reality blurred + archives + February 20 to February 26, 2011

week of February 20, 2011

Watson, the Jeopardy-playing computer, appears on Survivor, Apprentice
After the IBM computer Watson's victory on Jeopardy last week, Slate produced this satirical video that suggests Watson has had considerably more experience on game...
Amazing Race finally comes to HD along with teams we've already seen clearly enough
The Amazing Race's 18th season debuts tonight at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and while its lame all-star twist doesn't have me excited at all,...

Why Amazing Race's Kynt changed his name to Kent
When The Amazing Race 18's returning teams were officially announced, the press release identified the male half of the team known as Kent Cothron and...
Most of American Idol's top 24 (not 20) identified
American Idol arrived at its top 24 last week, in an episode that will be shown Thursday, although Fox's official listing says the group will...
Man's heart attack saves Amazing Race from its flurry of momentum-destroying twists
The Amazing Race returned last night, and besides bringing back previous teams, the race introduced some new twists. And by new twists, I mean they...
Nigel Lythgoe confirms Idol will have online voting
American Idol's executive producer has confirmed that viewers will be able to vote via the Internet this season. In December, a Twitter account accidentally revealed...

Why does American Idol keep undoing changes? (Beatles replaced by more "green mile" drama)
A lot of American Idol 10's announced changes have actually not happened, leaving the show with new judges but pretty much the exact same otherwise....

Why a reality show with no network, producer, format, and/or footage is not a reality show
About 11 years in to the modern era of reality TV, there are a lot of reality shows on the air. There are also many,...
Christine O'Donnell invited to Dancing with the Stars; other celebs deny casting reports
Former Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said that she was offered Dancing with the Stars 12 on Monday, just one week before the cast will be...
Cee-Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine may become judges for NBC's The Voice
NBC's Mark Burnett-produced singing competition The Voice is talking to two musicians, Cee-Lo Green and Maroon 5's Adam Levine, about judging the summer series, and...

Peggi Blu, the vocal coach from hell, needs to replace (or at least join) mentor Jimmy Iovine
American Idol raced through its Las Vegas episode, compressing Beatles performances sometimes into mere clips, so it could get to three hours of elimination faster....
Blindsides, bathing suits, luxury items, Russell's bad game play, and Fabio's pee pool all return to Survivor
The act of "blindsiding" someone has now become so commonplace on Survivor that it's expected, and thus almost doesn't work, because it's not blind if...
Why Canadians (and non-Americans) can't apply for Survivor
Although Canadians watch CBS' version of Survivor, they cannot apply for the show. The cast application actually says, "You must be a United States citizen...
American Idol's online voting will be via Facebook only
Fox officially announced American Idol's new online voting today, and there's a catch: Only people with Facebook accounts can vote, and votes will be limited...

American Idol has its top 24, is selling Chris Medina's single for charity
American Idol 10 has its top 24, which was correctly spoiled by Joe's Place, although earlier reports by the blog had some innacurate information; 15-year-old...
Arnold Shapiro defends Beyond Scared Straight's programs against criticism
A&E's Scared Straight concludes its first season next Thursday, having debuted to record ratings in mid-January. Following the show's debut, there was controversy: two of...