TheAmazingRace-related stories
Posted Jan 21st 2010 7:06PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, The Amazing Race, Casting
Before you know it, it will be time for another whirlwind race around the world as the Emmy-winning reality show,
The Amazing Race, returns for its 16th season. The new season is set to premiere at 8 PM ET/PT on Sunday, February 14. Today CBS announced the teams we'll be loving or hating as we vicariously travel around the world with them from the comfort of our own homes. The
official CBS website is up and running with in-depth bios of the teams.
Continue reading Teams announced for The Amazing Race 16
Posted Dec 29th 2009 7:02PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities
More of our best of the decade coverage, which started earlier today. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about our favorite reality contestants and participants. Whether we like it or not, the '00s introduced us to a new form of celebrity: the reality star. In previous decades, the closest we got to this were especially entrancing personalities from MTV's
Real World. These people gained fame for acting like well-crafted exaggerations of their real selves.
Faster than you can say, "I didn't come here to make friends," networks picked up on the public's fascination with reality TV like
Survivor and they pushed it to the popularity that it has reached today. Now, reality shows barely reflect what happens in normal people's lives but are generally more like high-concept game shows or extremely scripted improvs. But people keep watching, because the personalities are big and captivating.
Yup. Strategic footage editing does wonders. Here are some of our personal favorites from the genre, but feel free to comment with your own worthy additions!
Continue reading Best TV of the '00s: Reality Participant / Contestant
Posted Dec 21st 2009 10:28AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, Programming, OpEd, CSI, Survivor, Pickups and Renewals, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory
One of the most coveted parcels in prime time real estate is the hour after the broadcast of the
Super Bowl. In 2010, CBS has the big game on Sunday, February 7, and after the pads pop and the Vince Lombardi trophy is hoisted, the program that the Tiffany network will air is not one of the usual suspects. The slot won't be used to pump up the next edition of
Survivor, as many experts guessed.
It also won't be used to reinforce the success of sophomore drama
The Mentalist, nor will the space be handed over to
The Big Bang Theory for a one-hour stretched out sitcom episode. And the network isn't going to pump up a slipping series like
CSI, which isn't getting the gaudy numbers it did in the William Peterson days. So, what will they run? Follow me after the jump to find out -- and consider this a SPOILER ALERT.
Continue reading CBS makes a surprise choice for the post-Super Bowl spot
Posted Nov 30th 2009 12:01AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, The Amazing Race, Episode Reviews
(S15E11) Next week is the big season finale of
The Amazing Race. But this week the last four teams have to battle it out for the prized final three slots racing for the finish line. So, you would think this is the time to put on the big boy (or girl) pants, step up to the plate, give it your all, and a thousand other corny trite sayings. Alas, one team tonight has a huge fail. Of all the legs to fall apart and go kerflooey, this one so near the finale is cruel indeed. Too bad, so sad.
Continue reading Review: The Amazing Race - It Starts With an F, That's All I'm Saying
Posted Nov 9th 2009 1:47AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, The Amazing Race, Episode Reviews
(S15E08) This week we revisited one of the toughest roadblocks ever on
The Amazing Race. Back in season six, the same farm with the same roadblock did in one team. Kristy and Lena spent eight hours searching for a clue they never did find. Phil Keoghan came out to them after dark in the field and called an end to their search. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time the show has repeated a roadblock. And what a doozy to choose! While looking for a clue in a haystack is easier than looking for a needle, there are so many haystacks -- how would our five remaining teams fare? Read on.
Continue reading Review: The Amazing Race - This Is the Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 12:41AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, The Amazing Race, Episode Reviews
(S15E07) Poor Ericka. In tonight's episode of
The Amazing Race, she didn't look quite like Miss America. Stress will do that to you. It seems each week a team or two make what might be a fatal error in the game. Oh, not something that could kill them -- just one which could lead to being Philiminated. This leg wasn't only tough on Brian and Ericka. One of the Globetrotters had to don a dress. Thankfully, it seemed to be specially tailored to fit him.
