A Shot at Love for Domenico

We all have to admit that as much as we hate the concept of A Shot at Love and as stupid as we think it is, really, deep down inside, it has a place in all of our hearts'. Aside from that, we all loved that big "teddy bear," Domenico. (If you're not familiar with "Little Italy," I suggest you brush up on your A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila ) He's adorable, even though he may play it up a little too much for the cameras. Not only is MTV bringing back A Shot at Love for another season (without Tila of course), they may in fact be pulling a Vh1 and giving Domenico his own dating show. According to The Big Spoon website, here’s the casting notice sent out by MTV:

[GORGEOUS FEMALES] MTV is now seeking gorgeous females at least 21
years old who have the looks, outrageous personality and heart to win the love
of MTV’s very own Italian stallion Domeico Nessi! Dominico wants his shot at
love, and the search is on for his very own American sweetheart, a girl he can
bring home to Mama!

We are casting the best America has to offer, so we’re looking for
all types, Southern Belles, Big City Socialites, West Coast Surfer Girls, Sexy
Farmers’ Daughters, and Beauty Queens so if you’re single, look hot in a bikini,
and can hold your wine get ready for the Italian romantic adventure of a
lifetime apply electronically now!

Big Brother Returns

CBS has confirmed the debut date of Big Brother's first-ever non-summer edition. The ninth season will kick off on Februray 12, according to the CBS press release. The show will air Tuesdays at 9, Wednesdays at 8, and Sundays at 8, a slightly different schedule than the summer edition.

Producers are currently holding open casting calls for the new season.

Kid Nation amounts to nothing

Kid Nation didn't pan out as envisioned by the producers. According to the "Los Angeles Times," "The children of Bonanza City never came close to building a new town; the grown-ups who publicly stated they were investigating the production for possibly skirting child welfare and labor laws never got a probe off the ground; and CBS did not get the big hit it was hoping for." Since it premiered September 19, "critics have noted that Kid Nation doesn't live up to its hype because the children never built their own society. Instead, they followed instructions and suggestions by producers -- in the form of a mysterious journal -- at every turn." The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office began investigating CBS’ Kid Nation in late August, but after looking into the permit process and everything else, "officials now say they have dropped the matter." CBS and creator Tom Forman, who owns Good TV, have said all along that they did not break any laws during the production, which took place in April and May. This week, CBS issued the following statement: "Throughout the preseason controversy, we said the true story of 'Kid Nation' would be told through the episodes on the air and the voices of the 40 kids who participated. We remain confident that 'Kid Nation' was produced in a legal and ethical manner, and we stand behind the quality of what is on the screen." A second season for Kid Nation is questionable, although there has been casting and other preproduction activity. The show would be ready in the event of another pick-up.

The season finale is scheduled to air Dec. 12.

Assignment #6

I started this blog a few months ago and it's changed a lot throughout the time I was writing in it. I first started recapping a variety of shows, but as time went on I became busier and busier and it was harder for me to watch and write about so many shows. I started to write about important reality TV news stories that still had something to do with the shows, but it was no longer a recap of the shows, but just the important headlines. The only show I kept continuing to recap was America's Next Top Model. I also wrote and kept up with the writer's strike.

I really enjoyed writing in this blog and I will probably continue to write in it for the months to come, though I'll probably expand on it a little more. Looking back on it, I think I should have included more youtube videos, although it was hard to find videos on my topic. I also would have concentrated on more reality shows, rather than just concentrating on one and then writing only important news for the others. I would have liked it if more people commented on what they liked/didn't like about my blog to give me an idea of what other shows I may have been missing. The thing I enjoyed the most about writing a blog about reality TV was just having to read about a lot of the reality shows. I found it really interesting to read about all the shows, especially the behind the scenes stuff. There's a lot you can find about reality TV when you do the research.

I really enoyed reading the other reaity blogs out there. I got a lot of my ideas and inspiration from them. I also enjoyed reading quite a few of the other class blogs, including Matt's Laugh Tracker and Derek's Municipally Wasted.

I progressively started writing in my blog more and more as time went on. It can take a while to sit down and write a long post, let alone a few each week. Especially as a college student with a tough schedule, it's sometimes hard to keep up with blogging. I did manage to keep up and make quite a few posts a week though and that's mostly because I really liked writing my posts. It didn't feel like homework, in fact, I felt like it gave me a time-out on my homework, just to reflect and read about things I enjoy.

I only shared this blog with my parents and of course the people in my class. My parents really enjoyed reading it because they are huge reality fans, especially my dad. I'm pretty sure he's an even bigger fan than me!

The Hills Season Finale Spectacular

The third season finale of The Hills is scheduled to premiere on December 10, according to "People." MTV is planning a two-day long event for its popular TV series. On the big night, MTV and the cast will present Hills Finale: Live in Hollywood, which will broadcast live from L.A. hot spot Area. The actual finale will premiere at 10 p.m. ET, followed by a live after-show. Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port, and Audrina Patridge will answer questions then "make an announcement that will leave fans wanting more." The audience at the live show will include up to 40 winners of “The Hills Biggest Fan Contest,” which is accepting video submissions through Dec. 3 from fans explaining why they love the series.

The season finale celebration will begin December 9, when MTV airs a special called The Hills: Lauren Looks Back, beginning at 12 p.m. ET. This will be a “video scrapbook” of Lauren Conrad’s life from her time at Laguna Beach High to her life today. It will feature LC talking about past friendships and boyfriends.

Looks like Heidi won't be making an appearance on the after-show anytime soon.

This is one event not to be missed by The Hills fans!

Dramatic Finale for Dancing with the Stars

The premiere of Dancing with the Stars, which aired this week, left Helio Castroneves with the fifth-season title. This may have been the least interesting thing that happened that night though. We learned since that Helio Castroneves fiancee, Aliette Vazquez, has called off the couple's engagement, after six years as a couple. Elsewhere, Mark Ballas was actually rushed to the hospital after he injured his arm during the Cha Cha performance with partner/girlfriend Sabrina Bryan. At one point during the dance, you could see that he whispers something to Sabrina. We don't know if Maksim Chmerkovskiy was serious or not when he told Extra last night that he may be through with the show.
"If this is the limit of where I can get in a show, then let it be,” Maks said. “I’m satisfied and moving on."

