Everybody picks on Newport and Cocke Co. because, well, they're such an easy target (although Knox Co. and Blount Co. are competing for the bullseye). But this is a little much.

The starstruck Knoxville News Sentinel [1] reports on CMT's new "reality" comedy show, "Outsider's Inn," which recently began production in Cocke Co. The premise is that "big Hollywood stars" run a backwoods country inn, hilarity ensues.

According to the KNS, the hilarity includes a goat in the kitchen, guests bringing pigs and mules, and the Sheriff riding in on horseback, while the elite, culture-shocked stars react.

The report also says one scene was filmed at a "small medical center" instead of the regional hospital to emphasize "the quaintness of a small town feel."

(Bobby Brown is also said to have taken some guests out on a bear hunt. We hope TWRA wasn't around. Bear season isn't until November.)

The article says that the show isn't strictly "reality," because all the situations and gags are set up to capture the "honest reactions" of the stars.

Right. How can there be "honest reaction" to such ridiculously lame and stereotyped setups?

But in their attempt to play up the "fish out of water" angle, CMT missed the boat entirely.

The Christopher Place setting (renamed "Pigeon Inn" for the show) is a world-class, AAA Four Diamond bed and breakfast resort, right there in Cocke Co. I had never heard of it, but it sounds pretty fabulous [2]. I might have to go check it out sometime.

But there's more. A reader writes that it's actively marketed to the gay and lesbian community. It's listed in the Gay Yellow Pages [3] with designations indicating "A gay-friendly business," catering to "gay and non-gay patrons." It's also listed on "Rainbow Destinations [4]", a directory of "gay/lesbian owned or friendly accommodations worldwide."

CMT missed a chance to juxtapose Southern Appalachian (not to mention Cocke Co.) stereotypes with the very real image of a successful, highly regarded business that provides luxury accommodations to a sophisticated, diverse clientele from all over.

But CMT knows their audience, and goats in the kitchen and pigs in the guest rooms are apparently funnier and more interesting.