TVSquad

No, it's not going away. The reality television genre is growing even stronger as it becomes the umbrella for shows ranging from the traditional reality "game" shows like Survivor or The Apprentice, to actual game shows, to real life drama such as The First 48 or Intervention to talent contests and beyond.

What I'll be doing here is taking a look at some of the current newsworthy bits from recently-aired shows, checking out upcoming shows, and sharing the latest reality TV gossip. Is it real or is it just reality TV? As long as I'm entertained, that's all I ask of any show, scripted or not. Are you game? Join me beyond the jump.

That was the week it was
On last week's Greatest American Dog, fan favorites Bill and Star got the boot. Now, I was partial to them and hoped they'd win it all -- if I had a dog, I'd want an orange dog named Star. But their exit wasn't the only big story coming out of the episode. The challenge itself was a bit of a brouhaha. I mean, you had dogs expected to take a leap of faith and fly in a harness and a huge shrieking elephant coming at them! Not at the same time, of course. But, sheesh. Is that how it all really went down? Nope.

According to this press release from the American Humane Society, it was nowhere near as dangerous as it seemed. The elephant the dogs saw wasn't the one we saw running and shrieking. It was older and very mellow, plus the dogs were given time to get to know the elephant. The running and shrieking elephant was filmed separately. Also, the dogs practiced the 32-foot zip-line in increments for three days. All of the dogs "flew" in practice, including Star who didn't perform when it came time. But Star will always soar high in our hearts. Blech, I just made myself sick and my cat is mad at me.

In another highly edited segment, this one on Big Brother 10, Ollie's blow-up with Memphis was totally fabricated by production to try to keep his squeaky clean image on the show -- an image blown long ago by live feeds watchers who first saw him having sex with April on cameras, then heard what he really called Memphis. Trust me, it wasn't a "red-headed Cabbage Patch kid." Instead, it was a slur used for homosexuals along with the repeated invitation to suck a piece of his anatomy. The proof is out there. The Cabbage Patch comment had to be from something in a Diary Room segment. Ah, but for show viewers, Ollie remains squeaky clean just as Jerry is a kind older man. It's all in the editing.

And then we have a winner! Miami stylist Denise "Dee" Adams won it all in the second season finale of Shear Genius. While it's not quite the million dollars offered on some shows, Dee won $100,000, an internship with Nexxus, and will style the hair for an Allure magazine feature. Hey, that's better that the Groomer Has It winner made out. It is the same thing, right? Right?

Recent notable reality show exits

• Bryan Ollie and Michelle Costa on Big Brother 10.
• Bill and Star on Greatest American Dog.
• Keith is out on Project Runway.
• Brianna on I Want to Work for Diddy.
• Heather left I Love Money.

In the future
Last week the cast announcement was made for this season's Dancing with the Stars. Although I'm a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance, I'm not so much into DWTS. But I have to admit this cast might just be enough to pique my interest in the show. Cloris Leachman at 82-years-old? She's going to dance? I may have to watch the show just to see how she does! Rocco DiSpirito? Although he's eye candy for me, he's arrogant. I'd love to see him miss a beat now and then. He can't have others dance for him as he struts around being a superstar. The season premiere is on Monday, September 22. Will you dance with me?

The season premiere date of Survivor Gabon has changed from its originally announced September 18. Mark your calendars now. Instead, we'll have two back-to-back episodes starting at 8 PM ET/PT on September 25. Don't ask me why. I don't know. I'm just telling you it's going to happen. Fans of HDTV will be thrilled to see this season of Survivor filmed in HD. Alas, this season's Amazing Race is still not in HD, but I'll be watching the season premiere on September 28 anyway. The Big Brother 10 season finale is still set for September 16.

As the the latest rounds of American Idol auditions are already well into the works, fans found out there will be a fourth judge on the show come January. Yeah, dawgs, you heard me. Check it out, dude. It's time for them to try something new. Last season they added instruments, this season a judge. Well, we'll be the judge of her!

Reality TV oddities
The long defunct ITV show Vote for Me was decried by the BBC as "bile and trash." In the show, run in an American Idol kind of format (actually more Pop Idol), ten Prime Mister hopefuls competed to participate as a candidate in the nation's general election. Now, that's just scary!

It's a Wrap
Thus ends my first Reality TV Newsy Bits column. I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, I know a contingent of reality show naysayers out there are probably rolling their eyes. But I know that many of us are waiting with bated breath for the new fall season of reality. After all, reality television lets us step a bit away from our own work-a-day realities and we can mock the outrageous folks who go on them. Yep, that's the ticket!