HOLLYWOOD — How do you get guys to participate in a "reality" show like "Average Joe"?
Lie to them.
Really.
"What made me do the show?" asked Fredo LaPonza. "First of all, I didn't know the premise of the show."
What? The producers of "Joe" (Mondays, 9 p.m., Ch. 5) and NBC didn't tell these guys that they were going to be the "average" — a k a loser — guys who would pursue a beauty queen (Larissa Meek) in a somewhat warped version of "The Bachelor"? I'm shocked.
"None of us were told really anything about it until we arrived in Hawaii," LaPonza said. "And once we arrived in Hawaii, then they told us what the premise of the show was. I wasn't turning back from Hawaii at that point for any reason."
It's not just that the producers didn't tell the contestants the truth, they actively lied to them.
"They told us it was called 'The In-Crowd' and we were going to an exotic place to go hang out and party with a bunch of people," LaPonza said. "It just ended up a little bit different than I thought."
A little bit?
The producers tried to spin the deception as best they could.
"They know they're coming on a reality show," said executive producer Andrew Glassman. "They know that they're going to a tropical place. They know in the series rules that there are a number of guys competing for the affection of one woman. . . . They know it's a dating show."
But contestant David Daskal said he didn't know "until he signed the contract" after he got to Hawaii. But he and the other Joes did sign. And they had some inkling what was coming.
"They kept asking me all these questions about my dating life and stuff," said Daskal. "So I kind of got a notion maybe it might be something about dating."
The whole thing is at least a little bit mean — the average Joes are the butt of many a joke — but the producers (and NBC executives) are big on pointing out that it's also a show with a heart. And you do end up rooting for the Joes.
Plus, it's their shot at 15 minutes of fame. Like Daskal, who's already getting noticed for tossing a watermelon in the pool in the first episode of the "Hawaii" edition of the show.
"It's bizarre," he said. "Do I stand out or something? I mean, people are, like, 'Oh my (gosh)! David Daskal! Watermelons!' " he said. "They're, like, 'Can we get a photo with you? You're our claim to fame.' And it's like I can't move two seconds.
"It's great. It's very rewarding."
Now you know why people agree to do these shows.
AVERAGE RETURN: When "Average Joe: Hawaii" wraps things up on March 1, NBC will return to the franchise for a third time. A week later, the guy who finished second in the first "Average Joe" will be at the center of the cleverly titled "Average Joe: Adam Returns."
Adam — who, it turns out, is a real-life millionaire — will be surrounded by above-average Janes. "Basically, it's Adam's turn to find the woman of his dreams," said NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker.
And, after that, look for something akin to "Average Jane," with a gorgeous guy choosing from a group of less-than-gorgeous gals.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com