Posts with tag RealityTv
Posted Jul 2nd 2008 4:39PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
Christopher Ciccone, Madonna's super-classy brother who recently penned a tell-all about growing up with the infamous pop star, has set his sights on the reality TV world. Luckily for Madonna, the proposed show has nothing to do with her. Despite previous reports that claimed his reality show would be an extension of his upcoming book,
Life With My Sister, the untitled project is said to instead be a design show.
Ciccone is no stranger to the world of design, having contributed to various condos and restaurants, not to mention his big sis' New York apartment. He even appeared on an episode of
Top Chef: Miami as part of a restaurant design challenge.
Continue reading Madonna's brother designs a reality show
Posted Jul 2nd 2008 11:20AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Big Brother (US), Casting
As
Big Brother fans patiently await the press conferences and cast announcements for the new season, executive producer Allison Grodner has already been talking to the internet.
Now, what she has been saying interests me. As a long time fan of both the feeds and the show as well as being privy to the internet fan reaction, I've seen folks almost demanding a return of actual strangers in the house and more diversity in casting. Will this be our year? Read on past the jump for the video.
Continue reading Executive producer Allison Grodner spills some Big Brother 10 news - VIDEO
Posted Jun 30th 2008 10:41AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: News, OpEd, Big Brother (US)
Well, folks ... it's countdown time!
Big Brother 10 premieres on Sunday, July 13 at 8 PM ET/PT. As I write this, casting has been completed but no formal announcements have been made. I will assure you that I won't be in the house this season although I'll be your fly on the wall. You can get your live feed reports here at TV Squad. So, in a way, I'll be in the house. But not in a way that the folks on the internet can rip me apart!
Despite the show being just two weeks away, there is little concrete news. But there are plenty of rumors and speculations floating about. Read on past the jump for scheduling news and lots of rumors.
Continue reading Big Brother 10 - News, rumors, and speculation
Posted Jun 27th 2008 1:41PM by Jay Black
Part Three: Never Retreat! Never Surrender! The lessons started in earnest. First was a philosophy that Robert follows in his own life, but that he felt worked perfectly for those seeking to be on reality TV:
Never Deny, Always Reply, Never Ask Why.
He repeated it several times. I won't do that here. Just, uh, read that sentence a few times and you'll get the point.
Essentially, the point of his philosophy was that you need to be open to all things -- you should never say "no" (
never deny); you should reply to every request made to you, presumably in the affirmative (
always reply), and you should never question the logic of what is being asked of you (
never ask why).
Continue reading The New York Reality TV School (Parts 3 and 4)
Posted Jun 6th 2008 11:59PM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Awards, TV Squad Awards, Celebreality
Like a lot of my TV Squad assignments, I went into this one under the belief that it would be a hoot. I figured that unreal reality shows would have a high camp value and I could enjoy them the same way that I enjoy
The Last Dragon.
Here's what I learned: Gene Simmons... Bruce Leroy you are
not. The next time I refer to something as a potential "hoot", I've given my wife permission to beat me unconscious with a shovel. A severe beating would be less painful than watching another minute of our nominee shows.
That said, I did enjoy the process of figuring out which show would "win" this award. After careful consideration of the words of my wizened TV Squad colleagues and the input of our enlightened readership, we have finally found our winner.
Continue reading The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award: Winner - VIDEO
Posted May 30th 2008 10:02AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Awards, TV Squad Awards
There's a bit by Patton Oswalt on his brain-meltingly good comedy album
Feeling Kind of Patton regarding reality television. The short version: if we keep making reality shows, we will eventually run out of reality to film. (Believe me, the short version isn't even in the ballpark of how funny the bit is; go
buy this album immediately).
Like Arthur C. Clarke's predictions of geostationary satellites and floating man-god fetuses, Oswalt's vision of a reality-free future is eerily accurate. While our physical space hasn't quite been eaten by a giant white wave yet, the signs of reality's destruction are as obvious as the motivations behind Tila Tequila's bisexuality. Most glaring? The very words "reality television" connote an unreal experience.
After careful consideration, we at TV Squad, along with your input, have winnowed down the hundreds of possible candidates for "most unreal reality show" to these five...
Continue reading The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award Nominees
Posted Apr 24th 2008 8:40AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, Upfronts
Jennifer Lopez continues her quest to rule the world with a new reality series on TLC.
The actress, singer, clothing and fragrance entrepreneur, and new mom of twins is partnering with actor-producers Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on
a new unscripted series about Lopez's life with husband Mark Anthony, according to
The Hollywood Reporter. Lopez will also executive produce the show.
"I think it'll be something very exciting," she said earlier today at the Discovery Network's upfront presentation in Manhattan.
Continue reading JLo to star in reality series for TLC
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 11:04AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, OpEd, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Project Runway
Okay, I admit it. I like reality TV. Or maybe I should say unscripted TV. These days the parsing of the term "reality" has become as much a discussion as the genre itself. And don't kill me for calling it a genre. It is. It's here to stay. As long as producers can come up with ideas that make money and networks give them air time, reality/non-fiction/unscripted television is going to continue to proliferate the tube.
