RealWorld-related stories
Posted Jun 11th 2009 3:00PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother (US), Dancing With The Stars, Celebreality
Considering how prevalent reality television is these days, it's got to be a pretty daunting task to try and put together a comprehensive list of the best and worst of all time. But
Entertainment Weekly thinks they've done just that. They've compiled the
top 20 reality shows of all time, but also the
ten worst reality shows of all time. All in all, they did a pretty damned good job.
I completely agree with the top six, but they lose me with
Jackass at number seven. I have never understood the appeal of filming morons doing stupid things on purpose just to be stupid. But there were some shows missing from the list completely, like
Little People Big World, So You Think You Can Dance and
Beauty and the Geek. Surely those shows are better than
The Hills and
The Real Housewives of Sesame Street, or whatever franchise they're spinning now.
Continue reading EW declares the all-time best and worst of reality television
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 Jul 16th 2008 7:06PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, News, Celebrities
I usually associate
Real World cast members with drunken barfights, threeways, and tearful meltdowns--but politics? That's a first.
Kevin Powell, former
Real World reality star, is running for Congress in Brooklyn's 10th District. Old-timers like myself remember Kevin from the show's very first season, back when the cast members weren't equal parts hot and crazy.
Powell's post-reality career has set him apart from the typical fame-seeking MTV celebs. According to
his campaign website, he's written seven books and is a successful lecturer and activist. That certainly beats stints on
The Surreal Life and the
Real World/Road Rules Challenge.
Continue reading Real World alum running for Congress
Posted Jul 9th 2008 6:00PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Celebrities
In the early days of reality TV as we know it, when the
Real World was less of an alcoholic sex romp and more of a genuine social experiment, the "usual" way for talentless people become famous was to either be born into obscene wealth or fall down a well. Or both. Then, some time around the appearance of
Survivor Season One, normal folks realized that they could capitalize on exaggerating their personalities on television. "Richard Hatch walks around naked? And he's gay? And painfully manipulative? Yes, I will sacrifice my time and attention to watch your crappy show."
Continue reading Reality celebrities and their unfortunate existence
Posted May 23rd 2008 9:55AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Awards, TV Squad Awards
I'm in Los Angeles right now. From my observations: everyone is perfect looking, the weather is always beautiful, and everyone drives everywhere despite the fact that gas is approximately eleventy billion dollars a gallon and it doesn't appear that anyone is actually, you know,
working. LA doesn't exist in any kind of recognizable reality. Let's put it this way: if the guys in
Plato's cave were to figure out that the figures being cast onto their walls came from the Sunset Strip, they'd probably opt to stay chained up.
It stands to reason, then, that any genre springing to life in such an environment would bear no resemblance to what the rest of the world calls "reality". TV Squad therefore presents its first annual The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award, recognizing those shows that in no way reflect a life that any human being on the planet is actually living but, for some reason, call themselves "reality shows."
Continue reading The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award: Call for Considerations
Posted Feb 20th 2008 11:41AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, TV 101
Like a lot of writers, I have an idea folder (it's manila, but I have it covered in puffy rainbow and unicorn stickers, so it's
beautiful). As each week progresses, I jot down all my ideas -- for columns, for stand-up bits, for ransom notes -- and at the end of that week, I take stock of my creative output.
This week, I noticed that there were a lot of ideas that I wanted to share, but that weren't quite big enough for a full
TV 101 column. I attached them to the end of my last column in a section called "Dribs and Drabs." It was a good thought, except that it took an already bloated piece (my writing makes the Unabomber's manifesto look like a dream of concise thought) and puffed it up into a 3000 word monstrosity. My editor suggested I break up the Dribs and Drabs section into its own piece, and that, dear readers, is what I did. Dribs and Drabs, after the jump...
Continue reading TV 101: Dribs and Drabs (or, stuff that wouldn't fit in my last column)
Posted Feb 18th 2008 12:02PM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, TV 101
Chuck Klosterman, in his very excellent
Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, wrote an essay about
The Real World: San Francisco. He said that the third season of
The Real World was the moment the series stopped
reflecting youth culture and started
creating youth culture.
I'm not going to argue with Mr. Klosterman. I admire him so much that for a short while, I thought he was my own
Tyler Durden (all the ways I wish I could be -- that's Chuck). If we are, however, to take Klosterman's argument as truth -- that Puck and Pedro realizing the cameras were on them was the TV equivalent of Skynet becoming self-aware and destroying humanity -- we must then look to the second season of the show as the moment when
Miles Dyson started working for Cyberdyne. That is, the seeds for television's unraveling were sown not during the third season of
The Real World, but during the
second. As 2008 is the 15th anniversary of
The Real World: Los Angeles, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look back at how it managed to ruin everything...
Continue reading TV 101: The Day the Music Died (or, how the second season of The Real World ruined everything)
Posted Nov 20th 2007 9:21AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother (US), Contestants, Alumni, TV Squad Lists
As you probably know AOL TV is listing the
50 Sexiest Women of TV. This week they added numbers 30-21. Looking at these pictures just brings back memories--Katie Holmes on
Dawson's Creek! I almost forgot she started on the small screen before she became the kept woman of that wacko Tom Cruise.
Their list over at AOL inspired me to create my own list--this time of Reality TV stars. Be sure to write who you would add to either AOL TV's list or my own list in the comments.
