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.