WGA surveys reality show writers

According to a survey of 303 reality TV story writers and producers “writing jobs in reality television are characterized by long hours, almost no benefits, inconsistent meal breaks and inaccurate record-keeping,” according to the WGAw, which commissioned the survey.

Goodwin Simon Victoria Research’s study [PDF] found that “91% of reality TV writers receive no overtime pay,” but “88% of reality TV writers work more than 40 hours a week." On average reality TV writers on broadcast networks work 60 hours per week, while reality TV writers on cable networks work about 55 hours per week. Of those surveyed, "86 percent don’t get health insurance from their respective networks or production companies, and 18 percent don’t have insurance.” Overall, “the average pay range for reality writers was $2,000 to $2,500 per week. Based on an average weekly rate of $2,000, writers are losing $1,200 per week in overtime pay."

Basic facts:

• Only 3% of reality writers are given the job title of "writer." Others include story producer, story editor, segment producer, and others.
• Reality TV writers "spend an average of 18 weeks working on a particular production." On average, they work 32 weeks in reality TV anually.
• 70% of reality TV writers work on productions for cable networks, while the other 30% work for broadcast networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.)
• "Almost 70% of reality writers are under the age of 40."

Also, “reality production companies may be committing multiple violations of wage and hour law based on the pervasive employment practices” such as a lack of overtime and meal breaks,” the WGA said. The organization has been working to unionize reality show story writers.

Dancing with the Stars 5 Finale

According to "The Washington Post," Dancing with the Stars has turned ballroom dancing into "can't-miss TV." The show has become one of the most popular reality shows in the country. Dancing with the Stars 5 ends its run within the next two nights. Tonight, the three remaining couples—Melanie Brown and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough, and Marie Osmond and Jonathan Roberts—dance at 8 p.m. ET for an hour. Tuesday, the show concludes with a two-hour finale at 9.

The show may be so popular, not just because of the dancing, but because of all the drama too. The non-dancing related stuff from Marie Osmond fainting to the death of two contestants' mothers also brings viewers back week after week. Clearly it's a combination of all of the above, the dancing and the drama.

Assignment #5

I found probably one of Long Island's biggest reality fans. Here is an interview with Dennis Bartlett:

Do you like reality television?
"Yes, I do enjoy watching shows that are unscripted."

Do you have a favorite reality show?
"Yes. My favorite show that I like to watch is Big Brother."

What do you like about it?
"Besides being a reality show, it's also a social experiment. I like seeing the dynamic of people being throwm into a house together for 3 months. The producers do a good job finding conflicting and interesting personalities that make for good drama. "

Have you watched Big Brother for most of the seasons that it has appeared on television?
"Yes, I've seen all of the seasons. The first season was not that good, but the produceres changed the show around to what it is today and made it more interesting, which brings me to watch it season after season."

Are you excited that the writers' strike may lead to more reality television or do you think this will just lead to an overload of reality on TV?
"Although I really enjoy reality television, too much of it, like anything else, is going to take the joy out of it."

Have you seen any of the shows that are being advertised for the upcoming season if the strike continues?
"Well, I did hear they are making a winter version of Big Brother. I really haven't heard anything else about new reality shows."

Are there any other reality shows that you watch besides Big Brother?
"Yes. I also love Survivor, The Amazing Race, and even shows like Hogan Knows Best and The Osbournes are interesting to me. Shows like Hogan Knows Best and The Osbournes are a different type of reality show, but they are really interesting because you get a glimpse into the real lives of some celebrities that you would normally only get in a public light."

More of America's Next Top Model

Wednesday, November 14: Things get heated on ANTM!

• Heather continued to dominate the screen, but this time mostly because of her onstage freakout. Almost unable to deliver a few lines about her ensemble when it counted, she stuttered and stammered her way through it... and proceeded to beat herself up over the incident the ENTIRE EPISODE. When the girls returned home and hit the showers, Heather lost her cool. Feeling down after the negative criticism she got at the challenge, she flipped out at the other girls for getting in the shower when she called first dibs. She screamed, cursed, and demanded her shower time. The incident showed the other girls a whole new side to Heather and many of them weren't happy about it. They were all pretty steamed considering none of them really get the opportunity to shower alone either. The whole thing started and ended pretty quickly.
• In spite of her screwup, Heather avoided the bottom two (barely). Those places went to Lisa and Ambreal (okay, we saw that coming). Ambreal ran out of chances and went home.
• Before the judges deliberated this week, it was announced that whoever makes it through to next week will be joining Tyra and company on a trip to China.

Wednesday, November 21: The Girls go to China

• Down to six girls this week and everyone was off to China!
• When they got to their room, they quickly discovered that two of them would be sharing a bed and immediately designated Heather to be one of those girls. Heather took it personally and was upset that the others girls seemed to be picking on her again.
• On the ladies' first day in China, they were off to some martial arts training. The models were taught several martial arts poses and were asked to perform these poses while being hoisted into the air. The challenge brought out Bianca's intense fear of heights leaving her no choice but to drop out of the task and accept disqualification.
• The judge chose Heather as the winner of the challenge and she invited Chantal to join her on a shopping spree in Shanghai.
• The next day the girls met with Mr. Jay for a Cover Girl photo and commercial shoot. It was here that things took a turn for the worst for Heather. During the commercial, she couldn't get her lines down.
• Heather and Lisa were in the bottom two, but Lisa was sent packing.

A few updates: Bianca is still being her same old self and always picking on Heather. Bianca needs to change that NYC attitude of hers. It's not cute for America's Next Top Model. I really like Heather, but is it just me or can she really not handle all of this? I wish Heather would realize that the only reason some of the other girls are getting so vicious is because they know who their competition is. They are working on breaking Heather down so she'll crack and they won't have to deal with her. My pick still stands for winner though and that would be Saleisha. Sometimes her attitude is not so nice, especially to Heather, and I will agree with that, but I think she has some major talent. Her commerical came out amazing.

