TV Squad

Sanjaya the Trojan wasn't the only looney on TV

Elizabeth Chan — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:22:00 EST

Filed under: FOX, OpEd, American Idol, Music and Variety, Watercooler Talk, FX, VH1, Dirt, News and Gossip

Sanjaya has turned American Idol into a hair competition with himself. Many people have used the term mohawk but Sanjaya actually resembled more of a fighting Trojan. If anyone can find a comparable picture to prove this please send my way. Sanjaya cannot get all the attention for looney television moments, so we will move on to other TV's Top 5! moments.

Last night, Tori "I want to be Jessica Simpson" Spelling talked about how she thought she killed her baby after rough sex with her husband Dean McDermott on Tori and Dean: Inn Love. The baby stopped kicking after their antics and this worried the inheritance disabled Spelling. Regardless of how worried she truly was, it stop her from entertaining an encore performance. Where do these reality show actresses come up with this stuff?

Jennifer Aniston, you may have lost Brad and Vince, but you can alway be Dirt-y with Cox...

Continue reading Sanjaya the Trojan wasn't the only looney on TV

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Jack Black brings TV and the Web together

Adam Finley — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:02:00 EST

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, VH1

Julia told everyone about the new VH1 series The Department of Acceptable Media starring Jack Black back in November, and now there's a little more information available, such as when the heck the show will debut (March 23). Oh yeah, and it's not called The Department of Acceptable Media, anymore, it's simply called Acceptable TV.

The new series will feature several three-minute shorts in one episode, some created by regular folks like you and me, and some created by Jack Black and pals. Viewers will vote on which shows to dump and which ones to keep. If that sounds an awful lot like the Channel 101 site, that might be because Channel 101 helped create the series.

Shorts that are too hot for TV will made available online, and creators will also get a share of the ad revenue everytime their short is viewed online. You can watch some hysterical promos for the new series here.

[via Lost Remote]

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BET and VH1 join forces for Wifey

Adam Finley — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:03:00 EST

Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, Programming, VH1

VH1 and BET, both Viacom-owned channels, are splitting production costs and sharing airtime for a new series called Wifey, a drama set inside the hip-hop business. Queen Latifah is on board as a producer through her company Flavor Unit (which would also be a cool name for a restaurant, but I digress). Production on the series kicks off next month.

A pilot for the series has been ordered, and if it gets picked up for a full season the episodes will air simultaneously on both VH1 and BET, presumably to woo people interested in black culture and people interested in how comedians feel about ALF and the Rubik's Cube.

As the Hollywood Reporter points out, the obvious risk is that one network will be watched by a majority while the other one will be left high and dry. The people behind the new series also admit it's a gamble.

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Zach Galifianakis dances with KFed - VIDEO

Anna Johns — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:26:00 EST

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, Celebrities, VH1

Did you know that comedian Zach Galifianakis and Kevin Federline have a history? Oh, it's not nearly as sordid as the Britney-Kevin history, but in some ways it's much more entertaining and a lot less pathetic.

On his website, Zach recently posted a link to this video on YouTube that shows Kevin Federline as one of the dancers on Zach's short-lived show, Late World with Zach. Why were there dancers on Zach's show? Well, it was all part of a sketch to announce the cancellation of Zach's show. I've posted the video after the jump. K-Fed is the dancer with the hat on and is pretty easy to recognize. This was back in 2002, before anyone even knew the guy. Back then, K-Fed was much less of a punk and more graceful.

Continue reading Zach Galifianakis dances with KFed - VIDEO

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VH1 nabs Armed & Famous

Anna Johns — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:27:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, VH1

CBS dumped Armed & Famous this week after airing four episodes, but now it's going where it belongs: VH1. The 'reality' series stars has-been and pseudo-celebrities like Jack Osbourne, Wee Man, La Toya Jackson, Erik Estrada and Trish Stratus. They all become cadets and go out on the road with real cops in Muncie, Indiana (which commenters tell me isn't that small of a town after all).

VH1 will air a marathon of Armed & Famous on Saturday, topped off with a new episode (#5) at 9 pm. VH1 says it doesn't actually have episodes 6 & 7 but it will air them if the producers get them finished. And the cable network is not ruling out a second season of the series.