It's not with any great pride that I admit I'm hooked on reality shows -- some reality shows. My favorites include the high quality, classy shows, like
The Amazing Race and
Top Chef and
Project Runway, as well as trashy ones, i.e.
The Real Housewives of Orange County (and New York),
Hell's Kitchen and
Bridezillas. I like some of the competition-oriented shows, but that doesn't stop me from gazing in astonishment at the train wreck docu-series like
Hey Paula and
Being Bobby Brown. In fact, when I hear Kathy Griffin riffing on those shows -- her imitation of Whitney screaming "Bobby!" is classic -- I want to cry out, "Yes, yes, I watch that one, too."
Continue reading True confessions: I watch reality TV
Posted Apr 14th 2008 7:42PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
In a case of reality television going too far, a director has been arrested in Florida for
locking half his contestants in the house they were occupying. The show was called
Pauper to Princess and its concept was to build eight women's self-esteem and help them grow physically, mentally and spiritually.
The part that I really find amusing is that the excuse the director Marc Brilleman gave for locking the women in the house was "they could not leave because they were being disciplined". Um, disciplined? Is this some sort of sadomasochistic fantasy going on behind these doors? Admittedly I haven't read the contracts, but if they broke the contract by leaving the house, couldn't you just fire and/or not pay them?
Continue reading Reality TV show director arrested for false imprisonment
Posted Apr 14th 2008 10:05AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Early Looks, Episode Reviews
TV Squad's Fearless Leader,
Keith McDuffee, is in charge of meting out the free screener DVDs he receives from various networks. Sometimes the screeners are awesome -- complete season sets of popular shows or weeks-in-advance pilot episodes of hotly anticipated new series -- and sometimes, well, they are
not awesome.
At some point I made a joke that he seems to send me the worst of our screeners (I keed! I keed!) and Keith's response was to start sending me
every single bad screener offered to TV Squad. I'm talking the kind of programming they're currently showing at Guantanamo Bay.
Well, two can play at this game! I've decided that I'm going to review every horrible show Keith sends me. If I have to be tortured with the likes of
Queen Sized and
The Simple Life Goes to Camp, well then, you guys have to be tortured by reading about it. Sorry, it's only fair. Our first foray into Screener Hell is
Farmer Wants a Wife (Wednesdays 9 PM, starting April 30)...
Continue reading Screener Hell: Farmer Wants a Wife
Posted Apr 6th 2008 11:58PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US), Episode Reviews
(S09E26) "Why did you vote me back into the house if you didn't want to work with me?" - James
It's once again nominations time in the
Big Brother 9 house. The last time Adam was the head of household, it seemed that Natalie actually took the reins during his reign. Will the second time be Adam's time to shine or will he let other dictate his nominations once again? And how about that James? Are his nine lives just about up? He's an island, you know. He's lost his Chelsia and his Joshuah. Heck, he's not an island. He's more like an abandoned can along the roadside.
Read on for the full review of tonight's episode.
Continue reading Big Brother 9: Nominations Ceremony #8
Posted Apr 6th 2008 12:14AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US)
It's Saturday in the
Big Brother 9 house. Now, you know what that means. It means Ryan is snoring on Feed 3, Sharon is looking bored on Feed 1, Sheila is folding laundry on Feed 2, and Adam is playing with a radio-controlled car in the yard on Feed 4. Yes, the excitement on Sharon's face tells it all.
But things have happened. Nominations have been made. A food comp went down and we have a power of veto winner. There just isn't much happening at the moment. For spoilers on both the Sunday and Tuesday episodes, read on past the jump!
Continue reading Big Brother 9: Live feeds report - April 5
Posted Mar 31st 2008 12:02AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US), Episode Reviews
(S09E23) She was destined to win head of household. Call it divine intervention, call it dumb luck, but she won it and Natalie's one happy little hamster in the
Big Brother 9 house. Of course we had to see it all over again, but that's beside the point. So, what will Natalie do in her reign? Will she don a robe and tiara? Will she decide that skimpy clothing isn't suited for royalty and cover herself up a bit?
Read on past the jump for the for the goods!
Continue reading Big Brother 9: Nomination Ceremony #7
Posted Jan 31st 2008 11:20AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, OpEd, Daytime, TV Squad Lists
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!
Continue reading Judging nine TV judges
Posted Jan 30th 2008 3:29PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Industry, The Apprentice, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals
I didn't think he could do it, but the Donald did it. I've been a fan of
The Apprentice since its first season, but I threw in the towel with last season's lackluster gimmicky Los Angeles version of this unreality show.
But I started watching again this season as the celebrity (although far from A List celebs) started playing the game donating winnings to their favorite charities. Although my favorite Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) committed Apprenticide before my very eyes, only
Lost will keep me from watching it as it airs.
Continue reading Celebrity Apprentice gets second season
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