Continue reading The seven hottest reality TV stars
Posted Feb 20th 2007 11:59AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Spike
Because there just aren't enough versions of
CSI, Spike is adding a reality show to the crime solving mix. The channel has
ordered ten episodes of a new show called
Murder from Bunim-Murray Productions. They are best known for
The Real World, Road Rules, and
The Simple Life.
The new show will find two teams of contestants investigating a replica of an actual crime scene under the watchful eye of Detective Tommy Le Noir, a 20 year veteran of law enforcement. The teams have 48 hours to complete their investigation before making their final presentation to Le Noir. The team that makes the best case will have a donation made in their names to charity.
The idea makes sense for Spike, given that they already run
CSI and
CSI: NY. Scheduling
Murder in alongside those is a good fit. On the other hand, I can't help thinking that this show was already done with
Murder In Small Town X. And just going on what we have here, it sounds like it was done better then.
Posted Feb 10th 2007 1:14PM by Brett Love
Filed under: FOX, American Idol, Music and Variety
We've already seen
Survivor and
Big Brother go the all-star route. And The
Amazing Race is getting set to kick off their own version. Heck, it seems like every time I click by MTV there is another show filled with past
Road Rules and
Real World cast members. So why not American Idol?
According to
TV Guide, Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe is trying to sell Fox on the concept. It's part of the planned songwriting competition. Lythgoe's idea is to narrow those entries down to ten songs and then bring in ten former
Idol contestants to sing the songs on the show.
I'm not an
Idol fan, but I have to say, that's a solid idea. I'm guessing they won't be able to get Kelly Clarkson, and chances are
Jennifer Hudson won't be involved. But assuming that they can manage to get ten of the more popular contestants, this should make for another huge week of ratings. And an
American Idol All-Stars CD... And an
American Idol All-Stars Special Edition DVD... And... good grief,
Idol is just a machine. At this point it's rivaled only by the power of
Harry Potter.
Posted Aug 15th 2006 4:44PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother: All-Stars, followed by a new Rock Star: Supernova. - NBC has The Miss Teen USA Pageant at 8.
- ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker, starting at 8.
- At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs, followed by two new episodes of Stunt Junkies.
- There's a new Overhaulin' on TLC at 9, followed by a new Miami Ink.
- Spike has the 007 movie Tomorrow Never Dies at 9.
- Bravo has a new Workout at 9, followed by a new Queer Eye.
- Sci-Fi has a new Eureka at 9.
- At 10, ABC has a new Primetime.
- MTV has a new Real World at 10.
- Also at 10: FX has a new Rescue Me.
Posted Jul 17th 2006 4:42PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, NBC is showing the latest episode of Bravo's Project Runway, followed by a new Treasure Hunters.- Disney repeats High School Musical at 8.
- Also at 8: ABC Family has a new episode of Kyle XY.
- At 9, FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen.
- TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, followed by a new Saved.
- USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
- A&E has a two episodes of a new reality show about drag racing, Driving Force. It's on at 9 too.
- At 10, MTV has a new Real World/Road Rules Challenge.
Posted Jun 27th 2006 4:32PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has a 4 episode marathon of According To Jim, followed by a repeat Boston Legal.- CBS has repeats of NCIS, The Unit, and 48 Hours Mystery.
- NBC has a new Fear Factor at 8, followed by a new Last Comic Standing and a repeat Law and Order: SVU.
- Over on FOX at 8, two repeats of House.
- The WB has a repeat Gilmore Girls at 8, followed by a new Pepper Dennis.
- UPN has repeats of America's Next Top Model and Veronica Mars.
- At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs.
- Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List at 9.
- At 10, MTV has a new Real World, followed by a new My Super Sweet 16.
- FX has a new Rescue Me at 10.
- Also at 10: Travel Channel has The Best of Amusement Parks 2006.
Posted Jun 6th 2006 4:38PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has a repeat According To Jim, a new Rodney, another repeat According To Jim, a new Less Than Perfect, then a repeat Boston Legal.- CBS has repeats of NCIS, The Unit, and 48 Hours Mystery.
- NBC has a repeat Last Comic Standing, a new episode, then a repeat Law and Order: SVU.
- Over on FOX, two repeats of House.
- The WB has a repeat Gilmore Girls at 8, followed by a new Pepper Dennis.
- UPN has repeats of America's Next Top Model and Veronica Mars.
- At 9, in preparation for the debut of their new summer series, Spike has the movie Blade.
- Kathy Griffin returns for a second season of My Life on the D-List at 9. It's followed by the sseason premiere of Queer Eye.
- Also at 9: Frye Boots are profiles on a new John Ratzenberger's America, on the Travel Channel.
- FX has a new Rescue Me at 10.
- At 10, MTV has a new Real World, followed by a new Jamie Kennedy's Blowin' Up.
Posted May 30th 2006 4:43PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has a repeat According To Jim, followed by a new (!) episode of Rodney, another repeat According To Jim, a new (!) Less Than Perfect, then a repeat Boston Legal.- CBS has NCIS and The Unit, followed by a new 48 Hours Mystery.
- NBC has the season premiere of Last Comic Standing at 8, followed by a repeat Law and Order: SVU.
- Over on FOX at 8, Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson star in Shanghai Knights.
- The WB has a repeat Gilmore Girls and a new Pepper Dennis, while UPN has repeats of America's Next Top Model and Veronica Mars.
- At 9, TNT has NBA Playoffs, with the Mavericks vs. the Suns.
- Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
- At 10 on FX, the season premiere of Rescue Me.
- Also at 10: MTV has a new The Real World, followed by a new Jamie Kennedy's Blowin' Up.
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