No wonder the WB cast a porn star in The Surreal Life 2. The Desert Sun of Palm Springs (CA) reports that the cast of six D-list celebrities will get a lot of "exposure" during the show -- because some of the filming will take place at a nudist resort.

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On Monday, October 27, the surrealist cast members will take a field trip to the Desert Shadows Inn in Palm Springs, which is nudist only, not clothing-optional. After a 10-minute tour, they will be told that they, too, have to let it all hang out. The penalty if any of them choose to remain dressed? An event has been planned, and the D-listers have been divided into two teams. Anyone who doesn't compete will cost his or her team points, and competing requires nudity.

We admit it -- we look forward to seeing former Baywatch bombshell Traci Bingham help TV live up to its "boob tube" nickname, but the prospect of the weepy, plump, campy Tammy Faye Bakker Messner in the buff is much less appealing. At least porn star Ron Jeremy, who starred in over 1600 hard-core flicks, will feel at home.

After the competition, the cast is scheduled to have dinner at the Lobster Company in Palm Springs ... presuming, of course, that no one has lost his or her appetite after seeing the others sans clothing. Lobster in the desert -- what a natural combination. Dinner will be followed by evening karaoke at Sports City, where we may see whether Vanilla Ice can still sing his 1990 hit "Ice Ice Baby" -- or whether his current vocalizing is limited to the style of his 1998 Hard to Swallow CD (which features such "classics" as "The Horny Song" and "F--k Me" -- did he and Ron Jeremy ever work on the same projects?).

Another scoop about filming turned up on Ain't-It-Cool News, where a contributer calling himself "Mr. Zero" reports that the surrealists took over Mel's Drive-In on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood one night this week and served dinner. Acting as restaurant manager was former gubernatorial candidate Gary Coleman -- which seems to indicate that Coleman is one of the rotating guest stars of this season.

The other surrealist cast members made up the restaurant staff. Onetime CHiPs star Erik Estrada and Real World Las Vegas castmember Trishelle Cannatella were servers; Vanilla Ice and Ron Jeremy were cooks; Tammy Faye preached table-to-table, recalling her days with Jim Bakker on the PTL Club; and Traci Bingham ran the dessert cart. Whether the surrealists picked up any spare change from tips is unknown.

The gags and stunts even carry over to the celebrity introductions, according to Daily Variety (subscription required). The cast is picked up at various "appropriate" locations by a Hollywood "tour bus." For example, Erik Estrada, who played a highway patrolman on CHiPs, will show up at a donut shop. Meanwhile, Tammy Faye, whose heavy makeup always made her look unreal, will be found at the Hollywood Wax Museum.

Interestingly, although the WB has only ordered six episodes of The Surreal Life 2, it has the option to expand the show to more episodes. Our advice to the WB: don't. It hasn't worked out very well for Fox and Rocket Science Laboratories.

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