TVSquad

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Split Ends, Divorce Court and other new shows.

Once upon a time, in the 1960's, the TV landscape was rife with westerns. In the 1970s, it was detective shows. Nowadays, the same can be said for reality shows, and it seems there's no end in sight to the genre. Today, CBS reported two new reality programs in development. Splitsville, which was previously announced, is now going into production. The marital-based series, which comic Jamie Kennedy is executive producing, is not about happy unions. It sounds more like Divorce Court meets Let's Make A Deal, with divorcing husbands and wives battling over their belongings in a series of competitive challenges. Hmm...can't wait to root for those people!

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Million Dollar Password, Dress My Nest, Grill It!, Divorce Court, Whose Wedding is it Anyway? and several new shows.

Not to worry -- this isn't about Simon, Randy, or Paula. I'm not talking American Idol here. Nah, I'm talking real people, real cases, true litigants ... and so much more! You see, I'm generally off from my day job one weekday a week. Of course I have to watch television. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it, right?

I just never got into soap operas. Well, there was that period decades ago when I spent the summer home with a broken foot before the advent of the internet. But I digress. What I watch these days during the daytime hours tend to be the judge shows. Well, to digress a moment again -- WGN airs Homicide: Life on the Street at noon here. I can't miss that, of course. But then it's justice served. Who judges the judges? I do, naturally!

Hokey smokes, Divorce Court has been on since 1957? I had absolutely no idea, though I guess that does make since as this was when divorce rates were beginning to escalate. Actually, the show hasn't been on continuously, it's been gone and back several times over the last half century and been through several changes. It also looks like it's about to go through another change, this time on the bench. The opinionated and sassy Judge Mablean Ephriam will be stepping down and replaced with Lynn Toler, an ex-judge from Ohio. Toler was also on another syndicated court show called Power of Attorney, which, like Divorce Court, I never watched either. Nevertheless, the show's longevity proves there's an audience, and I think we should all do our part to keep the divorce rate high so this show can flourish. I plan to start seducing lonely housewives right after lunch. I figure it's the least I can do.