reality blurred + archives + January 21 to January 27, 2001

week of January 21, 2001

"Series 7: The Contenders" debuts at Sundance.
"Series 7: The Contenders" debuts at Sundance. The buzz-filled faux-reality TV show movie debuted at the Sundance film festival. It "follows random contenders--including an eight-months-pregnant...
Arista chief calls O-Town "bullshit."
Arista chief calls O-Town "bullshit." An apparent feud between Arista head Antonio "L.A." Reid and Clive Davis--the producer who signed O-Town as the first group...
FOX exec on Temptation Island: "Get over it. It's entertainment."
FOX exec on Temptation Island: "Get over it. It's entertainment." FOX"s COO Peter Chernin defended Temptation Island, saying the show is "funny, it's audacious, it's...

Pornstar Survivor starts Sunday; CBS demands the site cease-and-desist.
Pornstar Survivor starts Sunday; CBS demands the site cease-and-desist. "This is a story, about four men, picked to live in a house, with four porn...
who wants to have a DNA test?
who wants to have a DNA test? FOX (surprise, surprise) is "in development" with a special that would feature inmates learning of the results of...
Survivor e-books include secret documents, video.
Survivor e-books include secret documents, video. Two e-books--one old, one new--Survivor TV Books, who published the original Survivor: The Ultimate Game and an e-book companion...
O-Town releases CD, reminded that Backstreet Boys "despise" them.
O-Town releases CD, reminded that Backstreet Boys "despise" them. O-Town's album is in stores today, and along with it comes reminders from bigger boy groups...

The Real World: Bangladesh?
The Real World: Bangladesh? Jeremy Cohen's brilliant, award-winning satire of everything The Real World, The Real Third World, is now on IFILM. From the background...
drama erupts on SURVIVORblog2.
drama erupts on SURVIVORblog2. Can't wait for the real Survivor 2? There's plenty of drama at Ernie Hsiung's SURVIVORblog2, where one of the 16 bloggers,...
ABC plans live chats with "executed" players.
ABC plans live chats with "executed" players. After being kicked off of The Mole, or "executed," as the show calls it--players will chat live with...
up next: "Bipartisan Island" and "Job-Offer Island"?
up next: "Bipartisan Island" and "Job-Offer Island"? Salon.com takes a tongue-in-cheek shot at guessing what FOX's "Moral Dilemma Islands' Working Group" is planning to follow...
Temptation Island winning the reality TV ratings game.
Temptation Island winning the reality TV ratings game. Temptation Island had about 6 million more viewers than The Mole last week. Sex sells. Go figure....
first Backstreet Boys slam O-Town, now 'NSync calls the group "stupid."
first Backstreet Boys slam O-Town, now 'NSync calls the group "stupid." O-Town's not getting a break this week. After being reminded this week of Backstreet's...

Kathy Griffin's reality TV talk show to debut on MTV in two weeks.
Kathy Griffin's reality TV talk show to debut on MTV in two weeks. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who declined Big Brother producers' offer to stay a...
Rich writing a Survivor 2 column for US Weekly magazine.
Rich writing a Survivor 2 column for US Weekly magazine. Extending those 15 minutes even further, Rich has signed on with US Weekly to write...
O-Town's album in the top 5.
O-Town's album in the top 5. With about 150,000 to 180,000 copies sold its first week, O-Town's self-titled debut album will likely debut in the...
Big Brother heads to Australia's Gold Coast.
Big Brother heads to Australia's Gold Coast. Australia is giving Big Brother a shot, hoping for more success than the U.S. version; the show is...
who won? Mark Burnett says, "me."
who won? Mark Burnett says, "me." In an interview with CNN about Survivor 2, Mark Burnett comments on the cast ("I went out of my...

does Survivor show the true "essence of human nature"?
does Survivor show the true "essence of human nature"? Using Survivor as source material, Robert Wright finds evidence for the "individual selectionist view of human...
content-rich sites have upped the reality TV web site ante.
content-rich sites have upped the reality TV web site ante. Web site companions of reality TV sites "have become...must-have," Variety (somewhat obviously) reports. In the...
although it lost viewers to a new West Wing, Temptation Island remains "a (moderate) hit."
although it lost viewers to a new West Wing, Temptation Island remains "a (moderate) hit." Eight percent of its viewers bailed on Temptation Island Wednesday,...
columnist Rich joins a radio show.
columnist Rich joins a radio show. In an apparent attempt to be a part of every medium possible, newly-appointed US Weekly columnist Rich is joining...
eyeliner, Scrabble, and a coloring book among cast's personal items.
eyeliner, Scrabble, and a coloring book among cast's personal items. With less than three days to go, CBS revealed the personal items that each Survivor...
"will the outback yield the same magic as Pulau Tiga did?"
"will the outback yield the same magic as Pulau Tiga did?" In a reality TV package that includes brief looks at The Mole, Temptation Island,...

Jeff Probst on the new season: "there are some attractive people and they're basically naked."
Jeff Probst on the new season: "there are some attractive people and they're basically naked." Everyone's favorite dimpled host is back, and he chats...
before the big event, check out the previews and specials.
before the big event, check out the previews and specials. The tube is alive today and tomorrow with pre-Survivor shows, as every network tries to...