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TV's Top 5!: Even Jack Bauer needs to know his Dad

Elizabeth Chan — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, FOX, 24, The Apprentice, VH1, Heroes

If you ever wanted to learn what happens when sibling rivalry goes very wrong, we had Jack Bauer teach us a thing or two in last night's episode of 24. Next time my teenage brother doesn't tell me where my Dad is, I'm gonna keep this clip* on my video Ipod to show him how lucky he is that he isn't a Bauer.

24 has introduced Jack Bauer's meaning of nuclear, not once but twice this season. First time in the big kaboom manner, and secondly in the equally explosive "tell me where Papa is!!" manner. If we have past seasons to gauge how this part of his family tree is going to branch out, it probably means these actors are already looking for their next gig.

No matter how awful it is to watch someone kill their sibling, it isn't as horrible as what happened to a few unlucky suitors on I Love New York.

Continue reading TV's Top 5!: Even Jack Bauer needs to know his Dad

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The Five: The reality shows you should be watching

Julia Ward — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 10:09:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Cable, OpEd, The Five, The CW, Discovery, MTV, VH1

Reality shows are an easy target. At their worst, they combine narcissistic competitors in a state of arrested development with manipulative editing and piss poor production values. They are base, coarse, often times racist and tedious beyond belief. They bring out the worst in us - our collective desire to see other people humiliated.

Fortunately, all reality shows are not the same. I mean, would Tim Gunn be involved in anything that wasn't a class act? Shows like Project Runway and, to some extent, The Amazing Race redeem an otherwise unfortunate genre littered with wife-swaps, cat fights, strangers picked to live in a house and competitive testicle eating. There is plenty of good among the bad, and in my neck of the woods, certain reality shows are as much "must see TV" as any scripted program. I'm looking for the same thing in both anyway - emotional truth.

Continue reading The Five: The reality shows you should be watching

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Everybody Hates Chris marathon on VH1

Adam Finley — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:02:00 EST

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Everybody Hates Chris, Celebrities, The CW, VH1

Last night I had to play detective. Seriously, I was like Encyclopedia "Mother-F'n" Brown. I was all, like, solvin' shtuff.

I'll explain: I was poking through ye olde Tivo seeing if there was anything on worth recording, and I noticed it had some reruns of Everybody Hates Chris listed on VH1. That's odd, since the show airs on the CW. I hopped on my computer and went to VH1's site, but there was no mention of it at all. If you look at the schedule, it lists "VH1 Special" from 8pm to 10:30pm on Saturday, January 20. Well, that "special" is five back-to-back episodes of Everybody Hates Chris according to both my Tivo and TV Guide. If you haven't seen the show, you should check it out, as it's one of the better sitcoms on television right now.

Also, fans take note: new episodes of the series return to the CW on January 22.

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Zach and K-Fed - VIDEO

Adam Finley — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, Web, Celebrities, VH1

Some of you may remember a very short-lived show on VH1 called Late World with Zach, hosted by comedian Zach Galafianakis. The series ran in 2002 for eleven episodes. Zach would later appear in the television series Tru Calling and the Comedy Central reality series Comedians of Comedy. Late World was, as far as I know, VH1's first and only attempt at a late night talk show. You can find several clips of the show on YouTube, of course, but the one I posted below is especially wonderful because not only is it taken from the hilarious and bittersweet final episode, but it actually features a pre-Britney Kevin Federline as one of the dancers who steps from the audience to join Zach on stage. Also, you get to see Zach before he grew his scruffy beard. It kind of makes you miss those old days when families would sit on the porch sipping lemonade, Zach was beardless, and none of us knew who the hell K-Fed was.

[via CC Insider]

Continue reading Zach and K-Fed - VIDEO

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SpongeBong the banned

Adam Finley — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 14:09:00 EST

Filed under: Animation, Web, VH1

File this under: If I Haven't Seen It, It's New To Me.

A couple years ago, Camp Chaos created a cartoon for VH1's ILL-ustrated that never made it to air. One would assume "SpongeBong HempPants" was never shown due to its blatant advocacy of drug use, or maybe it wasn't shown because it's just not that good. The shorts can be found on YouTube, and perhaps smoking a few doobies can make them seem funnier than they really are, but it's ultimately one stretched-out joke that wasn't that funny to begin with.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if SpongeBob and his pals not only got high all the time, but also looked like different drugs and drug paraphernalia? Yes, that could be very funny if done right, but that concept alone isn't enough. Besides, if you really want to get stoned and watch a cartoon, the original SpongeBob is a much better choice.