Project Runway

The latest season of Project Runway premiered on November 14. For those that need a quick recap, "People" has provided the following designer profiles on this year’s cast.

Click here to read all the Project Runway profiles.

The Bachelor Fans...

The 11th season finale of The Bachelor was the first time any bachelor contestant finally decided that the women selected by producers weren’t good enough for him. Brad Womack, this year's bachelor, rejected both Jenni Croft and DeAnna Pappas, leaving the last rose untouched. Brad rejected Jenni, watched her walk away, and then went on to say "There’s not a single thing that I’m looking for in my ideal wife that DeAnna does not possess." Once DeAnna stepped up to the podium along side him, he told her "I’m trying to tell you that I have so many feelings for you, and I want so badly to be so confident to pick you up and twirl you around and give you a diamond ring and spend my life with you, but I can’t look you in your eye and tell you that I love you. I can’t. I can’t give you any promise that I can’t keep. I refuse to do that." Then he did something no other Bachelor has ever done: rejected both women. “I have to tell you goodbye,” he said. DeAnna didn’t understand, which makes sense because he’d just said all these amazing things about her. “It just doesn’t sound right, to say that you do care about someone so much, but you’re willing to watch them walk away,” she said. During the reunion special last night Brad said, “It’s real hard for me to explain why I didn’t fall in love.”

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards aired on ABC Sunday night, in which two former American Idol stars won awards. American Idol 5 finalist Chris Daughtry and his group, Daughtry, won three awards. Their breakthrough artist award was presented by Carrie Underwood, who won it last year. Daughtry also won the favorite pop/rock album award for their self-titled debut and favorite adult contemporary artist. Meanwhile, former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood was named the favorite country female artist and received the favorite country album award for her album "Some Hearts."

Here's what's coming...

According to "USA Today," reality TV fans are in for a treat if the Writers Guild strike persists for months, as some in the industry fear. Here's what we're in store for if the strike continues:

ABC

• Duel- quiz show in which contestants win by bluffing
• Oprah's Big Give- Winfrey gives cash to needy families
• Here Come the Newlyweds- A six-episode comedic game pitting couples in marital tests.
• Wanna Bet?- Celebrities wager (for charity) on whether contestants can perform outrageous stunts.
• Also: New seasons of Wife Swap and Supernanny, expanded episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home and possibly more Funniest Videos.

CBS

• Big Brother
• Million-Dollar Password- A high-stakes version of the game-show classic, hosted by Regis Philbin.
• Do You Trust Me?- Tucker Carlson hosts a quiz show in which strangers bet on their mutual confidence in each other.
• Also: Additional cycles of Survivor and The Amazing Race, and a new season of Drew Carey game show Power of 10.

FOX

• The Moment of Truth- (Jan. 23, Wednesdays at 9 ET/PT). Game show in which contestants are strapped to a lie detector and asked highly personal questions.
• When Women Rule the World-(Mar. 3, Mondays at 8 ET/PT). Women control "a group of unsuspecting men used to calling the shots."
• Also: American Idol (Jan. 15), Hell's Kitchen (Apr. 1), Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics, Cops and America's Most Wanted.

NBC

• Celebrity Apprentice
• My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad- Families compete in stunt challenges.
• Clash of the Choirs Celebrities- establish amateur singing groups, which compete live in yet another one of these shows...
• Also: New season of 1 vs. 100, and Deal or No Deal continues.

CW

• Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants
• Also: New seasons of Pussycat Dolls, Beauty and the Geek and America's Next Top Model.

Big Brother will return unlike any other season...

According to "The New York Daily News," the writers' strike has CBS working hard for a new season of Big Brother. The network is busy casting new players for the season that may start as early as the beginning of next year if the strike continues, instead of its normal summer premiere. Big Brother 9 will not contain last summer's twist: America's Player. Executive Producer Allison Grodner told the "NY Daily News":

"We have been told by CBS to get ready for anything, so there's nothing that is
certain at this point. It is a wait-and-see. We are preparing for anything. We
really want it to stand out. We want it to be special, because we've never done
something like this before. I promise you it will be different from any other
'Big Brother' you've ever seen."

Auditions were held this week and will be held over the weekend to cast for the new season. The debut date for the show right now is uncertain, but the producers are excited for a possible midseason premiere. Longtime Big Brother host Julie Chen will also be returning to the program, regardless of whether it comes back midseason or next summer.

I'm excited for a new season of Big Brother, one of my favorite reality shows. I'm glad they're not returning with another America's Player. It allowed to producers to control the game and then make money off of text message votes. Hey CBS, thanks for not manipulating the outcome again.

On a different note...

The CW has announced the premiere of a new reality show called Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants. The series is a competition between mother-daughter teams in a beauty pageant. It's set to debut on Sunday, December 12 at 9 p.m. ET, following the finale of America's Next Top Model. Subsequent episodes of Crowned will then air at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, taking over Top Model, with the eighth and finale episode airing on January 30.

All I have to say is...please,not another one of these...

Update on Writer's Strike..

This video makes the strike a little bit clearer, for anyone who was confused:

The Hills Updates..

This week's episode of The Hills was based on- who would have guessed?- the fight between Heidi and Lauren. This time Heidi and Lauren actually had it out face to face. Heidi sort of apologized and Lauren told Heidi that she's willing to forgive her....and forget her. And there you have it.

Elsewhere, we now know that Audrina and Justin-Bobby are broken up. Audrina’s co-worker played a role in helping her see there’s a lot more to life than that belching, mumbling, dreadlocked loser Justin-Bobby.

Top Model Updates...

Here's an update of the last two weeks of America's Next Top Model:

• Ebony Morgon quit the show, claiming she was homesick and tired of the criticism she was receiving. The judging panel had already decided to eliminate Ambreal from the competition. However, when Ebony made it clear she was no longer interested in competing, Tyra dismissed her and allowed Ambreal to remain in the running. "I thought I wanted to be a model, but this is helping me realize it's not for me. It's not what I want. I just want to be happy and I'm not happy... I don't want to feel like that anymore so I had to say something," Ebony said as she was leaving.
• Sarah Hartshorne was the sixth girl to be eliminated from the show last week. She was the only ninth season plus-size model and so when she started to lose weight, she also lost her place in the competition. Tyra said both Sarah and Chantal (who were the bottom 2) are "very good models," just not "at the top of this pack." Sarah was criticized for "coasting" and has a "confusing" place in the industry because of her size. Chantal was also accused of "coasting," however she survived to compete another day as Sarah was ousted.

