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… 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… 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… 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… 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… 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… 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… 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,… 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… 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… 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,… 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… 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… 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… 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… continue reading