Plesser's Gets the Reality TV Treatment

Plesser's, Babylon Village's long-standing appliance and electronics store was featured on the first episode of the season of reality TV show "Tanked." The show follows a quirky family who specializes in building elaborate custom aquariums.

The store hosted a viewing party on Saturday night, where friends, family, and neighboring business owners got to see the full-size refrigerator turned fish tank up close and watch a preview reel of the making of the show before "Tanked" aired at 9 p.m.

Owner Alan Howard had been a fan of the reality show, and it occurred to him that the show, which has crafted jukeboxes and even cars into visually arresting fish tanks, hadn't yet tackled a working refrigerator.

"They checked us out to see how we would play on the show, and they liked that my brother Marc and I have a fun banter, so they decided to go ahead with the idea," explained Howard.

The aquarium was assembled on site from custom parts constructed in the Las Vegas workshop of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing during three days of show filming in the Babylon Village Store. The refrigerator now holds center court in Plesser's showroom, a claim to national TV fame.

If you missed the show, you can download full episodes on iTunes or check Animal Planet for reruns: the show will be repeated this Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. and Saturday night at 10 p.m.