week of August 31, 2008

Monday, Sep. 1, 2008

• "Dumb old man" Jerry falls into the pool
  Those people not fleeing a hurricane may spend Labor Day weekend in or by their pool. The same is true of the Big Brother 10...
• American Idol 8 will be more "controversial" with "more jeopardy," "personality"
  The upcoming eighth season of American Idol already has one major change in the form fourth judge Kara DioGuardi, but as Simon Cowell has previously...

Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2008

• Danny/GC: "Any way I can get in there to get that million, I'm trying to do it"
  Danny "GC" Brown was the first Survivor Gabon contestant I talked to, and I was the first reporter he talked to (there were a total...
• Dan awakened, rescued by Big Brother's producers
  Two amusing but YouTube clips illustrate Big Brother 10 houseguest Dan's relationship with the show's producers/Big Brother voice button pushers. They're just like overbearing but...

Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2008

• Revamped Top Design returns tonight
  That Top Design made it to a second season, which debuts tonight at 10 p.m. ET, is probably about as surprising as Shear Genius had...
• Top Model's 11th cycle debuts tonight as Tyra pretends to be a moose and chases the Alaskan
  America's Next Top Model 11 debuts tonight at 8 p.m. ET, with a two-hour premiere that starts with the perfunctory and unnecessary audition episode the...
• Bob Crowley: "I'm not playing the game, I'm here to have a good time"
  Bow-tie wearing high school teacher Robert Crowley was a likable guy, but like a few too many other Survivor Gabon contestants, I couldn't decide whether...
• More DVRed Big Brother than the Olympics; Mole 3's finale up the most from DVR viewers
  In mid-August, of the top 10 shows that were DVRed by viewers and watched within one week, there were just two programs: NBC's coverage of...

Thursday, Sep. 4, 2008

• Kitchen Nightmares returns with a nearly pointless two-hour recap episode
  Tonight, Fox's Kitchen Nightmares returns at 9 p.m. ET with a two-hour episode titled "Gordon Returns," on which Fox says "Gordon Ramsay revisits the kitchens...
• Susie Smith: "I certainly don't plan on apologizing every time I screw up"
  Survivor Gabon has a fantastic character and perhaps a very strong player in Susie Smith, who won me over instantly. She was the first cast...
• CW says Top Model's lowest-rated debut ever is "fierce"
  America's Next Top Model 11 debuted last night, and despite Tyra's imitation of a moose and the faux Star Trek theme, Tyra and company were...

Friday, Sep. 5, 2008

• Algerian reality show contestants recite the Quran
  A reality show airing in Algeria on state-owned TV is a competition between men who recite the Quran. ENTV's Knights of the Quran "allows viewers...
• Michael Vicks dogs featured in DogTown; The Locator, Sandhogs also debut this weekend
  A diverse group of of new reality shows debuts this weekend, with subjects ranging from rehabilitated dogs to men who work in sewers. Tonight with...
• Sumo wrestler enters the house to save Big Brother 10 from its end-of-season doldrums
  In a season with no big twists and very little trippiness, last night's Big Brother 10 episode ended with a sumo wrestler sitting in the...
• Kelly Czarnecki: "I need to be manipulative; I need to be different personalities"
  Kelly Czarnecki, the 22-year-old jean salesperson and student from Chicago, was recruited for Survivor Gabon via her MySpace page, and even more unsurprisingly but still...
• Real World made Jamie Chung's Samurai Girl casting "more challenging"
  Tonight, ABC Family debuts its new six-hour scripted mini-series Samurai Girl, and its star is a familiar face to MTV viewers: The Real World San...

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