(Don't do drugs).

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Flavor Flav in comic book form

Julia Ward — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:02:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, VH1

I've never had an easy time resolving the two sides of Flavor Flav. On the one hand, you've got Flavor Flav - VH1's resident reality buffoon who single-handedly set off a public debate on 21st Century minstrelsy. On the other, you've got one quarter of seminal hip-hop act Public Enemy - the revolutionaries who dropped "Burn, Hollywood, Burn" on listeners. Public Enemy's debut comic book from American Mule Entertainment doesn't make Flav any less complicated, but it does give us the opportunity to see him deliver a flying sidekick into the face of an enemy combatant.

Continue reading Flavor Flav in comic book form

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More on ego trip's The (White) Rapper Show

Julia Ward — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:05:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Music and Variety, VH1

More information has been released about VH1's latest reality outing - ego trip's The (White) Rapper Show. What we reported to you in early November remains the same - the show, which premieres on January 8th, is a reality competition which pits lily white MCs against one another in search of the next Eminem or Adrock.

Now, you wouldn't expect another lame reality show from the team behind ego trip, would you? For the uninitiated, ego trip was a New York-based hip-hop magazine that started back in 1994. The publication covered underground sounds with wit and attitude. They were the "arrogant voice of musical truth." While the magazine folded years ago, ego trip remained at large through a series of books - ego trip's Book of Rap Lists and ego trip's Big Book of Racism. They partnered with VH1 on ego trip's Race-O-Rama and TV's Illest Minority Moments. Given their track record, it would be a huge disappointment were The (White) Rapper Show to suck.

Continue reading More on ego trip's The (White) Rapper Show

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Surreal Life all-stars compete in 'Fame Games'

Anna Johns — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:23:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Programming, Celebrities, VH1

Because they lost their dignity long ago, the most popular "stars" from VH1's The Surreal Life are reuniting for a competition that will determine who is most famous. Hosted by Robin Leach, who also has no self respect, the contestants will compete in weekly single-elimination games that determine their level of fame. Games include "Paparazzi Hide-and-Seek", Scandal Video Film Festival", and "Hotel Room Trash-a-Thon". As is customary for The Surreal Life, all the contestants will live in the same house. Only, their success at the Fame Games will determine whether they live on the A-list side of the house where they eat gourmet meals and are pampered, or on the B-list side with a ping pong table and crackers.

Celebs signed up for The Surreal Life Fame Games are: Brigitte Nielsen, Chyna Doll, Vanilla Ice, Pepa, Emmanuel Lewis, C.C. DeVille, Ron Jeremy, Jordan Knight, Verne Troyer, Andrea Lowell and Tracy Bingham. The new season begins January 7 at 9 pm on VH1.

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Jerry Springer's talk show becomes reality show

Julia Ward — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:35:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, Daytime, Syndicated, VH1, Talk Show, Pickups and Renewals

For the past several months, cameras have been secretly recording the behind-the-scenes goings-on at The Jerry Springer Show for a new VH1 reality series. Tentatively-titled The Springer Hustle, the show focuses on the producers who bring all that messed-up humanity to the screen.

This raises all kinds of questions for me. Did you know that Jerry Springer still had a TV show? I thought he was busy running for office or something. More importantly, can you make a reality show about a show that pretends to examine reality and uses "real" people but is largely staged much in the way, say, professional wrestling is staged? And, since we all know that reality programming is also hyper-edited, written and sometimes staged, will my head explode when I try to decode what's real, what's fake, who's pre-op, who's post-op and who's my baby's daddy? I'm already confused.

Fortunately, this isn't VH1's only new offering. You can also expect to see Andrew Dice Clay and Tom Sizemore vehicles. So much to look forward to in 2007.

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I Love New York coming; faith in humanity diminishing

Annie Wu — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 18:25:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Cable, Programming, VH1

VH1's I Love New York (the spin-off of Flavor of Love, which was the spin-off of Strange Love, which was the spin-off of The Surreal Life) is set to debut on Monday, January 8 at 9PM. Kick off the new year with a bit of trashiness! This is the new cast picture of New York (Tiffany Patterson) and her ~~victims~~ lucky bachelors. The flamboyant fellow in pink is the Big Rick to New York's Flavor Flav (so, his job will be to follow New York around and tell her how great she looks). I've already picked my favorite of the bunch... the blond guy in the button-up and khakis. He's in it for the long run, folks!

