"It's time to introduce this week's dare for our intrepid reporter Lisa Marvell. It comes from Bob in Greenville, who describes himself as a long-time Channel 4 viewer and says he has never missed a Friday Night Special." As anchorwoman Natalie Johnson spoke these words, she glanced across the news desk and addressed her colleague with a smile. "I think, Lisa, that Bob is trying to get you into a little trouble."
"Oh, sounds intriguing, Natalie," the blonde reporter responded, retaining her composure and looking straight at the camera. She had been ready to launch into a segment on the box-office performance of the newest movies and seemed caught off-guard by her colleague's remarks. "You know how much I appreciate our loyal audience, so I'm eager to see if I can do whatever you and Bob have in mind. What exactly is the dare?"
"Well Lisa, we've had so many good ideas that I wish we could spend every night on your special reports," the broadcaster continued.
"I bet you do," Lisa thought to herself, trying to keep the smirk off of her face.
"But I chose Bob's suggestion because I bet he's expressing the feelings of most of her viewing audience. He says that when you join me to co-anchor the 11:00 news this Friday night, he'd like to see as much of you as possible."
Lisa seemed pleased. "It's very sweet of him to suggest that I spend more time in front of the camera."
"Oh, yes, more time," Natalie said, somewhat amused. "But that's not exactly what he means when he says he'd like to see more of you during the broadcast," she said, emphasizing the word "more." "He's daring you to be naked for the entire half hour."
Lisa's eyes widened as she stared into the camera and replied, "Well, that's quite a challenge, especially given our censors. But I'll do my best."
"I'm sure you will, Lisa," her colleague replied. And with that, Lisa launched into her report on the box-office figures.
****
For someone randomly switching to Channel 4, that exchange between the two reporters on a local newscast might have seemed shocking. But for the growing number of people who were faithfully watching the late night broadcast, Natalie's statement was exactly what they had tuned in to hear. The viewing audience knew that Lisa would be asked to perform some sort of daring activity that would be aired on the Friday Night Special broadcast. And it was almost certain that whatever the dare was, it would result in Lisa appearing on camera without her clothes.
Initially the attractive blonde newscaster had undertaken a series of reports on women who "dare to bare," segments that were made especially memorable by Lisa's willingness to join the women in their naked activities. Pushing the limits of commercial TV through cleverly controlled editing of the segments, she managed to show increasing amounts of skin as she wore revealing outfits, served as an art-school model, visited a nudist resort, and participated in a racy photo session. Ratings went through the roof, but hosting the twice nightly newscasts on Channel 4 and delivering the weekly special reports exhausted Lisa.
After a well-deserved leave of absence, the daring reporter returned to find that Natalie Johnson, the former weather girl and occasional participant in some of the segments, was now the lead anchor. Lisa's role now focused largely on performing the dares as well as co-hosting the Friday Night Specials. And although those dares were suggested by the viewers, the final selection was made by Natalie. In fact, at Lisa's instance, she would do a dare only if Natalie had chosen it. And for her part, the dark-haired anchor seemed only too willing to ensure that Lisa continued to appear on camera in embarrassing and frequently nude situations. Underlying this all, and unknown to their colleagues at the station, the two women continued a romantic relationship that had begun only a few months earlier.
The first week's dare had come about naturally - the studio was preparing an advertising campaign around Lisa's return to the late night news, and a suggestion from a viewer to have the blonde reporter appear naked at the news desk was a logical choice. But now, with hundreds of emails coming in from viewers, anything might happen - and with Natalie making the selection, it probably would!
This week's dare - that she co-anchor the entire Friday late night broadcast in the buff - had already been presented to Lisa and discussed with Bill Reinhart, Channel 4's news producer, before it was announced to viewers. Bill reminded Natalie and Lisa that while anyone could be shown naked from behind, Standards and Practice was still adamant that frontal nudity was not allowed. Lisa had never resorted to any sort of blurring or pixilation in her reports, feeling that it was more honest to simply control what the audience saw by the angles of the various shots and the careful editing of the raw footage. But it seemed impossible to have her co-anchor an entire broadcast with nothing on.
It was Natalie who had come up with the solution and, as Lisa pointed out, one with a particularly naughty twist. "Why not," the young anchorwoman proposed, "have me in the studio and Lisa co-anchor from a remote location?"
