Both December and this year are waning, and that makes this a time of reflection. For me, part of that means thinking about the best reality shows of 2014, the ones that stuck out in my mind as truly special, must-watch television. The year brought a lot of unexpected pleasures and even a few creatively successful attempts at new types of… continue reading
Archives for 2014
Are bad Ink Master tattoos fixed? Plus: post-commercial repeats and cancellation predictions
It’s time for another edition of Ask Andy, where I take your reality TV questions and answer them in this creatively titled column. In today’s edition, one of the most annoying thing that happens on television, plus whether or not Ink Master fixes bad tattoos and predictions about future cancellations. Have a question? Send it to me! Do… continue reading
The Comeback’s second season: no reality TV, but far more reality
The Comeback‘s frequently sad, even melancholy second season concluded last night, and while Valerie Cherish was followed by Jane and a documentary film crew throughout, this season was most assuredly not about documentaries in the way reality television provided the underlying story for season one. No, it was about much more, the brutality of Hollywood and… continue reading
Amazing Race drops pre-existing relationships for blind date twist
The next season of The Amazing Race will have only teams of dating couples, but it will do much more than that: it’ll drop the conceit that made the show special since its first season by including teams of people who’ve never met. Even after the race was finished, only a few teams had been identified, with some exceptions,… continue reading
The Great Christmas Light Fight rules
How does The Great Christmas Light Fight work? When is it filmed? Are families given a budget? Answers to those questions and more.
Top Chef’s literary challenge was the site of “threatening,” “harassing” protests
Top Chef Boston‘s literary elimination challenge on last week’s episode was filmed in June at Steel and Rye, a restaurant in Milton, Mass., where Teamsters protested the show’s use of non-union crews in a way that was “threatening, heckling and harassing,” the local police chief told Deadline. He also said that 14 crew member cars had their tires slashed. In… continue reading
A collision of two worlds in Diane von Furstenberg’s fascinating House of DVF
Diane von Furstenberg doesn’t so much star in E!’s House of DVF as wonder what she is doing on an E! series with a bunch of typical E! cast members behaving in typical E! ways. Nearly every episode, Diane–or DVF, as the cool New Yorkers call her–expresses her bewilderment that she is using an E! reality show to attempt to… continue reading
Colton receives a 2011 Survivor letter from Caleb
Someone who worked in Survivor casting sent Colton Cumbie a letter from his first season on the show: it was a note from his fiance, Caleb Bankston, who died this summer. Caleb wrote to Colton in 2011, during production of Survivor One World, two years before Caleb and Colton would be on Survivor Blood vs…. continue reading
Top Chef’s literary sausage party
As one of the two remaining female chefs observed, Top Chef Boston has turned into somewhat of a sausage party, so to celebrate, the producers had the chefs literally make sausage. Then the producers had them turn literature into food. It was a fun episode. Size matters New England Patriots’ tight end (heh) Rob Gronkowski was the guest judge… continue reading
An exceptional end for Survivor San Juan Del Sur
Natalie! An Amazing Race Twinnie nearly single-handedly rescued Survivor San Juan Del Sur, creating a wonderfully symmetrical arc by winning after her sister was voted out first. For that reason and so many more, Natalie Anderson is a satisfying winner who, incredibly, got there via the path of most resistance, creating a thrilling finale for a so-so season. She easily convinced the… continue reading
Highlights from the long-awaited The Profit update
The Profit concluded its third season with an update episode, which was long-awaited because the episodes often feel like they end without true resolution. This isn’t a show where someone goes in, yells, repaints, and leaves; these are real businesses with ongoing investments, so that makes sense, but it doesn’t make for clean narrative arcs on… continue reading
Survivor Worlds Apart: three tribes, divided by background
The 30th season of CBS’ Survivor will be called Survivor Worlds Apart, and feature three tribes that separate the contestants based on their backgrounds. Several of those who will play the game have been identified online. As usual, CBS will tease next season at the end of Wednesday night’s finale of Survivor San Juan Del Sur; both were filmed back to… continue reading
I watched most of Fake Off and still have no idea what a “fake” is
I did not watch all eight episodes of Fake Off, but I watched most of them, and I still have no idea what a “fake” is. But I’m pretty sure the judges and competitors had no idea, either. A lot of these performances would have been terrific on America’s Got Talent, whose judges know how to give feedback… continue reading
Top Chef: shocking elimination! sudden death! judges shopping!
I keep forgetting to watch Top Chef Boston, but when I do, am really enjoying this season. Wednesday’s episode included a sudden-death elimination, an annoying twist, and a fun challenge that had the chefs cook for fans using only ingredients the judges shopped for at Whole Foods. Highlights from the insanity. The best exit interview in the… continue reading
Survivor alliance’s amazing final-three plan
Survivor San Juan Del Sur‘s alliance of five fell apart when Jon was blindsided, but at one point they had an incredible plan for the final three that involved two of the five sacrificing themselves. Jon, Jaclyn, Missy, Baylor, and Natalie decided on this scenario: Jon, Missy, and Natalie were to be the final three, with Jaclyn and Baylor… continue reading