reality blurred + archives + December 5 to December 11, 2010

week of December 5, 2010

This week: Little People, Big World ends forever, Apprentice concludes, Katie Lee Joel returns on Top Chef
Last week ended with big news in the reality TV world: Big Brother's Brendon admitted to cheating on Rachel after his Skype affair with a...

Design Star now casting, which means HGTV intends to bring it back despite last season
HGTV apparently intends to air a sixth season of Design Star despite the absolute disaster of a season that just concluded in August. The new...
Brendon apologizes publicly: "I was stupid" (video)
Brendon Villegas admitted to cheating on Rachel Reilly, who he met on Big Brother this summer, and later posted an eight-minute apology video to YouTube....
Nick and Vicki actually left behind in water-treading, tension-free episode of Amazing Race
The Amazing Race has its final three teams, and they do not include Nick and Vicki, who were left behind and out of the running...
More rich people watch The Apprentice than any other show, except The Office, 30 Rock
The Apprentice isn't really popular at all among most viewers, but it's the third-most popular show among people who make more than $100,000 a year....
Bristol Palin: "my mom did not 'force' me to go on DWTS"; morons complain to FCC
Bristol Palin has responded to Margaret Cho's allegations than Sarah Palin forced Bristol to be on Dancing with the Stars because her mom blamed her...

Critic explores history of reality TV, counts the number of shows that aired this year: 567
On the occasion of reality TV's 10th anniversary on broadcast TV, the Kansas City Star's Aaron Barnhart has produced a tremendous package of stories that...
Nude pictures of Big Brother's James Rhine posted by person who was accused of being a fraud a year ago
The woman who revealed she'd had an Internet affair with Big Brother 12's Brendon Villegas has posted and deleted images she says season six and...
The 10 highest-paid cable reality stars
The Daily Beast has compiled a list of the 10 highest-paid reality stars, or at least those people who earn money only because they are...
IM conversation adds to evidence that Big Brother groupie Molly Shephard is fake
Someone has posted an IM conversation between themselves and an individual claiming to be pretending to be Molly Shephard, the Twitter user who outed Brendon...

Fashion Show improves slightly from its first season by upping personal drama
After four episodes, Bravo's The Fashion Show took a week off last night, so it seems like a good time to check in and see...
Bachelor wants people to propose on TV, but only if they're sure their partner will say yes
ABC is offering couples a chance to propose on national TV as part of The Bachelor, if a couple wants to start their life together...
Brad Womack's second Bachelor season spoiled
The upcoming 15th season of The Bachelor has been spoiled by Steve Carbone, who wrote that after being cut from E!'s Bachelor special, he will...
12 days of reality TV: Richard Hatch in a tree
There's nowhere else to start this 12 Days of Reality TV feature except with Survivor. On its anniversary, I explained why it still matters, but...
Sarah Palin's caribou slaughter gets reaction but not ratings
The Social Network and West Wing writer Aaron Sorkin has written a takedown of Sarah Palin's Alaska, the TLC series that on Sunday featured Sarah...

If Sash is Survivor Nicaragua's greatest strategist, Survivor Nicaragua has a problem
Watching Survivor Nicaragua tonight, I tried to figure out Sash, aka Matthew Lenahan, who I just don't understand as a player. He's cocky, arrogant, annoying,...
Second day of reality TV: Two dog bites in the vagina
Yes, it only took until day two of the 12 Days of Reality TV to get to genitalia, but it's not the normal kind we're...
Jen Carroll freaks out after Top Chef All-Stars' first surprising decision
Top Chef All-Stars is off to a strong start, and had its first controversial elimination and first freak-out last night, during an episode that guest...
A&E pulls The Hasselhoffs as Americans tell the UK: you can have David Hasselhoff
After airing just two half-hour episodes, A&E has pulled The Hasselhoffs off the air, after getting evidence that we are no longer crazy for David...
Jillian Michaels quitting Biggest Loser to have a kid
Trainer Jillian Michaels is leaving The Biggest Loser to have a kid, two decisions she says were inspired by her time on her NBC spin-off...

Anticlimactic finale to a decent Apprentice season ends with Brandy's win
Brandy Kuentzel became the seventh non-celebrity winner of The Apprentice after Donald Trump chose her over Clint Robertson, and will now work with Ivanka Trump,...
3rd day of reality TV: Three people fighting on Real World, and "it wasn't not funny"
The scene below is responsible for my addiction to reality TV as a teenager, and I suppose is responsible for my work over the past...
Apprentice films Trump hiring and firing each finalist in case NBC opts to not air live finale
The awkward and anti-climactic finale for The Apprentice last night may have been that way for a reason: The show filmed Trump hiring both Brandy...