**I just think it's kind of ridiculous that Sarah was ousted because she was too small to be a plus-size model and too big to be a regular model. You would think that with everything that happened with Tyra Banks and her weight that she'd want to change the industry and give someone with that kind of body type a chance. Tyra, I'm disappointed.

• Enrique Inglesias guest starred on last week's episode, shooting a video with the girls.
• Heather fainted (we think) during the shoot. She just looked very very sick and was curled up in a ball in the corner, after claiming she hadn't eaten all day. Thankfully she is okay

Man vs. Wild

Man vs. Wild, which aires on the Discovery channel, returns tonight for its second season. As a result of revelations that the show misrepresented star Bear Grylls and what he actually did in the wild. USA TODAY reports that the new season includes "more behind-the-scenes footage and text explaining off-camera elements." Bear says that for this season,

“We raised the bar considerably. The aim was to go to more extremes, to more
remote places. Looking back, the mistake was not telling viewers more from the
outset. The more they see, the more they realize how full-on a lot of the stuff
is. The new shows will reassure them. Everything is strong and double-checked.
Discovery is so cautious of everything. If I so much as break wind on these
shows, it’s acknowledged now.”

Bear thinks that the whole controversy was because people wanted to know more and they wanted to know how the stuff was done behind the scenes. So, here is their chance. The new season premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

John Stewart Sums up Writer's Strike

I thought this was funny. Check it out.

Andy Dehnart, who writes a reality blog like mine , called Reality Blurred, is helping to raise money for people with leukemia and lymphoma. He joined a running group that’s raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while they train for a marathon together. He wants people to help and I think it's a very good cause. Dehart writes:

"For every dollar you donate directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I’ll
give you one entry in reality blurred’s biggest contest yet, with prizes worth
almost $600. So, a donation of $10 gets you 10 entries, and a donation of $50
gets 50 entries. The prizes are listed below, but you can win everything from a
Slingbox to items autographed by reality stars (Mike Boogie! Joey Lawrence!) to
multiple copies of the Colbert Report DVD."

The winner gets to pick four of the bulleted items on his list; second place picks three of the remaining ones; and third place gets whatever’s left. The prizes are yours to keep for whatever uses you would like.

"Enter by donating
directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society here. Use the box on the left
to enter your (tax-deductible) donation amount, and make sure you enter a
working e.mail address. After you donate via that third-party web site (I
receive no money; you’re giving directly to the organization), I’ll
automatically be alerted of your donation amount and e.mail address, and enter
you in the contest. Please donate right
now."

I thought some of you may be interested in donating or just check it out, see what a good cause it is. Maybe start your own team and donate. Until next time...

American Idol

According to The New York Post, The Hollywood round of American Idol 7 will allow to contestants to use instruments while they sing. The audition process begins this week and this is the first time in the show's history that they are allowing the contestants to do this. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told The New York Post "If [the contestants] can play an instrument this year we want to be able to see that, and we’ll introduce a couple of days of that during Hollywood week." That may or may not continue to the semi-final and final rounds of the competition in the spring. "We’ll make a decision when we see how many really talented people we have,” he said. He also said that American Idol’s tour may be combined with the tour from his other series, So You Think You Can Dance.

In my opinion, I'd rather not see the two shows combined. I'm a huge fan of So You Think You Can Dance, but I only watch the auditions portion of American Idol because I think the auditions are hysterical. I'd like it if they kept them separate.

TV & Film Strike

As of midnight last night, TV and film writers went on strike, which could lead to more reality tv. ABC News writer Sheila Marikar said:

"The contract the Writers Guild of America had with the major TV networks and
movie studios expired Nov. 1. For months, the union has been negotiating with
the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over a new contract. But
both sides are at odds over how much of a cut writers should get for online
distribution of TV shows and movies, and talks fell apart Wednesday afternoon."

In the immediate future, not much will change, besides the disappearance of late-night series such as The Daily Show. TV networks have a number of episodes already written, so scripted shows will continue to air as usual. The Los Angeles Times has a chart that depicts how many episodes of major series are written. Without scripted series, networks need something other than reruns to fill time. Therefore, we could see an increase in unscripted reality shows as early as next year, if The Writers Guild of America is still on strike. This isn't very good news though. A bunch of people who produce great entertainment are out of work for an indeterminate amount of time, which hurts everyone. In addition, the immediate demand for reality shows could lead to more crap and producers will just start shooting out nonsense. The biggest change for reality television right now is that CBS might move Big Brother 9's premiere to March.

A Reality Update....

Here's some updates on our favorite reality shows:

Ebony Morgon quit America's Next Top Model, claiming "I just did not want to be there anymore." "The most unattractive thing in the world to me is a quitter, and for that, you can go," Tyra Banks told Morgan at the conclusion of Wednesday night's Top Model episode.

This is for all the I Love New York and Nip/Tuck fans out there. New York, aka Tiffany Pollard, will reportedly guest star on Nip/Tuck on their December 4th episode. The fifth season of Nip/Tuck premiered on Tuesday and the preview they showed at the end of the episode for the season showed her making an appearance.

Amazing Race 12's "married ministers" are the shows first lesbian couple. At ages 49 and 65, they are also this seaon's oldest team.

NBC has formally announced that Donald Trump's The Apprentice will return for a seventh season. This season will be a celebrity edition.

Forty kids in one place saying the name “Michael” over and over again probably made it inevitable that someone would combine footage from CBS’ reality series Kid Nation with footage from Michael Jackson talking about his relationship with kids. The result is completely hysterical and shows how much editing can effect reality TV.

Cheers & Jeers

I'm sure you've all heard of the very popular Cheers and Jeers section of the TV Guide. For those of you who don't know, this section of the TV Guide is written by Bruce Fretts. It reviews all of the bad (jeers) and the good (cheers) of that week's TV shows. There were recently a couple of interesting jeers that I thought I should share.

