TVSquad

Earlier this week we told you about the Big Brother controversy, when a contestant, Adam, referred to autistic individuals as "retards," and how John Gilmore of advocacy group Autism United, had demanded an apology from the network. Now comes word that his group's influence has resulted in a major advertiser, Lowe's, pulling its commercials from Big Brother.

Lowe's Karen Cobb explained to Adweek, "Once it was brought to our attention, we decided not to advertise [on Big Brother] further." During the February 13 episode, a Lowe's commercial did air, but according to Ms. Cobb, Lowe's does not routinely advertise on this reality show and will not in the future.

Joseph recently emailed us in response to our The Singing Bee Vs. Don't Forget The Lyrics article to ask: I would like to know how you apply to be a contestant. I watch the show all the time. Thank you!

Back in March, TV Squadder Joel Keller provided us with a list of sites where we could find details on how to apply for various reality and game shows. Since then, a new crop of game and reality shows made its way to a small screen near us. Bee and Lyrics are two of the most popular new games shows that premiered over the summer.

I did a little digging and found out how Joseph, and everyone else, can apply for Bee and Lyrics.

You know how the contestants on Survivor really aren't very interesting anymore? You gotta give this guy points for originality. A California man recently skinned a snake alive and ATE IT at open auditions for Survivor in Bakersfield, CA. He freakin' ATE IT. The guy gave a fake name to the newspaper and told them he's unemployed and he's ready to play a real game of Survivor. [Side note: Do they do background checks for homicidal tendencies?]

The city newspaper, The Bakersfield Californian, actually has a 2 minute video of the entire event complete with commentary from other horrified Survivor hopefuls. I honestly got about 30 seconds into the video and nearly lost my lunch, so consider this your warning.

[Via TV Tattle]

Answer: What is the internet?

Correct! For a limited time only, Jeopardy! is seeking out fans over this crazy thing we call the internet. From March 28-30 on its website, Jeopardy! will offer a 50-question, general knowledge quiz that potential contestants can take. Each day is designated for a specific time zone. The idea is for this test to reach out to people all over the United States, not just in the cities where Jeopardy! holds auditions. If you pass the test, you may be selected for an interview, an audition, and another test, and then you could be on the show!

If you get on, I dare you to do Darrell Hammond's Sean Connery. I DARE YOU.

The funny thing about each and every season of American Idol is the contestants with mediocre talent who continue to sail through to the next round. You know what I'm talking about. They're cute and cuddly and have oodles of personality, but they're a little short on the talent category. There's a faction of television-watching, telephone-using Americans out there who insist on keeping these people on the show while other contestants with more talent get the boot.

I have five examples of American Idol contestants who wouldn't go away:

5. Constantine Maroulis. Yeah, I said it. Constantine thought he was sexy and talented. Not an attractive characteristic on a man who only has mediocre looks and talent. Constantine regularly sang out of tune and falsely advertised himself as a rocker. He was in Rent, for crying out loud! A musical! The dude was a poser and I wanted to slap that pout right off his face. I think we all know who the true rocker was last season. (P.S. More proof he's a poser: his new album is Adult Contemporary. Watch out, Clay!)

The season premiere of American Idol included a few questionable comments that have ticked off gay rights groups. The group, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), is demanding to meet with Idol producers over two specific comments made by Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. During one audition, Simon told a hopeful to "shave off your beard and wear a dress." I believe he added that the contestant would make an excellent female impersonator. The second comment came from Jackson, who asked an effeminate contestant named Zachary if he was a girl. Then, when Zachary left the auditions, the theme to The Crying Game was played. Neither contestant made it to the next round.

Jessica Sierra is being stalked by a 59-year-old man who says he fell in love with her when he saw her on American Idol last season. While she was on the show, he sent her jewelry and flowers. Tampa, Florida police say Paul Young left Sierra more than 40 voicemails in the last few months, telling her he loved her and he would go to jail for her. What an odd thing to say. When he showed up at the home of her grandmother recently, he was arrested. Young is currently in a Tampa jail, being held without bail.

Jennifer Hudson is looking great as one of the singers in Dreamgirls, a Broadway musical that Dreamworks is bringing to the big screen. The production company released some behind-the-scenes video on its website in which Jennifer is featured prominently. She plays Effie White, one in a trio of black female soul singers who cross over to the pop music charts in the early 1960s. While previous reports I cited back in November claimed that Hudson landed the lead in the movie, the behind-the-scenes video and the trailer tell a different story. I believe she is actually a supporting actor to big names like Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Hopefully Jen makes some good connections on this flick that lead to more opportunities in Hollywood. She was a feisty gal with a lot of fans when she was on Season 3 of American Idol.

[Via Pop Candy]

Reading through the TV Squad comments sometimes makes me scratch my head. Don't get me wrong, I think that, as a whole, we have a group of witty, thoughful, and funny commenters who love TV as much as we do, and we're grateful for that. But some of the comments we see.... boy, they just really make you wonder sometimes.

For instance, we're still receiving comments on our December posts about the game show Deal or No Deal. If you notice, some of the comments ask us to provide information on how to become a contestant. Others, though, actually ask us to pass people's information along to the show so they can become contestants! And that's just in the comments that users confirmed; there are plenty of unconfirmed comments asking us the same questions.

I think these folks have us all wrong; we're just a bunch of TV fans who sit in our homes and offices and spew about what we see and what we read about that glowing box in front of us. We really don't know anybody in the industry (well, except maybe for fellow WIN blogger Wil Wheaton, but only by occasional e-mails). Honest. So, if you want us to pass word along to one of the shows or celebrities we profile here, here's my advice: try this great little search engine we use all the time. We've found it actually works pretty well.