"Oh, and where would that be?" her blonde colleague asked.
"The pool that's just been opened at the college," Natalie replied. "Last week Sue Thomson did a feature on their new athletic facilities and we were able to have her report live from there."
"Of course," Bill said enthusiastically. "If you get in the pool, Lisa, and keep the water up to your shoulders, the movement of the water will blur things enough that we'll be able to get it by the censors. That's perfect."
Lisa seemed deep in thought, and after a half minute, she broke into a smile. "I seem to recall that when Sue did that piece on the dedication last week, you had her wearing a bikini."
"That's right," Bill replied. "It was a great piece, and the audience reaction was very positive."
"So let's have her repeat that report this Friday, and I'll persuade her to join me in the pool," Lisa said with a mischievous look, "and get her to wear that bikini again."
"Not a bad idea," Natalie added, nodding her head. "And Bill, you know Don Allen, the guy who in charge of the new sports facility over there, right?"
"I do," Bill answered. "In fact, Don was the one who gave us permission to shoot Sue's segment."
"Excellent," she responded, her eyes lighting up. "He could help us with this and maybe arrange for one other thing as well," she continued with a grin.
"Oh, and what exactly might that be, Miss Johnson?" Lisa asked.
"Let's see if Don can call a special late night practice for the college swim team that evening. I'd hate to think of you and Sue all alone in that big pool, and it would be nice to have an audience for our newscast."
"I think you mean it would be nice to have me naked in front of a group of strangers," Lisa replied as a thrilling feeling surged through her body.
Natalie just continued to smile and softly purred, "Uh huh."
Bill kept looking back and forth between the two reporters, trying to make sense of the interaction. Finally, he blurted out, "Look, I have no idea what's going on with the two of you. But the plan sounds great and I'm sure I can count on Don's help to make this happen. So, if you're okay with it, I say let's go with this for Friday night."
"Well," Lisa said with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "As I understand the rules here, Natalie gets to pick the dares whether I like it or not." She paused and looked over at Natalie, reflecting on how her friend continued to find ways to test her limits. "So, I think we're all set for this week. I'll approach Sue and I'll let you," she said looking at Bill, "arrange with the college for the use of their facilities."
"And I'll alert the writers," Natalie chimed in, "so they can come up with ways to switch between the two of us every four or five minutes. And of course," she added, "we'll be sure to block out plenty of time for your segment with Sue."
So, what appeared to be a spontaneous exchange on air between the two women had actually been worked out hours before, with most of the plans already in place. Bill had confirmed that they could shoot at the pool and that the swim team would be told there was a mandatory practice late-night practice that Friday. Meanwhile, Lisa had alerted Sue that she'd be ask to repeat her segment on the opening of the new facility; now, all she had to do was figure out some way to persuade Sue to get in the spirit of the Friday Night Special reports. She had just three days, but she already had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to do.
*****
The following day, Lisa Marvell made a point to be at the studio when the 6:00 newscast aired even though she wasn't appearing on camera. Instead, she waited in her office, watching the broadcast and waiting to see Sue's piece on a consumer fraud issue. As soon as that segment finished, the blonde reporter stepped out of her office and stood at the end of the corridor that led to the set used for the newscast. "Sue?" she asked, trying to discern the figure coming toward her.
"Lisa?" she said, approaching her and greeting her with a hug. "I just finished my segment and was getting ready to head home. You know, I barely got to say anything to you last week with everyone around." She paused, blushing slightly as she recalled how they had all participated in a video shoot that featured a naked Lisa surrounded by the fully dressed news team. "It's great to see you. And you look fantastic."
"Well," Lisa said with a good-natured chuckle, "I think everyone had a chance to see just how I look."
Sue blushed even more as she shared the laugh. "That wasn't exactly what I meant, but what you did for that promotional piece was pretty amazing. And it definitely seems that the time off agreed with you."
"Just what the doctor ordered," Lisa replied, genuinely pleased to see her fellow reporter's reaction. "And look at you," she continued, taking a step back and instinctively checking out the appearance of her friend. "Looks like you've been working out," she added diplomatically.
"You mean I'm back on my diet," Sue laughed. "I am, and sticking to it. I've lost fifteen pounds, thanks to you."
"To me?" Lisa asked, a puzzled look on her face.
