Deidre Woollard
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Despite living in Los Angeles, Deidre Woollard does not work in the "industry." She does, however, see a lot of reality TV folks when she goes to Starbucks, the dry cleaners, etc. Despite loudly claiming to a friend in 2000 that she would never watch "that boring reality crap" she has become a reality TV junkie known to schedule plans around Survivor (it's just not the same when you Tivo it) and inexplicably fascinated by the social experiment that is Big Brother. She's the editor over at Luxist and is also a fiction writer working on multiple projects, one of which involves what happens when three Hollywood women decide to do the unthinkable and get really fat.
Posted Mar 2nd 2007 6:34AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S14E04) One of the reasons I still remain interested in
Survivor is because it is fascinating to see how people react in various situations. So far this season hadn't really been too interesting to watch on that level despite the allure of the premise. It's been more painful than fun, Tonight changed that for me with a twist that asked a rather simple question, if you had to choose between your tribe and your comfortable camp, which would you choose?
Continue reading Survivor Fiji: Let's Call Jeff on the Jeff Phone
Posted Feb 23rd 2007 7:21AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S14E03) This season's concept is rapidly getting boring. Not just sort of pointless the way last season's was but boring to the point of making me wonder if Survivor has, at long last, finally lost its appeal for me. We've had underdog seasons before but when the underdogs aren't particularly likable and they are only underdogs because the game is rigged against them I have to wonder what the fun in this. There was not an element of tonight's game that held any sort of surprise or joy for me. Has Survior run out of twists?
Continue reading Survivor Fiji: It's not Survival, It's Thrival
Posted Feb 16th 2007 7:21AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S14E01) A friend and I had a debate last week on whether or not the posh pad would be a liability for the Moto tribe and for Survivor as a game. First of all, the experience shifts for the viewer, it is impossible, for me at least, to be happy for a tribe that has everything without really working for it. Often inequality happens organically over the course of a season. It often seems that the one tribe has string of wins for reasons of teamwork or brute strength. But when one team is purposely handicapped the game is a bit different and it highlights the fact that these are people being tortured for our entertainment.
Continue reading Survivor Fiji: Snakes are Misunderstood
Posted Feb 9th 2007 6:36AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
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S14E01) Season 14 and how are they going to mix it up this time? We've had old versus young, men versus women, and last season's controversial race against race season. This is the season of haves and have-nots because nothing provokes discord like sleeping under a tree with the knowledge that members of the other tribe are living it up with a couch. A couch? I wonder if the team living in the lap of luxury will later be at a disadvantage from living too soft. And didn't I already see this concept on the latest season of The Apprentice? Still, the overall tribe looks to be a bit more compelling than the usual and maybe a bit more feisty than last season's precision fighting team over at Aitu.
Continue reading Survivor Fiji: Something Cruel Is About to Happen...Real Soon
Posted Dec 18th 2006 2:04AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S13E14) Ah, we've reached the end of a very satisfying season of
Survivor. It was one of my favorites in a long time because there were some incredibly strong players out there and some very sharp moves. The main twist of the finale is the introduction of a final three instead of a final two. While it doesn't really impact the voting I think it did mean that two of the most deserving got into the finale rather than one strong player picking the player they believe they can beat.
Continue reading Survivor: Cook Islands: This Tribe Will Self-Destruct in 5, 4, 3... (season finale)
Posted Dec 15th 2006 7:37AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S13E13) We are down to it now. And the real question is how are they going to resolve the finale. With only one episode left and more players than we are used to seeing there definitely have to be additional tribal councils during the finale. This episode wasn't that exciting despite some two interesting challenges but the finale looks to be epic, especially since someone from the old Aitu is finally going to have to get voted out.
Continue reading Survivor: Cook Islands: I Have An Advantage... For Once
Posted Dec 11th 2006 7:06AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, The Amazing Race
(S10E13) Three teams, one last race. The teams are sent breathlessly hurtling around the globe, starting with Paris. For some reason this is the most boring finale I have seen in a long time. Truly. There are no big challenges, no real jaw-dropping moments and at the end, no real emotional payout. One of the reasons I watch the Race is for the cry-inducing finale. I'm going to have to watch the second half of that ABC home improvement show in order to get my supply of Sunday weeping.
Continue reading The Amazing Race: Say Your Deepest Prayers Ever (season finale)
Posted Dec 8th 2006 10:15AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S13E12) This week's episode makes me ponder what is really important in the game. The former Aitu alliance seems iron-clad. They have a plan and they are sticking with it. They have the numbers. And yet, underneath it all, maybe the underdogs, the little team that could, still feels like the uncool kids. How else can I justify their willingness to be swayed by a couple of corn cobs and a few friendly glances from the dim remains of the frat boy tribe?
Continue reading Survivor: Cook Islands: Arranging a Hit
Posted Dec 4th 2006 10:46AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, The Amazing Race
(S10E12) The last couple legs of the race are always exciting because the stakes are high and elimination is a certainty. Therefore it's quite frustrating when after frantically racing for nearly half the episode the teams get bunched up at an airport. In order to appreciate this leg of this race you only needed to watch the part of the episode that took place in Barcelona (and especially the tomato fight that makes up part of the Detour).
Continue reading The Amazing Race: Dude, I'm Such A Hot Giant Chick Right Now
Posted Dec 1st 2006 7:05AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, CBS, OpEd, Survivor
(S13E11) This week's episode of Survivor was one of the most heated I have ever seen. It's definitely more like Big Brother than Survivor with Raro in the game. If there were dishes to be done or a bathroom to be cleaned they'd be fighting about that too. Still, it makes for some interesting watching and it does seem to be rattling Cool Yul whose may be letting his dominant position go to his head.
Continue reading Survivor: Cook Islands: You're A Rat
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