The star of National Geographic’s reality series Snake Salvation, Jamie Coots, was killed Saturday night after being bitten by a snake and refusing medical treatment. Cody Winn, another preacher, told WBIR that fellow Snake Salvation star Andrew Hamblin “said he looked at him and said ‘sweet Jesus’ and it was over. He didn’t die right… continue reading
Archives for February 2014
The real surprise is not that American Idol finally has an openly gay contestant
One of American Idol‘s top 15 women, Emkay Nobilette, is openly gay, a first for the series. Of course, the show has introduced the world to now-out finalists such as Adam Lambert and Congressional candidate Clay Aiken, but none have been out during the competition, and certainly not at this stage. During last night’s episode,… continue reading
Everything you wanted to know about Opposite Worlds
The latest real-time, Big Brother-ish series to be attempted by a TV network is Syfy’s Opposite Worlds, which is based on Chile’s Mundos Opuestos. Coincidentally, the last time the Olympics were airing was the last time another TV network attempted the same thing: ABC’s Glass House. I talked to Opposite Worlds executive producer JD Roth… continue reading
Big Brother casting advice surprisingly does not include “don’t be a stupid bigot”
Big Brother 16 is accepting applications, and its casting director, Robyn Kass, recently produced a video in which she and several former cast members give advice by illustrating bad audition video submissions. Open calls videos are being accepted online as part of an application that asks for “highest degree of education,” for which one of… continue reading
Esquire Network president’s defense of Friday Night Tykes
With most shows take a break instead of competing against the Olympics, Esquire’s Friday Night Tykes is breaking until Feb. 25, but will marathon its first five episodes tonight starting at 5; they’re also online. The show continues to have real-world impact: Last week, two of the coaches featured on the show, Junior Broncos’ Charles… continue reading
Network execs, producers admit reality TV has a “creative crisis”
Recently, several network executives and reality TV producers admitted that there’s a creative crisis in the genre now. Yes! If only they knew someone who could do something about it. During a panel moderated by NHNZ’s Phil Fairclough at the RealScreen Summit, “the panelists to call upon assembled producers and television executives to take more… continue reading
Bachelor Clare: no sex with Juan Pablo; Top Chef cruises; Duck Dynasty NASCAR race
After being shamed on national TV by Juan Pablo for the fun times she had with him, Clare talked to reporters Thursday and insisted the two didn’t have sex: “I don’t think it was made clear by anybody that that’s not what happened … that wasn’t my intention going into it [and] everyone in the… continue reading
X Factor’s cancellation buried in hilarious malarkey
The X Factor has been cancelled by Fox, though the network’s hilarious press release spun the news by saying the show “has concluded its domestic run” and attributed it to Simon Cowell’s decision to return to the UK version to judge. In reality, this is just the inevitable cancellation of a failed show that has… continue reading
Trainers’, producers’, winner’s damning reactions to Biggest Loser’s weight loss
After her record-setting weight loss was revealed Tuesday night, Biggest Loser winner Rachel Fredrickson talked to reporters, and the show’s three trainers all weighed in. Not one of them defended her weight loss as healthy. Her trainer, Dolvett Quince, wrote on Facebook, “Last night’s Biggest Loser Finale has sparked a huge reaction and I do… continue reading
DWTS hires Idol’s former music director, and will still have live musicians, singers
After firing band director Harold Wheeler and the live band earlier this week, Dancing with the Stars announced it has hired American Idol‘s former music director, Ray Chew, who will lead a group of “live musicians and singers.” So it did not actually drop a live band, which I praised it for doing earlier this… continue reading
The best, most intense reality TV elimination challenge so far this year
The Nerd Off challenge on last night’s King of the Nerds was insane: intense, hilarious, and full of actual consequence–a battle between good and evil that worked on every level a reality TV competition needs to work. In this case, evil is Zack, this season’s villain. He’s prone to frustrated, angry outbursts during which he… continue reading
Animal Planet: Call of the Wildman did not kill, drug animals
After Mother Jones reported late last month that Animal Planet’s staged reality show Call of the Wildman resulted in “Drugs, Death, Neglect” for some of the animals. While the article included a statement from the network and an interview with a representative from the production company, I was surprised by the comments Animal Planet’s president… continue reading
Someone please explain how Top Chef’s winner won
The final part of Top Chef New Orleans‘ Hawaii finale opened with the judges deliberating and deadlocked, and then flashing back to show us what led to that point. It was surprising and smart editing and made for an episode that was probably the strongest of this weak season, even though its conclusion was maddening… continue reading
Clay Aiken is officially running for Congress
American Idol 2 runner-up Clay Aiken is officially running for Congress, he announced today, following reports that he was exploring a bid. His web site, Clay for North Carolina, says, “I’m running for Congress for the same reason I chose to become a special education teacher years ago — to help people in need and… continue reading
Rachel’s disturbing weight loss is Biggest Loser’s latest frightening reveal
The Biggest Loser‘s latest winner is Rachel Frederickson, who lost a total of 155 pounds and a record 60 percent of her body weight, showing up at the finale weighing just 105 pounds and looking shockingly thin. Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels’ faces said it all, and Jillian’s mouth said even more: “Oh my god.”… continue reading