CBS reality competition winners Richard Hatch and Rachel Reilly are co-hosting a new “marine adventure” reality series that they’re pitching to networks. And yes, it is just as bad as that sounds, at least if we judge based on its “sizzle reel,” in which the Survivor and Big Brother winners attempt to act. A press… continue reading
Archives for June 2012
Reality check: Big Brother houseguest drugged, Dancing pros dating, Idols parody Beauty and the Beast
American Idol 9 semi-finalist Todrick Hall’s now-viral video Beauty and the Beat stars finalist Katie Stevens and season four’s Vonzell Solomon, and is exceptionally well-produced as it parodies the opening song from the animated Disney film. That said, I can’t decide if it’s hilarious parody and satire or outrageously offensive or both. The Stranger’s list… continue reading
Elle Macpherson out as host of Fashion Star; H&M may be gone, too
NBC’s Fashion Star has been renewed for a second season, but Elle Macpherson will not return as its host, and one of the show’s sponsors/judges may not, either. “The show is in great hands, and although I will not be hosting this season, I will still be very involved [and] will be reviewing the format… continue reading
Oh Sit!, The CW’s musical chairs show, actually looks pretty awesome
The CW’s upcoming musical chairs game show/reality competition with the hilariously ridiculous name Oh Sit! actually looks good–really–perhaps because it seems like a new version of Wipeout. The show’s executive producer, Phil Gurin, told the New York Post “this is not a kid’s game” and said “it’s musical chairs on steroids.” Here’s how he described… continue reading
South Beach Tow stages scenes, truTV admits after faked scene captured on video
That some truTV shows are not reality TV but scripted nonsense is no surprise to anyone who has watched them or has heard what the network’s executives think about the reality of their programs. But the network has actually admitted that the Jennifer Lopez-produced show South Beach Tow stages scenes–after the production of one of… continue reading
The Amazing Race: now with 10 more minutes of delay
The football game delays that delay CBS’ Sunday evening prime-time shows and cause fans of The Amazing Race to freak out are only going to get worse. That’s because many games will start 10 minutes later. Doubleheader games–40 in all–will start at 4:25 instead of 4:15. (Non-doubleheader games start at 4:05.) That’s to “reduce instances… continue reading
On the Fly: Southwest employees, passengers are just as ridiculous as they were on Airline
TLC’s new series On the Fly, which follows Southwest Airlines passengers and crew in several airports, is essentially the same series as Airline, which aired on A&E for three seasons in 2004 and 2005. That’s great, because both are engaging series that capture what happens every day: shenanigans at airports involving passengers and employees who… continue reading
Reality check: Real World cast updates, Teen Mom’s mom lies about her teen
The Real World‘s 27th season debuts tonight, and a newspaper checks in on more than 40 of the show’s previous cast members, including the ones who have disappeared from the public eye/Challenges. [New York Daily News] Updated and corrected: Ben Bailey, host of Discovery’s Cash Cab, won a daytime Emmy for best game show host… continue reading
So You Think You Can Dance turns 200; ratings are up for network TV’s best talent competition
Fox’s best talent competition, So You Think You Can Dance, will air its 200th episode tonight, when the top 20 contestants will be revealed at the end of the Las Vegas week semi-finals. After 199 episodes and nine seasons, SYTYCD is still exceptionally strong. Because of lower ratings, the show was cut down from two… continue reading
Reality check: a twist the US Amazing Race should use, serve Andy Cohen alcohol
Amazing Race Australia borrowed an interesting twist from the Israeli version: teams vote for which team will do the U-turn between legs, meaning it’s both a majority decision and one that may or may not affect the race. [Bother’s Bar] Lamar Odom terrible season with the Dallas Mavericks this past season was not caused by… continue reading
Top Chef appears to be in Seattle for season 10
Seattle appears to be the location of Top Chef‘s 10th season, as location scouts–and host Padma Lakshmi–have been spotted around the city. This isn’t a surprise: In February, the city said the show was considering it, but only if Seattle paid $200,000 to $300,000. Last season, San Antonio paid $200,000 to be featured in several… continue reading
Glass House picks up the pieces and cleans up its smudges
The first episode of ABC’s The Glass House was such a mess of a letdown that I disengaged from the show all week, and didn’t watch the live feeds (no loss there). But the hope I had for the format came to life in the second episode, which was a remarkable improvement over the first…. continue reading
Two people freak out, quit Project Runway
Project Runway started filming its 10th season a week ago last Friday, and a report says two designers quit the show this Friday, apparently unable to handle the psychological pressure. They freaked out so much that Michael Kors had to “calm them down” with “a pep talk.” That’s according to Page Six, which cites a… continue reading
Reality check: An actor’s reality TV past, Jersey Shore spin-offs’ declining popularity
Welcome to a new and entirely unoriginal–in name and format–feature, in which I’ll run down the stories that don’t fit anywhere else and/or don’t inspire a full-length post and/or rant. Link suggestions? Please send them! Actor Emma Stone’s first gig was winning the 2004 VH1 reality series The New Partridge Family; she was Laurie Partridge… continue reading
Big Baboon House: another former Big Brother producer’s knock-off debuts tonight
Tonight, yet another Big Brother knock-off comes to television, but this series bests the CBS show because it has a cast with far more intelligence, social skills, and refined behavior than Robyn Kass and her team have ever found: baboons. Yes, Nat Geo Wild’s Big Baboon House–all three hours of which air tonight starting at… continue reading
Why it matters if reality TV is real or not
Of all the fallout after last week’s revelation that House Hunters is often faked, I was most bothered by two reactions that I have heard over and over and over again during the two decades–20 years!–since the dawn of reality television in the form of The Real World. Those responses: 1) All reality TV is… continue reading
Reality TV meanness is not bullying
My friend Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times wrote a commentary for NPR about reality TV rewarding bullying. As he writes in an accompanying blog post, “I realized the irony of seeing the actors on Glee decry bullying in one evening on Fox, only to see the network air a show starring one of… continue reading
PBS’ POV documentary series turns 25: watch its films online
Tonight, PBS’ documentary series POV debuts its 25th season with the debut of a documentary called My Reincarnation about a father and his son, who rejects the idea that he’s a reincarnation of a Buddhist master. A preview of this season is below; it includes films about an activist New Orleans resident post-Katrina (I’m Caroline… continue reading
MTV rebroadcasting “retro” reality series Laguna Beach, The Hills
Only on MTV is something that aired eight years ago considered “retro,” but that’s exactly what it’s calling its rebroadcast of two groundbreaking reality series: Laguna Beach and The Hills. Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County debuted in 2004 as a reality version of Fox’s The O.C., and established an entirely new, cinematic visual style… continue reading
Glee Project’s unconvincing anti-bullying video
The Glee Project‘s music video challenges are one of its best components; watching them be constructed is interesting, and on their own, they sometimes rise to a level that transcends the original song. They can even be truly artistic. For Tuesday’s “Vulnerability” episode, the cast discussed being bullied–or bullying others–and then acted out various bullying… continue reading