• Jeers to The Hills- "for a lackluster episode." Frett thought that this week's episode dedicated too much of its time to Whitney and Lauren's "boring" job at Teen Vogue and the argument between Heidi's fiance Spencer and Launren's ex Brody. Frett ends it by saying "What good is a guilty pleasure if you don't feel bad about yourself after consuming it?"
• Jeers to NBC's Phenomenon- "They should have called it fiasco," Frett wrote. He thought the mentalists on teh show performed stunts that were just too underwhelming that the audience didn't even know when to applaud.

I didn't get a chance to watch Phenomenon yet, but I'm surprised that it's been getting bad reviews. It seemed like a very good idea for a new reality show. I guess they just couldn't pull it off. I'll have to watch it and find out for myself.

Without editors, it would all be a mess

I thought I would share something that I've read in various articles and something I realize a lot of you probably don't know. Reality TV shows start off as hours and hours of tape that don't make any sense. It's the editors job to take all this raw material, all this "mishmash" and make it into something, presumably a story line. "They make good guys and bad guys. They manipulate the audience in who's doing what to whom by the simple juxtaposition of images," TV director Mike Garris pointed out in an article on CNN.com. In this case, the editors actually become the producers. They become the storytellers and they have way more of a say in the show then on a regular sitcom. "You have producers putting ideas in the minds of would-be celebrities, then you have them attempt to act, with greater or lesser success -- and then it's left for the editors to sort it all out," Garris said. Basically, the editors' job is to make sense of it all. So, in the end reality becomes less than real and "unscripted" becomes less apparent.

Lohan Family Goes Reality

According to People Magazine, Dina Lohan, Lindsay Lohan's mom, will produce a new reality show on E! starring the Lohan family (not including Lindsay). "There are so many misconceptions about me and my family," said Dina. "I'm setting the record straight." The show, which is untitled as of now, is scheduled to shoot in and around New York City. It will star Dina and her two children- 14-year-old Ali and 11-year-old Cody. The series will focus on Ali's singing and acting career as well as her mom's role as manager. "It's about empowering women to be successful single mothers. About being in the limelight without compromising motherhood," Dina told People. "It's about what I do, how you can be successful, and be a single mom and fulfilling your kids' dreams. Working is my sole source of income." Other performers, besides Ali, will also be featured in the E! series. "It won't just be following my family around like other shows," Dina added. "It'll show me cultivating careers, going to soccer practice. I'm a big supporter of domestic violence charities, so they'll show that. Then they'll show Cody at soccer practice. Ali going to school and in the studio. It'll encompass everything. You'll see me having five business meetings in the city." Dina will serve as the show's executive producer. She said that Lindsay may make an appearance on the show, but it would only be a cameo.

If you ask me, I'd much rather see Lindsay on the show. Much more interesting. Right now, it sounds borrrrringgg, but I'll just have to watch it and find out. Until next time..

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

I feel like I haven't written much about Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and I thought this article I read was really interesting. The show will reach its 100th episode in November. For anyone who doesn't know, the show demolishes and rebuilds homes for people who have faced some kind of hardship. According to the executive producer of the show, Denise Cramsay, decisions for choosing the families for the show are based on two criteria. “I break it down to desperation and deserving. We are looking for families who need a new home and are unable to get that home for themselves, either because of financial reasons, disease or tragedy,” she told the Orlando Sentinel. “There has to be some level of give-back to the community. If I’m going to go to the community, I have to be able to say, ‘The family has done so much for you.'" She added, “More often than not, we find our families through nominations from communities, schools, churches, social workers, government agencies. It can never hurt to call attention to another’s problem and try to get them help."

Tonight's episode will feature a family that has lived without heat, water and electricity on an Indian Reservation. They will have their home rebuilt with modern "green" amenities. The show is aired on ABC at 8.

Gavin Beasley speaks out about The Hills

If there is anything more fascinating to The Hills fans than the conflicts between Heidi, Spencer, and Lauren, it's how real or fake the show is. Gavin Beasley, the model/actor who went on a date with Lauren on Monday's episode, tells Best Week Ever (another reality show on VH1) that the entire show was set up and largely contrived. He told the show on VH1 that the experience represents "some of the best acting I've ever done." Beasley announced on VH1 that everything was set up, from the producers telling him to ask Lauren for her number to the date to the rented house that was used as a set. He even explained that the producers told him what to talk about on their date. Beasley admitted that the whole scene they filmed with Brody was also a complete set up. The producers told him "the audience would get a kick out of seeing ‘the ex’ talking to ‘the new guy’." Brody was even apologetic about the scene they had to shoot, where Brody was talking smack behind Gavin's back, Gavin said. Brody told Gavin it makes good television so he had to say what he did. "I actually feel like I had more of a relationship with my MTV contact than I ever did with Lauren," Beasley explained.

All I can say is that Best Week Ever scored big time with this interview. It's probably one of the most insightful things I've heard about behind the scenes at The Hills. I mean, don't get me wrong I've watched the show on many occasions and even enjoyed it, but this information is kind of disappointing to me. I always figured it was somewhat scripted, but not this much. It just goes to show you how the reality really is behind the reality shows.

If anyone hasn't really been keeping up with America's Next Top Model cycle 9, but were wondering what the makeovers looked like. Here they are:

I had the chance to interview one of Northeastern University's students and her take on reality television for one of my classes.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/4396052853bfb3/

The Real World

So, I haven't written much about The Real World: Sydney, mostly because I haven't really been keeping up with the episodes. Is it just me or are all the cast members this season (mostly the girls) extremely annoying? I've watched a couple of episodes here and there and I've been noticing a trend. They fight, argue and/or cry in every episode. It's usually the girls fighting, but it will sometimes include the guys. At one point, it was even the girls against the guys. I know that this is probably a good thing for MTV and its ratings, but I just find it irritating. Yes, sometimes it's entertaining to see the cast members fight, but all the time? Come on now. That and the fact that just their personalities annoy me.

Also, CBS has announced that The Amazing Race will return for a twelfth season and will premiere on Sunday, November 4.

