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reality TV reviews, news, and analysis since 2000

Survivor: The Australian Outback runner-up Colby Donaldson hosted History Channel’s Top Shot, a shooting competition that aired five seasons from 2010 to 2013, and asked contestants to demonstrate a wide range of skills in various challenges.

History Channel’s Mountain Men: Ultimate Marksman tries to create a link to History’s Mountain Men franchise, but to me it just seems like a version of its competition Top Shot, which was also hosted by Colby Donaldson and was terrific reality TV.

Read More about Top Shot is back! Sort of: Colby Donaldson is hosting this new competition

Two competition series have evolved the very, very standard, formulaic, talent-driven competition format in interesting ways: History’s Top Shot has become 100 percent about talent, while Discovery’s The Big Brain Theory has kept its eliminated contestants around to continue to participate and compete for a wild card spot. Both shows are produced by Pilgrim Studios, …

Read More about Top Shot, Big Brain Theory both take reality TV competitions to fascinating new places

Top Shot ends its third season tonight, and I talked to both host Colby Donaldson, the Survivor alum, and the show’s executive producer about the History Channel series. It is spawning a a spin-off, and also faces an unusual challenge, balancing competition and the real-life drama that turns off some viewers. I first talked to …

Read More about Colby Donaldson talks Top Shot spin-off, Jake, and the show’s surprising challenge

Last night’s Top Shot featured some Survivor-style drama, another example of the show transcending its basic subject matter (a competition between expert marksmen) and becoming more about human drama, which probably drives marksmen crazy but makes it have much broader appeal. The drama centered around this season’s drama queen, Jake Zweig, a 39-year-old college football …

Read More about Jake Zweig explains his erratic behavior on Top Shot: “I am on the show for exposure”

Last summer brought the debut of two new surprising competition series: Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race and History’s Top Shot. Both returned this summer, although Top Shot is now in its third season. Both were throwbacks to earlier, simpler competition series yet were very compelling. Watching food trucks race across the country and stop …

Read More about Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race screwed up its second season, while Top Shot keeps getting better