Continue reading I Love New York coming; faith in humanity diminishing

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DVD Review: so noTORIous, the complete series

Brett Love — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:04:00 EST

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, TV on DVD, VH1

It's tough being Tori Spelling. She's spent better than a decade living under the spotlight and having every mistake magnified. Granted, she brought a lot of it on herself, but I think she has probably taken more than her fair share. It's just so easy. But given all that, I think she gains a lot of points for being able to make fun of herself, because when you get right down to it, that's what so noTORIous is all about. Laughing at the absurdity that is her life.

I think that those years of bad press and bad jokes may have been the biggest problem that this show had. One that it faced before they ever shot a scene, and one that they were never really able to overcome. A lot of people simply dismissed the show for no other reason than it was starring Tori Spelling as herself. And that's too bad, because I'm here to tell you that they made a pretty funny sit-com.

Continue reading DVD Review: so noTORIous, the complete series

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Mystery rocker stars in new reality series

Julia Ward — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, VH1

The producers of VH1's Surreal Life and My Fair Brady have another card up their sleeves. They're currently casting twenty bachelorettes to live in a Hollywood Hills mansion and compete for the love of "one of the 90s hottest rockers." They're keeping the name of the rocker under wraps, but claim that he's a "famous, sexy, bad boy rocker" and "lead singer of a famous 90s rock band."

This Flavor of Love-type premise requires some real loons to make it work. Idolator has made a few guesses at who said bad boy might be. They've floated Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind, Steve Harwell of Smashmouth and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. I'd find it way more humorous if someone like Eddie Veder or Billy Corgan had decided that they were going to try and undermine the genre by colluding with it, but Idolator's list makes sense. I'd say the smart money's on Durst or Duritz. Anyone interested in auditioning?

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VH1 announces Rock Doc line-up

Julia Ward — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 19:04:00 EST

Filed under: VH1, Pickups and Renewals, Documentary

VH1 has picked up five documentaries for its Rock Doc series, and they're pretty darn interesting. Alright, four of the five of them sound interesting. The fifth is a Courtney Love documentary, which maybe only qualifies as interesting in that "can't tear my eyes from the car wreck" kinda way.

The series aims to bring "untold stories" with an "unconventional narrative approach" to the screen. Three of the five films are acquisitions, which means that documentary filmmakers may have a new avenue for hawking their wares. The series starts up December 16th and continues into 2007.

The five documentaries include:

Continue reading VH1 announces Rock Doc line-up

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Jim Breuer now hosting Web Junk 20 on VH1

Anna Johns — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:04:00 EST

Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, VH1

A little bit of late news for you: Jim Breuer is the new host of Web Junk 20. He actually premiered on Friday, but I'm a little slow this week. Web Junk 20 is a weekly countdown-type show on VH1 that airs all the biggest viral videos of the week. You may remember Jim Breuer as 'Goat Boy' for four years on Saturday Night Live. He also has a hilarious comedy special that occasionally airs on Comedy Central, and he's currently hosting the second most popular radio show on Sirius (behind Howard Stern) called Jim Breuer Unleashed.

Best Week Ever has a clip of Breuer here. While it's great to see Breuer again, I don't like the show's format where the host interrupts video clips to make remarks that aren't all that funny.

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Celebrity Fit Club announces fifth season

Julia Ward — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 12:04:00 EST

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, VH1

Celebrity Fit Club has announced the line-up of unfortunate stars to join its fifth season ranks beginning in April 2007. Expect to see Maureen McCormick, Dustin Diamond, Tiffany, Cledus T. Judd, Da Brat, Ross "The Intern" Matthews, Kimberly Locke and Warren G being whipped back into shape by the usual assortment of trainers and nutritionists.

So, let's see, that's 2 former child stars, 1 former mall rat, 2 hip-hoppers, 1 country star, 1 D-lister and 1 American Idol contestant. They're missing the late 80s movie star whose life has devolved into substance abuse and erratic behavior, but Diamond does have the amateur porn outing. Sounds like just the right mix of disgrace and desperation for "celebreality" to me.

I don't begrudge anyone who wants to get in shape and lose weight, but why on TV? And, what the heck is Warren G doing on this show? He's a former member of the Eastside Rollin' 20 Crips. Crips don't jazzercise. Do they?

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