Posted Mar 31st 2009 4:27PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
Well, ain't that a kick in the head? The Real Wives of New York has one less wife on the roster, so it seems.
Luann deLesseps has been dumped. The Countess deLesseps -- as she prefers to be called – and her rarely seen Count of a hubby, Alex, have apparently broken up.
While I take no joy in anybody's marriage breaking up, this news is especially ironic in light of this season of Bravo's
Real Wives of New York City. Not only has Luann been particularly overconfident about the right way to do things, but she was also prickly as a pear when another wife, Ramona Singer, observed that the Count was twice as old as Luann. The Countess went off like a firecracker when she heard that, and she was not forgiving of Ramona when she offered an apology.
Continue reading Countess Luann gets a real housewives kick in the butt
Posted Mar 31st 2009 1:33PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, Programming
A few years ago, it looked like
The Real World was on its last legs, didn't it? It seemed like people had other reality shows to watch, and it wouldn't have shocked anyone if MTV got rid of it because it had been on since the early 90s. But there has been a bit of resurgence with the Brooklyn season, and MTV wants more more more. The network has renewed the Bunim-Murray show for
four more seasons. Not one, not two, not three, but four.
Continue reading Four more seasons of drinking, nudity and irresponsibility coming to MTV
Posted Mar 30th 2009 11:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals
Fox seems to think so. It has struck a deal with Mike Fleiss, the producer of
The Bachelor, to produce a new dating show in which
everyone will be more "average" looking. The show will be called
More To Love.
They claim it's an attempt to break the industry assumption that viewers only want to watch highly attractive people. It seems more like another attempt by reality television to use a certain type of people in exchange for some air time on a major network. But that's just me.
My big concern is that Fox is essentially taking advantage of the obesity problem in the United States. While I like the concept behind such shows as
The Biggest Loser, this has the potential of being a case of freaks on display. On the other hand, if the people behave normally, it could give a good message to the public that being overweight, while not healthy, does not automatically make a person unattractive.
Posted Mar 29th 2009 12:38PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, TV Royalty, Programming, OpEd
My family often watches TV during the dinner hour. There, I've said it. I'm not proud of that fact, but there you have it. We also force the kids to take 2-hour nature walks with us every weekend, so maybe it all evens out in the end.
Our favorite channel during the dinner hour is TV Land. In our neck of the woods,
Hogan's Heroes airs from 6 to 7 p.m., and
The Andy Griffith Show from 7 to 8 p.m. We love both these shows, and the episodes always spark laughter and a few discussion topics. Like, how could Colonel Klink be such a dimwit, and why can't more people be like Andy Taylor?
But we might have to start watching the Discovery or History channels or - gasp! - turn the TV off altogether, because the commercials on TV Land are making us gag on our organic mac-and-cheese. I'm talking about the commercials for TV Land's reality shows,
High School Reunion and
The Cougar.
Continue reading Reality shows on TV Land? It's a world gone mad!
Posted Mar 28th 2009 11:55AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, Commercials, Celebreality
This week in reality television was eclectic.
Dancing With the Stars was happily un-complicated with the absence of Denise Richards,
America's Next Top Model's most home-sick model mysteriously was on top, and no one should have watched
Survivor because it was a waste of time.
This is one of those weeks where you realize that the show casts people with little-to-no chance of winning just so that the people they want to win don't mess up. Although
American Idol's Michael Sarver is a great example, I'm looking mostly at Celia (right) from Top Model: she's too old. On a positive note, there was a lot of weird, memorable, and funny moments to compensate this week. More analysis after the jump.
Continue reading Weekly Reality Awards - VIDEO
Posted Mar 26th 2009 1:00PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
America's Next Top Model could learn a few things from LOGO's reality show
Rupaul's Drag Race. Although the two shows are different beasts (one is about models that accidentally look drag, the other intentionally looks drag), the competitive qualities of the show remain the same. There is still runway walking, working in different fashion themes, and looking fierce.
RuPaul
has said that the two shows aren't interchangeable and it's true:
Drag Race is colorful, fun, and intriguing; qualities that
Top Model has lost after all these years. Here are several good reasons why Top Model isn't on top anymore.
Continue reading Why Drag Race is better than Top Model
Posted Mar 21st 2009 1:01PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Celebreality
I couldn't help but think that after last week's reality shows heated up, the flame went out and the episodes were a little boring.
It was probably because
The Amazing Race was a non-elimination,
Survivor was a clip show, and the photoshoot on
America's Next Top Model was horrible and uninspiring. I'm not even going to touch the fact that
Belinda Carlile was showing too much underwear for her age. More of the interesting highlights, and lowlights, after the jump.
Continue reading Weekly Reality Awards
Posted Mar 21st 2009 12:04PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Cable/Satellite, Episode Reviews
The Chaser's War on Everything, a satiric hidden camera prank show from Australia, aims to be everything most shows of their ilk fail to achieve. It's satirical, unbiased in its stance against everything from commercialism to phony diplomacy, and more probing than a proctologist with banana hands.
This sparks a startling question: what the hell is a show this smart doing on the G4 Network?
The show found its way to the States earlier this year as part of the network's Duty Free TV block of foreign cult faves like
Trigger Happy TV,
Unbeatable Banzuke and
Ninja Warrior. It's become one of the better shows on the all geek network, which either says worlds for the three-year-old show or doesn't say much for the rest of G4's original programming. I'll let you decide while reminding you this is the same network that once produced
a game show where the first person to vomit lost. Even Fox wouldn't sink that low. Wait, are we talking about some kind of survival situation?
