From: The Prague Post

Subject: Have we got the Next Big Thing for you!

Dear Fran,

How's it going? Long time, no lunch! And listen, guy, we all just love the work you've done on that new reality show on gorillas at the Prague Zoo. A great response to the commercial stations who've been making a killing with Big Brother and VyVoleni.

But we think if we put our heads together, we could really be talking gold mine. Yes, an even more bankable show — something to knock the socks off those Prima and Nova guys.

Yes, we know, Czech TV, as the state station, has a mandate for wholesome, educational programming, but let's face it: If Czechs are warming up to zoos and fur, what do you think they'll say about drama, intrigue, back-stabbing, exotic locations, love triangles and criminal cunning? There's a great resource for all of it, it's all real and just waiting to be tapped.

We're talking rich Czech fugitives!

Think about it: They live beautiful lives in sweet locales. They have gorgeous women hanging around. They drive fast cars and boats and live in dream homes. And, at least technically, they're on the run.

Just one idea. Sky TV in Britain is thinking about updating the 1960s cult classic The Prisoner, right? Patrick McGoohan played a former secret agent trapped in an isolated Welsh town, pursued by a giant ball — a masterful study of paranoia, conspiracy and identity crisis.

And Radovan Krejčíř has 'em all! The billionaire holed up in the Seychelles right now because he's a "Seychelles citizen" and is afraid the Czech authorities are out to "kill his family." Only let's stick him some place like, say, Minsk. We'll follow him in real time, 24/7 with cameras as he tries to escape. Maybe you can replicate the giant ball.

Not sold? How about The Apprentice, the show where Donald Trump whittles down a group of entrepreneurs to find the one person worthy of working for him. We're thinking Viktor Kožený, currently chilling in a Bahamas jail — the perfect, Czech version of The Donald, hearing weekly pitches from our best and brightest on new ways to bilk people out of their life savings.

Or ...the "Berdych Boys," Tomáš Půta and Maroš Šulej! Yeah, they're "in hiding" in Ireland, but come on, it can't be easy going from Pilsner to Guinness. A camera crew chronicles their new lives: Mobsters on the Emerald Isle. You know, Growing Up Gotti, about the trials and tribulations of the late mafioso's family, is huge in the States right now.

Of course, you could just put all four of these guys together and watch the drama unfold. They could all live in Kožený's Bahamas mansion while cameras watch them fight over stove space and who drank the last beer. Let's ship them off to a deserted island — preferably belonging to a country with no extradition treaty with the Czech Republic; they'll know which ones — and see how far they'll go to survive (think Survivor!)

Hey, these guys like to run, right? Let's send them on a race around the world where they tick off wacky tasks and avoid local authorities. How's that for an Amazing Race?

Just ideas, Fran, but you gotta admit there's potential here. Let's talk! You? Us? Kampa Park? Lunch!

All yours,