reality blurred + archives + November 8 to November 14, 2009

week of November 8, 2009

Behind-the-scenes video shows Dream Team's rehearsal of Survivor Tocantins' opening trek
Survivor Tocantins started with a long trek through the oppressive heat, and the Dream Team did that, too. Aaron Massey, who was on the Dream...
Dancing with the Stars, Survivor have the most expensive ads among fall reality TV shows
Of the reality shows airing this fall, Dancing With the Stars earns more per 30 seconds than any other show: $178,687 for its performance shows,...
Kathy Ireland concealed DWTS injury because she didn't want "sympathy votes"
Kathy Ireland was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars in its second week, but has only now revealed that she needs knee surgery. That's surprising...
The Locator crew's van stolen at Seattle airport
A rental van being used by the crew of WEtv's The Locator was stolen by a man with a warrant fleeing from authorities. That happened...
Switchback leads Amazing Race teams to become more functional, not less
I missed The Amazing Race 15 episode last night, as I was driving back to DC with friends from Pittsburgh, where we saw the set...
Duel II cast trashed $4 million house and owner "had to fight" to get compensated
A $4 million Queenstown, New Zealand, home used by MTV's The Duel II, which aired last spring and is now airing in that country, was...

TV One will air Omarosa dating show Omarosa's Ultimate Merger
Omarosa's Ultimate Merger, the dating series starring Omarosa that I first reported about a month ago when it was casting and attempting to conceal the...
Top three earning men in prime-time are reality stars and producers: Cowell, Trump, Seacrest
While the top-earning TV shows may not be reality TV, the top-earning male prime-time TV stars are reality stars. The three men who lead Forbes'...
ABC drops Kathy Griffin-hosted Let's Dance because it couldn't find a good celebrity cast
The inevitable may have finally happened: We may have run out of quasi-celebrities willing to embarrass themselves on TV for a chance at revitalizing their...
New shows: Kirstie Alley docudrama, a capella competition, bad dad rehab
A few new series announcements from the past week: Not to be outdone in the "talent competitions we just don't need" category, NBC will air...

Rachel Zoe's Taylor fired or quit; Tabatha's Salon Takeover made salon messier
Taylor Jacobson, who's been threatening to leave Rachel Zoe's employment for two season of Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project, has left her job, maybe because...
Jon Gosselin fails to mock himself in not-very-funny Funny or Die video
I'm not sure Jon Gosselin has earned the right to mock himself yet, but that's what he tries to do in this Funny or Die...
Let's Dance pushed to January, cast member Kathy Najimy says
After dropping the show from its schedule, ABC will apparently air Let's Dance in January. While a report said casting problems were to blame, the...

CW denies Kimora Lee Simmons will return to judge Top Model; Miss Jay may be demoted
There may be changes coming once again to the judging panel on America's Next Top Model: The CW has denied a report that says first-season...
Wipeout contestant dies, prompting The Wrap to sensationalize and exploit his death
A 33-year-old contestant on the third season of ABC's Wipeout died last Thursday as a result of a stroke. Entertainment Tonight reports that Tom Sparks...
Heidi threatens to get secretly pregnant by Spencer; their book How to Be Famous called "insipid"
Watching the clip below, I think I understand why people get addicted to The Hills: It may be mostly fake, but since there is some...
Apprentice 6's Surya Yalamanchili running for Congress in Cincinnati
Surya Yalamanchili, who was on The Apprentice 6 and fired by Donald Trump midseason, is running for Congress in Ohio's second district. He faces a...

Octomom's kids hated, then liked reality show crew; paparazzi mad they're being filmed, too
In its Sunday magazine, New York Times has an extensive report about the 11-day filming of Octomom Nadya Suleman's documentary series by production company Eyeworks....
Project Runway 6 finalists surprised with unsurprising, unoriginal challenge
Project Runway 6 has just one episode left, and then we can pretend this season (and, while we're at it, last) never existed, and see...
Padma Lakshmi mocks herself, Top Chef, and the Glad family of products on 30 Rock
When I saw a preview of Padma Lakshmi's guest appearance on 30 Rock, I thought she was, well, terrible, and this didn't bode well for...
Richard Heene pleads guilty to a felony for balloon boy hoax, gets probation
Two-time Wife Swap star Richard Heene pled guilty to a felony after turning himself in to police yesterday, and will get probation. That's the result...
Russell "ain't finished playing just yet" as stubbornness leads to Tribal Council surprise
Tribal Council on Survivor Samoa last night was one of those moments when I realize how amazing it is that Survivor continues to deliver such...
Next week: documentaries about WWII, Mumbai terrorism, headshrinkers, conjoined twins
A look back at last week's reality TV news, and a look ahead at what's on the air next week: The Past This week, we...