Continue reading Review: The Amazing Race - This is Not My Finest Hour
Posted Oct 12th 2009 12:40AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, The Amazing Race, Episode Reviews
(S15E04) You'll have to bear with me tonight. You see, I'm cranky. Yes, I'm cranky about tonight's episode of
The Amazing Race. Perhaps I'd be a bit less cranky had the show started anywhere near on time. No, it's a Sunday show and here in the NYC viewing area, any sport played during the day can run over and delay the entire Sunday evening primetime line-up. On a night like tonight, delayed 45 minutes, it wreaks havoc with other shows I'd like to watch and my review writing time. But that's not the only reason I'm cranky.
Continue reading The Amazing Race: Sean Penn Cambodia Here We Come
Posted Jul 23rd 2009 7:08PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, The Amazing Race
It was inevitable: the stereotype of the poker player is being tested on another reality show. First there was Jean-Robert on
Survivor. More recently America watched Annie Duke shrewdly translate her poker prowess as business savvy on the
Celebrity Apprentice.
Now rumors are
flying in that two poker players will be on
The Amazing Race. Poker players Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle have been spotted around LAX's airport ready to race around the world. What is it about poker players that are so appealing? Can the ability to bluff succeed with foreigners?
Continue reading More poker player reality stars?
Posted May 21st 2009 11:03AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, American Idol, The Apprentice, Survivor, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent
With the latest seasons of
Survivor,
The Amazing Race, and
American Idol wrapping up, fans patiently have to wait until the fall or spring 2010 for their favorite shows to return. But why wait? Several reality TV shows debut in the summer both as lighter fare than fall shows and a way to test for target audiences.
If one recalls, several summer reality TV shows have eventually moved to prime real estate in the fall or spring. If rumors are true the summer favorite
So You Think You Can Dance will be the next to move, airing in the summer and fall.
Here are some alternatives for your favorite reality TV shows.
Continue reading Summer reality TV alternatives
Posted Apr 25th 2009 9:00AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, American Idol, The Apprentice, Survivor, Celebreality
One of the best things about reality shows for me is watching people succeed or crash in a fiery abyss. While watching
Grey's Anatomy, I caught the commercial for all the summer shows and was excited to see the return of
I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Last year was heavily underrated. All the contestants were likable, everyone learned about Japanese culture, and the biggest thing everyone came off learning something.
While I wait for summer and hope for a new season, this week started off MTV's
The Phone. I was nervous about Justin Timberlake being the executive producer, but the show surprised me. Any fan of
The Mole,
The Amazing Race,
Cha$e, or
Treasure Hunters should probably consider. Now on to the weekly awards.
Continue reading Weekly Reality Awards
Posted Apr 18th 2009 10:04AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Celebreality
As the numbers continue to dwindle on the competitive reality shows, tension is starting to rise and I want a front seat. The one thing I appreciate about network reality programs compared to scripted shows is that there are new episodes every week (I'm looking at you,
Grey's Anatomy).
I'm going to make a prediction that next week Coach will say something stupid, Frenchie will say something that needs subtitles, the cast of
The Biggest Loser will sweat, and Adam will regret singing "Play That Funky Music" a few weeks too early. This week's awards after the jump.
Continue reading Weekly Reality Awards
Posted Apr 4th 2009 2:03PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Survivor, Dancing With The Stars
This week, reality television maintained some normalcy. The outliers in
Survivor,
Dancing with the Stars, and
Hell's Kitchen went home. Although I'll lament the loss of Mel and Mike in
The Amazing Race, I believe that all the remaining teams deserve to be there.
Speaking of teams, the
Survivor Secret Alliance still has the numbers. With the merge inevitable, we'll see if one of the best alliances ever created will stick together. As long as Coach goes home, I'll be satisfied. More analysis after the jump.
Continue reading Weekly Reality Awards
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 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 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
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