In his exit interviews this week, Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance cast member Terry Deitz gave lots of details about what happened after he exited the game because of his son Danny’s health. From host and executive producer Jeff Probst breaking the news in the middle of the night—20 minutes after the show’s production office first got the call—to… continue reading
Archives for October 2015
Yes, this MasterChef Junior + Hell’s Kitchen mashup is brilliant
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about MasterChef Junior, besides the talent of its young contestants, is the warmth and encouragement that comes from Gordon Ramsay. That is surprising because it was a total shift from the persona he’d developed over years on Fox. On the repetitive Hell’s Kitchen and the now-cancelled Kitchen Nightmares, he’s a very different kind of chef… continue reading
A real-life survival story bookends a chaotic Survivor
Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance opened and closed with a real-life survival story, one that involved Terry Deitz’s 16-year-old son Danny. Terry left the game after Jeff Probst woke him in the middle of the night with the dire news. Can you imagine getting on that boat in the dark? Knowing that there’s at least 24 hours of flying and… continue reading
What happened to Terry Deitz’s son Danny
Survivor Cambodia opened its sixth episode with Jeff Probst visiting the Ta Keo tribe’s camp in the middle of the night, where he woke up Terry Deitz. “I just got a phone call from your wife, and your son, Danny, he’s in the hospital,” Probst said. “Both your wife and the dctor think that it’s serious… continue reading
New cast member Shari Ventura on how Ghost Hunters works
Ghost Hunters will introduce a new team member next week: Shari Ventura, who joins the show in its 10th season as a guest investigator for three episodes that were all filmed late in 2014. Shari has known the Syfy series’ star, Jason Hawes, “for many years,” she told me. When Jason asked her to join the TAPS team for the show,… continue reading
How a strong finale and new challenges refreshed Face Off
Syfy’s Face Off has long been a strong competition series that for me was stuck in a rut—a decent rut, yes, but a rut nevertheless. So, I’ve been wishing for a while that the show would shake things up. While there was not some kind of massive shift this season, producers made very smart changes… continue reading
What Fear: Buried Alive really taught us
The scariest thing about Fear: Buried Alive may have been how difficult it is to produce compelling live television. Thanks to the unpredictability of real people, however, the special turned out to be a lot better—and less sensational—than I thought it would be. The first hour of the two-hour special was quite flat. Even putting people in coffins and… continue reading
Monica suggests Survivor producers played a role in her exit
Monica Padilla, admitted “bitter” about her Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance experience, has suggested producers played a role in her exit, saving Kelly Wiglesworth and Spencer Bledsoe from being voted out. First: I have heard grumblings in the Survivor cast community about producer interference this season, which may, of course, be just a manifestation of bitterness. Monday morning, I asked CBS about Monica’s claims—which… continue reading
Three of Shark Tank’s sharks are dyslexic
Shark Tank stars Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O’Leary all have dyslexia, and say it has helped them be better entrepreneurs. This is the first time I’ve heard this, though a search revealed that the sharks have discussed this before and it isn’t exactly a secret. For example, last year, Barbara talked to Entrepreneur, which reported that she “only… continue reading
Live this week: Brain surgery! Exorcism! Vivisepulture!
As Halloween approaches this week, three networks are doing live stunts with varying degrees of grossness, horror, and actual value. They start tonight, with live brain surgery, and end Halloween eve, with an alleged exorcism of a house. The three specials come from three networks known and/or once known for their nonfiction programing—National Geographic Channel, A&E, and… continue reading
An ambush backfires on Restaurant Impossible
Restaurant Impossible began its 12th season on Food Network with an episode that tried to create drama by ambushing a restaurant owner who had no idea the show was coming. Instead, it ended up exposing exactly what’s wrong with this format, and how it has succumbed to pointless theatrics at the expense of actually helping. The… continue reading
No, TBS isn’t airing a Cheeseheads reality show about Packers fans
Thursday, two sports news web sites ran stories announcing a new TBS reality series following fans of the Green Bay Packers called, of course, Cheeseheads. However, the announcement is from the spring of 2013, when the show was only in development. Both Fox Sports and CBS’ Sports 247Sports ran—and later deleted—stories about the announcement as if it was new and… continue reading
Simon Cowell returns to the U.S. to ruin America’s Got Talent
Simon Cowell is returning to the U.S. to judge America’s Got Talent, the summer NBC show he executive produces. NBC’s confirmation of the long- called him “a music executive, TV producer and star of some of the highest-rated television shows in the world” whose “discerning eye for talent and candid remarks have transformed popular culture and made him… continue reading
An obvious blindside of a Survivor who suddenly reappeared
The facial expression Monica delivered at the end of Survivor Cambodia‘s Tribal Council was quite spectacular, and she clearly was blindsided by her alliance. From the first day 12 scene, however, to Jeff Probst’s leading questions at Tribal Council, her exit was anything but a surprise, leading to a kind of oh-okay-fine episode. If someone hasn’t been… continue reading
Details about ABC’s The Great Holiday Baking Show
ABC’s The Great Holiday Baking Show, judged by The Great British Bake-Off‘s Mary Berry, now has a debut date (Nov. 30), hosting team (Nia Vardalos and Ian Gomez), and second judge (Johnny Iuzzini). A week after I first reported that Mary Berry would judge an ABC holiday baking competition, ABC released details about the show, which debuts Nov. 30, airing… continue reading
Mythbusters cancelled, will air one more season
Next season will be the last for Mythbusters, which has been cancelled one year after the Discovery Channel series fired its build team and relaunched with a new format and aesthetic. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have known since the beginning of this year that the next season would be the last, and thus are planning a finale for the… continue reading
Hellevator is a hell of a lot of haunted house fun
When GSN released a trailer for its promising reality competition Hellevator, my response was basically: “Hell no.” As much potential as horror-themed reality TV still has, I have no interest in torture porn, and the desperate cries of a contestant did not sound like entertainment. Yet if the first episode, which debuts tonight at 8 p.m.,… continue reading
Bravo moving Top Chef after its premiere; Emeril Lagasse is back
For 12 seasons, Top Chef has aired on Wednesday nights, but the show is moving to Thursdays for its 13th season starting in December. After it premieres Wednesday, Dec. 2, it will move to Thursdays at 10, starting Dec. 3. Top Chef California—its location will move between six cities in the state—will also bring back Emeril Lagasse as a… continue reading
Why aren’t there old people versions of Survivor and Big Brother?
Why do they not have a senior version {40+} of Big Brother or Survivor? —Debbie First, thanks for the question, Debbie, and also thanks for terrifying me: Identifying seniors as anyone over 40 just gave me panic that I’ve wasted away my youth and now just have two years left until I’m propped up in the corner… continue reading
The racist Project Greenlight episode title, explained
Project Greenlight’s sixth episode, which aired last night, was titled “Hot Ghetto Mess.” That was not a phrase spoken by any character in the episode, which once again largely focused on producer Effie Brown’s ongoing attempts to manage production of a film directed by a petulant, demanding child who constantly goes behind her back to white men to get… continue reading