reality blurred + archives + May 23 to May 29, 2010

week of May 23, 2010

New York City housewives get too crazy real as New Jersey housewives bore
While conflict has always been a part of reality TV and certainly part of the attraction, there's a tipping point for me when it becomes...
Lost ends tonight, six years after being inspired in part by reality TV
At the same time that The Celebrity Apprentice is concluding its third season, ABC's drama Lost will be concluding its sixth and final season. It...
Bruce Beresford-Redman back in US; CW picks up reality show he once pitched
Pimp My Ride co-creator and former Survivor producer Bruce Beresford-Redman, whose wife was killed in Mexico early last month, is back in the US after...

Bret Michaels named Celebrity Apprentice but both Bret and Holly's charities get $250K
Bret Michaels became the third Celebrity Apprentice, but Donald Trump came as close as he's ever come to declaring two winners by giving both Bret...
Lost's surprise ending: Jeff Probst and his snuffer
After the profoundly moving and/or frustrating and/or stupid and/or predictable ending to Lost, its showrunners and cast members paid homage to the reality show that...
Paula Abdul joins CBS' Got to Dance and gets six different roles
Paula Abdul will return to TV on CBS' Got to Dance competition series, on which she will have multiple titles and jobs. Her participation in...

Celebrity Apprentice finale ratings up, even against Lost's finale
Ratings for The Celebrity Apprentice 3's two-hour finale on Sunday were up despite competition from the series finale of Lost, making it the second highest-rated...
Dancing with the Stars 10 concludes as only its three ringers remain
Apparently, Dancing with the Stars 10 kept broadcasting new episodes after Kate Gosselin was voted out, and now just three ringers are left competing for...
Lo Bosworth stars in a ridiculous anti-cellulite, "increase bikini confidence" NIVEA ad
The Hills cast member Lo Bosworth has signed on to shill for NIVEA, and from that partnership has come one of the oddest messages in...
Simon Cowell judges for the final time on Idol tonight as a shadow of his former self
Tonight's final episode of American Idol 9 isn't really a big deal, but it will represent Simon Cowell's final opportunity to judge contestants' performances before...
Detroit mayor bans reality TV crews after girl's death
Detroit's mayor has banned reality TV crews from following its police after a crew filmed a raid that killed a child. Mayor Dave Bing's spokesperson...
CBS moves one of Big Brother's three weekly episodes to Wednesdays
For its 12th season, Big Brother will still air three nights a week, but it will move to Wednesdays at 8, the same timeslot Survivor...

Nicole Scherzinger wins Dancing with the Stars, giving Derek Hough his second win
Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough won Dancing with the Stars 10 after getting a perfect score on their final dance, giving Derek his second win...
Simon Cowell's final Idol critique was "outstanding," and he wasn't talking about Lee
American Idol 9 ended its final performance episode with one incredible performance. Alas, it was by Pop Idol winner Will Young, who wasn't eligible to...
Must-see video: Survivor's Dragons' video; Apprentice celebrities' bus-throwing
Two must-watch videos that came out of two recently concluded reality series: First, Videogum compiled the appearances of a phrase that is all too common...
Biggest-ever Biggest Loser contestant Michael Ventrella wins after losing record 264 pounds
Michael Ventrella won The Biggest Loser 9 and $250,000 last night after losing 264 pounds, or 50.19 percent of his body weight. He started at...
American Idol 9 finale live blog: trying to make this season end as fast as possible
In honor of the end of American Idol 9 (yes!), join me tonight for another sure-to-be-thrilling live blog at 8 p.m. ET. (If you're on...

Lee asks, "What would you do if I sang out of tune?" Answer: Let you win American Idol
During the American Idol 9 finale, Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze performed a duet of "A Little Help From My Friends" along with Joe Cocker,...
Adam Lambert wasn't asked to appear on finale; David Cook was at a charity event
Two notable American Idol alumni absences during last night's finale were easily explained, but that didn't stop rumors and fake news stories. David Cook was...
Jackie Warner blames editing: "I would never do a docu-drama about my life ever again"
Jackie Warner is about to return to Bravo as a star of a reality series, Thintervention, but it is not one about her life, because...
American Idol 9 finale's ratings lowest since season one
Simon Cowell's final episode of American Idol and the finale of season nine was the lowest-rated finale since the show's first season, which aired in...

Lee and Crystal both sign record deals; Lee leads on iTunes; Crystal splits with boyfriend
Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox have both signed record deals less than a day after the conclusion of American Idol 9. Billboard reported that "DeWyze...
Year-end TV ratings: nine of the top 20 shows are reality TV
The 2009-2010 television season is over, and the final ratings show that reality shows both lead the pack and bring up the rear end. Among...
Gary Coleman dies; guest starred on an episode of The Surreal Life 2
Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman, who appeared in an episode of The Surreal Life 2 in 2004, has died at 42. He was in a...
Behind the scenes of Survivor's Dragons video, and its link to Ben "Coach" Wade's evolution
The Dragons music video is perhaps the best thing to come out of Survivor Heroes vs. Villains' pretty Ponderosa series, and while its technical look...