I apologize for my recent lack of updating on America's Next Top Model. As for the last two weeks, the girls received their makeovers (my favorite episode of the season), Victoria Marshman got cut last week, and Janet was cut this week from the show. The judges liked Victoria's look, but wasn't too fond of her personality and as for Janet, the judges thought she needed too much coaching during her photo shoots.

Some makeovers went really well while others did not. My pick for best makeover would probably be Janet's. I thought it looked amazing on her. They didn't do much to her hair except cut it a little shorter and dye it much darker, but I still loved it. They shaved Bianca's head! (which seemed like a complete disaster at first, but it actually turned out looking pretty good). They also gave her a "Beyonce style" wig. They changed basically nothing on Heather, which I would agree with because her dark hair looks good and contrasts with her pale skin. I don't like how they did Jenah's hair at all. It's now very blonde and very long and it looks extermely fake. I'm not a fan of it. I'm also not a big fan of Saleisha's new makeover. I think her hair looked better before. Now it's a bob cut and it just doesn't look right on her, in my opinion. And is it just me or does Saleisha remind you A LOT of Rihanna? (except the hair looks better on Rihanna) The other makeovers included:

• Ambreal- extremely cropped, "almost no hair," as Tyra put it
• Sarah- very short, kind of bobbed, blonde with highlights
• Victoria- fuller and edgier hair
• Chantel- straight blonde hair with bangs (kind of fake looking, as well. Also, kind of reminds me of Britney Spears)
• Lisa- a Halle Berry type of haircut, reminiscent of Jaeda's in cycle 7
• Ebony- a Naomi Campbell cut, as they called it

What did everyone else think of the makeovers?

On another completely random note according to the New York Daily News, apparently Heidi's (star of The Hills on MTV) website got hacked into. Somebody posted "Me and Spencer did spread the false rumors about Lauren's sex tape" on the page. Although, it should say "Spencer and I." Maybe the person did that on purpose, knowing that Heidi would have probably wrote it that way. In that case, I feel like giving that person a high-five and apparently the author of the article in Newsday agrees with me.

Top Chef host "dishes out"

There was recently an article in People Magazine called "Eat, Play, Love." The article featured the reality show Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi talking about her new cookbook and her life after her divorce from author Salmon Rushdie. I thought it was an interesting article for anyone who's a fan of the show so I figured I would share with you guys. Padma shared with People Magazine that they have "teeth checks" on Top Chef after she tastes one of the chef's delicious dishes. "There's nothing worse than seeing me with a wad of spinach in between my teeth," she told People. Her second cookbook Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet features recipes inspired by her travels to Tanzania and Spain. This latest venture of hers was as much about society as it was fine dining. "With food, there's more that unites us than divides us. Take Asian and South American cooking- there's tamarind. cumin, cilantro, in both," Lakshmi told People. The book is dedicated to her then- husband author Salman Rushdie. The couple recently divorced. "He tasted every dish," said Lakshmi. For now, Padma Lakshmi is putting all her energy into Top Chef, the article says. "I can go into Chanel and walk out empty-handed, but if I go into a kitchen store, I'm in trouble," she told the magazine.

A New Reality "Phenomenon"

NBC picked up a new reality show called Phenomenon, starring Criss Angel and Uri Gellar. The series will be a competition to find the next great mentalist. The series premieres on October 24. According to NBC, 10 contestants will compete each week through a series of challenges in front of a panel of celebrity judges and a studio audience. Angel and Gellar will provide their insight and help the contestants, but the viewers at home are the ones who get to vote and decide the $250,000 prize winner.

This actually seems like a really interesting show. It does seem kind of repetitive and monotomous that all these reality shows on television feature contestants competing for a prize through basically any talent you can think of. However, people seem to be completely fascinated with the unexplainable and the unknown. I, myself, find it extremely fascinating. I feel like this show is going to reach a big audience. It's definately a new genre and something we haven't seen before, as far as reality series go. Don't forget that this is also being done on live television in front of a studio audience where anything can happen, which makes it all the more interesting.

Reality Shows this Fall

This is a little late, but I researched and found a list of the Fall 2007 reality TV show list. Even if you aren't a big reality fan, some of these may interest you:

• The Real World: Sydney (MTV)
• The Hills (MTV)
• The Contender- a boxing competition series (ESPN 2)
• Tim Gunn's Guide to Style- Project Runway's fashion expert now has his own show (BRAVO)
• The Biggest Loser (NBC)
• Beauty and the Geek (the CW)
• Kid Nation (CBS)
• America's Next Top Model (the CW)
• Survivor: China (CBS)
• Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
• The Bachelor (ABC)
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
• DR. Steve-O- staring the Jackass and Wildboyz star, it will chronicle his attempts to toughen up men across the country with a medicine bag full of stunts and dares. (USA Network)
• I Love New York 2 (VH1)

And that's probably not even half of them. I'm sure at least one of those will spark people's interests.

Reality TV Website

I've looked at quite a few websites and blogs that are based on reality TV, but the best and most useful one I've found is a website called Reality TV World. The first thing I really like about the website is that when you first enter the homepage it has a ton of links to articles on the "latest reality television news headlines." This is extremely helpful if you're looking for the latest scandels and controversies in reality TV. These news headlines include everything from who recently got eliminated on America's Next Top Model to news on the Osbournes or Paula Abdul. It's also really useful if you missed the latest episode of your favorite reality show. The website includes some recaps on shows. The other thing I liked about the website is that it includes links to all of the popular reality TV shows at the top. It's easy and accommodating if you're looking for a particular show. When you click on the link to the show it will provide you with the most recent news on that reality show. Reality TV World also includes spoilers and speacial features, as well as other entertainment news headlines. I highly recommend this website if you're big reality television fan. Even if you're not a big fan, check it out. Until next time...

"Kid Nation" could end up like "Lord of the Flies"?

According to United Press International, a U.S. psychologist says the new reality show Kid Nation could end up like "Lord of the Flies" if the camera crew wasn't around.

Psychologist Dr. Gregg Steinberg said this in a UPI News Service article:

"The show asks the same basic questions as the novel, 'Lord of the Flies,'
with one major difference: The show has adults overseeing the action.

