reality blurred + archives + January 11 to January 17, 2009

week of January 11, 2009

Road Rules' Jake Bronstein wants to send you love letters
Former Road Rules cast member Jake Bronstein--who once blogged about things like cast gossip, never mind blogging a picture of his glitter-covered penis or auctioning...

2009 televised documentary schedule
There are an increasing number of outstanding documentaries that air on television, and often provide just as much--or more--entertainment as reality TV shows, although in...
New cable series include NASCAR Wives, Candy Girls, Harlem Heights, Dallas DNA, T.I.'s Road To Redemption
Several cable networks announced new series late last week. Besides bringing back The Alaska Experiment for a second season (more on that later today), the...
Kardashians and Bruce Jenner don't have any plans to stop being reality whores
I'm in Los Angeles at the TV critics winter press tour, when networks hold large press conferences or panels so TV critics can ask questions,...
Alaska Experiment changes producers, format to raise "stakes" and "limit resources"
One of 2008's best series, The Alaska Experiment, will return in April on The Discovery Channel, but the new season will have a new format...

American Idol 8 debuts tonight with a new judge and Phoenix's bikini girl
American Idol takes over television again starting tonight when its eighth season debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. The two-hour debut features auditions from...
Shirtless American Idol contestants exposed
As a new season of American Idol dawns, we'll be seeing a lot of the contestants over the next four months or so--especially if there...
4.8 million watched Real choose Corn Fed, Chance choose no one on Real Chance of Love finale
Real and Chance, the brothers who appearaed on I Love New York and then got their own spin-off series, Real Chance of Love, ended their...

Bob screams at a contestant, says he was "cussing like I've never cussed before"
Bob Harper, the more mild-mannered Biggest Loser trainer who has described his work as "God's calling," unloaded on a contestant during Tuesday's episode, resulting in...
Paula Abdul denies criticizing American Idol
Paula Abdul and the producers of American Idol were mostly evasive about the show and recent controversies when they appeared before TV critics yesterday. Specifically,...
16 Survivor Tocantins cast members announced, includes youngest Survivor ever
CBS officially revealed the 16 cast members who went to Brazil last fall and competed in the show's 18th season, Survivor Tocantins, and they include...
American Idol is #1 but loses 3.1 million viewers; AT&T spams customers about debut
American Idol 8's debut was the number-one show on television last night, but it also lost 3.1 million viewers from last season's debut, about 10...
Sharon Osbourne says post-Osbournes shows are "really crap"; family returns to TV on Fox
The Osbournes, who created the celebrity reality subgenre with their 2002 MTV docudrama reality series The Osbournes, will be back on TV with a variety...

Trump, producers say "depression" affected Celebrity Apprentice 2
The bad economy has affected even NBC reality competition The Celebrity Apprentice 2, which taped in the fall but airs starting in March. "We are...
Stephen, Tyson, Erinn were the most engaging Survivor Tocantins cast members; Sandy, Sierra were more annoying
The cast of Survivor Tocantins is a strong group, and one with fewer extremes. I have no doubt some will appall us and others will...
Idol ratings increase night-to-night; average viewer is now 40.3 as young viewers flee
American Idol 8's second night, which featured Kansas City auditions and Jason Castro's brother Michael Castro (Kara: "You have this, 'I have a secret' vibe"),...
NBC may resurrect non-celebrity Apprentice
Although the original Apprentice seemed all but dead thanks to the ratings success of the celebrity edition, the original version of the show may actually...

DeShawn fired from Real Housewives for being "too human for a circus show"
DeShawn Snow won't be part of The Real Housewives of Atlanta's second season, but not because she's left the show. Instead, she was essentially fired...
Bachelor 13 winner may have been revealed in the show's preview
Read live updates on The Bachelor 13 finale. The person who wins The Bachelor 13--if you can call being proposed to on a show with...