Continue reading War! Huh, good God. What is it good for? Awesome comic satire! Say it again! - VIDEOS
Posted Mar 19th 2009 7:01PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Industry, Reality-Free
Cable channels used to have fairly rigid formats that followed simple formulas. Nickelodeon was the network for kids. ESPN was the network for sports. USA was the network for non-stop reruns of
Wings.
Now most of them have fallen into a strange gelatinous blob of unoriginal and unrecognizable sewage. I believe the technical term is "reality shows."
The TV Land network has been slowly engulfed by this blob of mediocrity with shows like
High School Reunion and
The Cougar. Their latest VP hire indicates it's about to be swallowed whole by more of the same.
Continue reading Hoping for less reality TV on TV Land? Keep on hoping
Posted Mar 19th 2009 2:02PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Programming, OpEd, American Idol
I admit it. I get suckered into watching
American Idol each season. I'm not a true addict -- I neither vote, nor do I buy any of the music put out by the winners. Well, except for Melinda Doolittle. But she didn't win, nor really come extremely close. But, I have to ask myself ... is there enough time in my life to get into watching yet another singing contest show?
You see, NBC has a project tentatively slated for either the summer or fall season called
The Sing-Off. It wouldn't be airing during the
AI season. That's a plus. It's a cappella. That could be interesting. But, aren't they a bit "too little, too late" if they're trying to jump on the popularity of
American Idol? Like
Idol, there would be judges and voting. The winner would receive a Sony Music recording contract.
Continue reading Do we need an a cappella American Idol on NBC?
Posted Mar 17th 2009 2:02PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, OpEd, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Celebrities, Big Brother (US), Dancing With The Stars, Host, TV Squad Lists, Casting
Since the reality television boom isn't going to end anytime soon, this could be a lucrative career path for the up-and-coming toddler who likes to ham it up with a microphone. After all, in this time of economic woes, what could be a better goal than glam, glitz, red carpets, and Emmy awards?
The reality show genre encompasses the gamut from talent contests to living in the jungle to living in a house with insufferable drones and drama queens and beyond. As a result, the hosts for these shows are going to be a varied lot, as well. Who are these people? How did they get where they are? And, more importantly ... what do I think of them? Read on.
Continue reading Six reality show hosts, six different realities
Posted Mar 16th 2009 2:30PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Judges, Gossip Girl, The Big Bang Theory, TV Squad Ten
You've gotta admit: tramps are fun. Their boozy, often promiscuous antics are the life of any party. Whether you're cheering them on or witnessing their antics with horror, tramps make any situation interesting. The same goes for TV shows. From Blanche DuBois to, well, most of The Real World cast members after season 3 or so, the television landscape has been filled with entertainingly trampy characters.
They may steal your husband, dance on a bar, or just generally leave a path of destruction in their wake. Whatever it is, it's sure to be memorable. For this reason, TV tramps are not to be looked down upon; they are to be revered. So consider this list a tribute: a tribute to TV's biggest tramps. May they never reexamine the path their life has taken.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: TV's biggest tramps
Posted Mar 15th 2009 3:35PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Video
It's like that old saying, "Fashion doesn't kill people - models kill people."
For some reason, a giant
fight broke out at the America's Next Top Model auditions at the Park Central New York Hotel in New York City yesterday afternoon. No one is sure what exactly started the craziness, but at the end there were a ton of shoes and other clothing scattered on the street outside of the hotel. If that wasn't enough, six people were injured (two seriously enough to be taken to the hospital) and three people were arrested. Check out the video after the jump of the crowd stampeding. Officials say that the show wasn't prepared for this many people showing up (ya think?). Also there seems to be a car spewing smoke involved and a woman getting slapped. Or something.
Maybe we need a real
Fashion Police, not just one that talks about the clothing. Bad girls, bad girls...whatcha gonna do?
Continue reading Model wannabes freak out at America's Next Top Model auditions - VIDEO
Posted Mar 14th 2009 10:02AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, Survivor, Dancing With The Stars, Celebreality
This week finally heated up for reality television. Tyra's hamsters took part in their second photoshoot on
America's Next Top Model, the
American Idol hopefuls started to compete on the big stage, the
Dancing with the Stars cast finally started to ... well
dance, and Chekhov got a shoutout on
The Amazing Race.
There weren't any shocking eliminations or anything horrendously groundbreaking, but there were some definite moments. Here are some highlights, and lowlights, after the jump.
Continue reading Weekly Reality Awards
Posted Mar 12th 2009 8:03AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
I was really enjoying this season of
The Biggest Loser. The addition of the "Couples" formula created a built-in connection for the contestants and established a bigger one with me as well. There was something special about rooting for these friends and family members to go for it together. The show was inspirational and generally uplifting, unlike most reality competition shows. These guys knew they were there for a much bigger and more important reason than the money.
Then, a few weeks ago, all that got kind of tossed out the window when the pairs were thrown into two competing groups, even splitting up father and son duo Ron and Mike. Suddenly everybody got really intense and competitive and got their "game" on. Filipe summed it up pretty well this week saying that when he was training with Bob he was thinking about his family and his reasons for wanting to lose weight and be on the show. Now that he's on Jillian's team he thinks about the game. And this week it all went so wrong.
Continue reading The new teams on The Biggest Loser are sucking the joy out of the show
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