The Psychologist believes that if the show didn't have the camera crew around then the results would be the same as the ending of William Golding's book: violent and severe.

"Children do not have the cognitive abilities to grasp discipline, hard work,
and integrity," Steinberg said in a statement. "Without parents to guide them
down the right path, we would see tragic consequences with bullying turning into
more savagery and lack of discipline turning into to utter chaos."

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/psychologist-likens-cbs-new-kid-nation-lord-of-flies-1013164.php

Osbourne Auction

According to ABC News, the former reality stars, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, are selling art, furniture and collectibles from their homes in Malibu, Beverly Hills and England. The auction will include items from their MTV reality show The Osbournes. Some items from the show include Jack Osbourne's black leather bedroom furniture and a cast-iron crucifix from Ozzy's den in various episodes. Part of the proceeds will go towards the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation. Ozzy will perform a benefit concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles the first night of the sale. Sharon is very enthusiastic about the auction , saying it's "refreshing." On the other hand, Ozzy is not so enthusiactic. His wife commented, saying that "Ozzy gets very attached to things. He doesn't like change at all." The sale, administered by Julien's Auctions, will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at the Gibson Guitar Showroom in Beverly Hills. Bids can be placed in person, by phone or over the Internet.

Here is what AP Entertainment Writer from ABC Sandy Cohen wrote in her article "Osbournes to Auction Contents of 3 Homes":

"With their three children now grown and out of the house, the
couple have changed their style and moved to a new home, she told The Associated
Press, adding that parting with hundreds of items has been 'one of the most
refreshing things I've done.'"

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=3703176

America's Next Top Model

Kimberly was the second girl cut from America's Next Top Model, cycle 9. She was elminated because her "high-fashion" personality could not be captured on film. "I'm embarrassed with my pictures. Yeah I'm in the Top 12 in the whole country, but I'm also the second girl to leave," Kimberly said through her tears as she was leaving. I think the judges made the right decision. Saleisha won the challenge.

I noticed last night that there is a definite villian emerging from this season's group of girls. It's only the third epsiode and Bianca has already done some pretty evil things. I'm thinking that she might make the other villians from different seasons look like Mother Teresa. Here are some of the malicious things Bianca has done:

• She intentionally gave bad advice to Kimberly to sabotage her runway walk
• She said that she thinks Heather (the girl who has Aspergers Syndrome, a mild form of autism) gets a pity vote because of her disabiliity
• She called Saliesha a "borderline plus size"
• She actually compliments Heather later in the show, then immediately takes it back by saying something about "needing to knock her down because she's doing too well and could hinder her own chances of winning."
• She said she didn't think Saleisha deserved to win the challenge and that she should have won

This all happened in about an hour. At least Renee kept her rudeness to about two, three instances an episode. If Bianca keeps this up, she could be going for a new record.

10 Greatest Reality TV Moments...

Vh1 did two specials on the top 40 greatest reality TV moments, so I figured I would put together my own favorites:

10. America's Next Top Model's fainting contestant
- Rebecca Epley of cycle 4 collapsed to the floor in the middle of judging. It turned out the collapse was due to a childhood illness and she ended up being fine.

9. Real World Denver Fight
-A drunken misunderstanding caused a fight between Tyrie and Davis, who uttered an ugly racial slur.

8. Engaged & Underage – bride-to-be gets bikini was from fiance’s mom
-Bride-to-be Chantel wanted a bikini wax before her wedding. Luckily, her fiance's mother does waxing for a living.

7. I Love New York – Fight night
- Chance punched Boston out and gave him a bloody nose when New York thought it would be a good idea to have a Fight Night.

6. America's Next Top Model contestant is clueless
- Kathleen, we wanted to like you, but what part of "anti-fur" didn't you understand? Not only that, but when Tyra made the point during judging to tell her she didn't know what was going on, she responded with "I know, right?"

5. Sharon Osbourne storms out of America's Got Talent
-Judge Piers Morgon upset Sharon when he was mean to one of the younger contestants. She angrily stormed off the set during a show in Dallas.

4. Big Brother 8 – housemate hates photo
-Big brother 8 houseguest Jen freaked out after seeing the picture of herself on the wall. She cried on and on about how the picture looked terrible and it was bad lighting and blah, blah, blah. Get a Grip!

3. American Idol – Simon urges Ryan to come out of the closet
-Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell were arguing after Simon gave a bad critique to one contestant. "Stay out of my closet!" Seacrest yelled, to which Simon replied "Come out!"

2. Surreal Life contestant pees in corner
- Verne Troyer motored down the hall on his scooter, half-asleep, drunk, and naked. I guess this was a good time to decide he had to pee....in the corner.

1. Pumkin’s spit from Flavor of Love 1
-Pumpkin, who was fed up with New York's antics, let loose a wad of spit right on New York's face, leaving the viewers and Flav in shock.

Has reality TV hit an all time low?

America's Most Smartest Model: it may say it all in just the title. Let's face it, the show is an excuse for America to watch people do stupid things on TV. No one cares who wins or who's the smartest model. The show, which aires on VH1 and has the tagline "Beauty is a double-edged sword," tries to answer the burning question: do smart models exist, or does a life devoted to getting by on one’s looks make a person stupid? There is an assumption that the prettier someone is, the less intelligent they are expected to be. And no one has it worse than models. It's hosted by fashion expert Mary Alice Stephenson and Ben Stein. The competition brings together 14 models (7 men and 7 women) who will compete for the title of America's Most Smartest Model. In the end, one model who proves that he or she is more than just a pretty face will walk away with $100,000.

The title itself makes me not want to watch this show. It sounds like one of the dumbest and most degrading shows I've ever heard of. I'm not going to lie, it'll probably be funny and who wouldn't want to watch people do stupid stuff on TV? But, the whole premise of the show seems utterly ridiculous.

