired with Picabo Street.
• Dale Comstock (Delta Force): paired with Terry Crews.
• JW Cortes (MTA Police/Marine): paired with Todd Palin.

Celebrity	Mission 01	Mission 02	Mission 03	Special Shootout	Mission 04 [5]	Mission 05
Eve Torres	1st [1]	Immune [3]	1st	4th	1st	Winner
Picabo Street	3rd	1st	2nd	2nd	Safe-Shootout	2nd
Dean Cain	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	3rd
Todd Palin	4th	2nd	2nd	3rd	Eliminated
Nick Lachey	1st	Safe-Shootout	Safe-Shootout	Eliminated [4]
Laila Ali	2nd	2nd	Eliminated
Terry Crews	Safe-Shootout [2]	Eliminated
Dolvett Quince	Eliminated [2]

Notes:

1. Several rounds had two celebrities team up with each other, resulting in more than one celeb placing first place.
   • Missions 01-03 were assigned by General Clark, where Mission 04 was a special shootout winner’s decision.
   • Mission 05 was an individual pair mission.
2. During Mission 01, Dolvett Quince (paired with Todd Palin) and Terry Crews (paired with Picabo) failed to complete the mission due to swimming difficulties.
   • Both were selected for the elimination shootout instead of lowest-placing squad.
3. Before Mission 02, a Bonus Shootout was held to determine who would be immune and not be assigned to the mission.
   • The first place squad (from Mission 01) of Eve Torres and Nick Lachey participated in it with Eve winning immunity.
4. Before Mission 04, there was a special elimination shootout held where all five remaining celebrities will pitted against each other simultaneously.
   • The first celebrity to knock out all four targets would be able to choose their squad partners.
   • The last celebrity with a target up would be eliminated.
   • Dean Cain was the first and chose Eve Torres (who placed 4th in the Special Elimination shootout) to be squad mates.
   • Picabo Street and Todd Palin (2nd/3rd respectively) were paired up for Mission 04.
5. On the Final Episode there were two missions (Stolen Intelligence/Operation LifeLock and Harbour Demolition) shown on this date.

Allegations Concerning Jack Osbourne

On 06 August 2012, Sharon Osbourne announced that she would be leaving fellow NBC programme America’s Got Talent due to allegations of discrimination by NBC and the producers of Stars Earn Stripes surrounding her son Jack Osbourne. On CBS’s The Talk (where Sharon is also a panellist), Jack had revealed that two days before filming began, he was removed from the cast of Stars Earn Stripes after disclosing that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Sharon felt that NBC “badly handled” the situation, and that allowing him to participate could have proved inspirational for others diagnosed with the disease. Producer David Hurwitz disputed these allegations in a press event, stating that the show was only in talks with Osbourne to participate, and that he was never officially part of the cast.

Calls for Cancellation

In August, eight Nobel Peace Laureates (Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams, Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Shirin Ebadi) signed an open letter calling for NBC to cancel the programme. They wrote “It is our belief that this programme pays homage to no one anywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence. Real war is down in the dirt deadly. People—military and civilians—die in ways that are anything but entertaining.”

NBC has removed Stars Earn Stripes from its list of current shows, though no formal announcement of the programme’s status has been made.

Stars Earn Stripes Series

• Episode 01 – Mission 01: Amphibious Assault.
• Episode 02 – Mission 02: Search and Destroy.
• Episode 03 – Mission 03: Rapid Detonation.
• Episode 04 – The finale consisted of two missions and a special shootout.
  • Special Shootout.
  • Mission 04: Stolen Intelligence/Operation LifeLock.
  • Mission 05: Harbour Demolition.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • J. Rupert Thompson.
• Producer(s):
  • Ari Cheren … challenge producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Michael Dietz … co-executive producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Josh Douglass … segment producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Peter Herschko … co-executive producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Dean Houser … supervising producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • David A. Hurwitz … executive producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Jack Isacksen … segment producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Pollyanna Jacobs … segment producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Erin K. O’Brien … coordinating producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Josh Silberman … supervising producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Dick Wolf … executive producer (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Larry Struber … consulting producer (1 episode, 2012).
  • Mark Burnett … executive producer (unknown episodes).
• Writer(s):
• Music:
  • David Vanacore … (unknown episodes).
• Cinematography:
  • Scott Farquharson … (unknown episodes).
• Editor(s):
  • Austin Flack … (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Jeff Runyan … (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Nick Staller … (4 episodes, 2012).
  • Sam Eskandari … (3 episodes, 2012).
  • Jon Blando … (2 episodes, 2012).
  • Ian Kaufman … (2 episodes, 2012).
  • Eduardo Martinez … (1 episode, 2012).
  • David Michael Maurer … (1 episode, 2012).
  • Jason Steinberg … (1 episode, 2012).
• Production:
  • Mixers (Post Production Sound Services).
  • One Three Media (as Mark Burnett Productions).
• Distributor(s):
  • National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (2012) (USA) (TV).
• Release Date: 13 August 2012 to 03 September 2012.
• Rating: Unknown.
• Running Time: 60-120 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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