Rock of Love Finale

25 women entered the house at the beggining of the series and during tonight's episode it was down to two: Jes, the awesome hair stylist with pink hair, and Heather, the exotic dancer, who got Bret Michaels' name tattooed on the back of her neck. Bret had a huge decision to make on tonight's episode. Heather has been his "party girlfriend" since the beginning and Jes worked her way into his heart and opened up throughout the season. Bret Michaels, as a final test, asks if both girls would be his girlfriend. Heather naturally says that she would share Bret with Jes. Jes, with the amount of self-respect and integrity she has, says no. Bret calls down Heather and tell her she isn't the girl for him. She storms off, cursing Bret Michaels for dumping her. Jes wins and the 44 year old rocker ends up with the 23 year old girl. And that's that for this season of Rock of Love. Well, that is until the reunion show next week. It's also being rumored that they are casting for another season with a new rocker. So, if you are as addicted to the show as I am, you should be excited.

America's Next Top Model

Mila was the first girl to be elminiated from America's Next Top Model, cycle 9.

The theme of this week's photos revolved around the harm that smoking does to people's bodies. The girls were shot in a glamorous pose of them smoking a cigerette and then were shot in a photo that illustrated the negative impact smoking has. The two images were superimposed into one photo. Mila's trouble was the fact that despite the seriousness of the photo shoot, she couldn't stop laughing. The judges, which include Tyra, Twiggy and Nigel Barker, didn't find her impressive. Nigel wasn't happy that Mila was laughing during the shoot, saying "in reality it's a very serious subject." Tyra said she thought Mila wasn't absorbing any of the critique they gave her. I think it also probably had something to do with the fact that she had a vacant look on her face about 99% of the time. Saleisha ended up winning an Old Navy challenge and won a $1,000 shopping spree, which I was very happy about since I'm a big fan of Saleisha.

The Real World

I don't have much to post about since most of the reality shows are on during the week, but I did get to meet three of the cast members of Real World and the Real World/Road Rules Challenge from previous seasons, which was pretty exciting. They were walking around at collegefest, a festival that takes place in Boston for all college students. I met Parisa from this season of Real World and I met Alex from the previous season. I also met Evan from the Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat. They were really nice and they took a couple of pictures with my roommate and I.

Kid Nation

Kid Nation, which aires Wednesdays on CBS, is probably one of the most controversial reality shows on television right now. The show, that films just south of Santa Fe in New Mexico, produced concerns about child endangerment among parents. The whole point of the series is to depict how young kids can run and rebuild their own town. Despite all the worrying and complaints, the first episode showed nothing more than homesickness and a child who pulled a muscle. I do think the show is a little tough for kids to be running their own town, where anything could happen to them. But then again, kids could get hurt in their own kitchen and in their own bedroom. They chose to come on this show, even after having the knowledge of what it's all about. Besides, I don't think CBS would film the series with the risk of having one of these kids get seriously injured. I'm sure they have medical physicians and all of the proper medical equipment on hand if an emergency was to occur.

ANTM

So, this post is for anyone who watched the premiere of America's Next Top Model or is as big of a fan of the show as I am. America's Next Top Model is one of my favorite reality shows. It's not only addicting, but I can honestly say that I do believe it's one of the best reality shows out there. I just find it really interesting. Anyway, I thought it was kind of weird that they narrowed the girls down to 13 on the first episode. Usually they wait a few episodes to do that. I'm kind of glad they decided to edit it that way though. The other stuff, in my opinion, was kind of a waste of time. You never see those other girls again anyway. Right now, I think that Saleisha is the prettiest girl on the show and I think she has a very good chance of going all the way to the end. I'll have to see more of the show though and maybe my opinion will change. And. Drama, drama, drama. It didn't take long for the claws to come out and we can all tell that Ebony will cause some trouble. She instigated an argument during the first 15 minutes of the show, asking and trying to figure out who had an eating disorder over dinner. The girls move into the house next week so we'll see what happens...

On one more note, what's with Dick winning on Big Brother 8? Seriously, I know what the other players said, but I still think that Danielle played a better game.

TV Take Over

Despite what people think, reality shows have been around for quite a few years. They trace all the way back to the early 80’s and 90’s, airing shows like Cops and The Real World. When Survivor came out, it was a huge hit, which led producers to create reality shows about anything and everything. There are so many different types of reality shows out there: documentary style shows, game shows, celebrity type reality shows, just to name a few. This continuing trend in America does not look like it will die down anytime soon. In fact, reality shows are getting bigger and more popular everyday.

Here is what Ezinearticle.com expert author Andre Bias wrote in her article “Reality TV Shows Taking Over Television” on Ezinearticle.com:

“If more and more reality shows get picked up less sitcoms will get picked up.
Dramas are just as popular as reality shows right now so networks won’t bet
against them. In sum, if you are not a big fan of reality shows you can sell
your television because it looks like networks will keep coming up with anything
and everything until they run out of ideas."

http://ezinearticles.com/?Reality-TV-Shows-Taking-Over-Television&id=218187



On another note, I am highly anticipating the Big Brother 8 finale this Tuesday (September 18). I have been following the show all summer long and I must say that I’m very happy with the people who made it to the final 2. I know quite a few fans of the show are disappointed with the final 2 (or so I read on the message boards of CBS.com) because fans don’t like the way Danielle and Dick have played the game. I want to completely disagree. Although I wasn’t always a fan of Dick myself, I think that Danielle did an amazing job in the game. She did what she had to do to get where she is. I believe that she was one of the most intelligent people in the house and I think that she deserves the money. So, I’m hoping that Danielle wins it all and I think she will.

In general...

It’s no big surprise that reality shows have been taking over television recently. Nor is it a big surprise that they will probably continue to take over. Any network from CBS to MTV exhibits one reality show after another. Some were more popular than others, some more controversial than others, and some that were just plain entertaining. Reality shows are a love/ hate kind of thing. Some people absolutely hate them and some people can’t live without them. Either way, we all know they are completely addicting.

If you are anything like me, no matter how stupid you think these shows are, you’ll continue to watch them over and over again. I found that any show from Big Brother on CBS to Rock of Love on VH1 to Made on MTV can effectively and unconditionally suck you in. Once you watch one episode it’ll leave you hanging, making you think what’s going to happen with so and so, I wonder who gets voted off next episode, are they really going to do that.

My blog is going to be dedicated to reality television: the controversies, the stars, the drama, and especially the fact that these shows are completely taking over every network we watch.