Watching Reality TV

Well, judging from how this show has gone from the premiere, what do you think happened on the show last night? Are you hopeful that maybe, just maybe, Ravu pulled out a big victory over Moto and caused the inevitable implosion of the luxury-laden tribe? Or are you a realist and think we saw more of the same: Moto steamrolling Ravu (despite Ravu coming SO CLOSE to winning) and causing Ravu to collapse in on themselves a little more and make another unwise elimination resulting in the loss of yet another female player?

Hmm, let me think about that one.

This one doesn’t actually take a lot of rocket science to figure out. What happened is what was inevitable to happen. Despite Moto’s shaky footing (as always seems to come to the stronger of the two tribes), Ravu’s lack of nutrition and rest took it’s toll and Moto won both challenges. Though Ravu did come very close with the “Memory”-like immunity challenge. But they made a few key slips and lost yet again. They debated getting rid of Rocky (which is probably what they should have done, he’s not doing them any favors at this point), but instead got rid of Rita because “she talked too much”.

This show is becoming harder and harder to watch. I’m saddened by this because it feels like the end of an era. “Survivor’s” reign over reality tv looks to be on its way out.

Survivor: Fiji, episode recap, Ravu, Moto

According to a report in Variety as well as an article on realityblurred.com, a new reality tv show is set to hit the air in the UK next fall sometime. The show is called “Dumped” and features, get this, 10 contestants living in a dump for three weeks. Why didn’t we think of that??

On Dumped, “the 10 [will have] to exist entirely on stuff from other people’s junk. Everything they eat, wear, shelter under or use — including the TV — will have to come from other people’s trash,� Variety reports.

Channel 4’s Andrew Mackenzie says, “Some of the tasks may be pretty gross, but in compensation the participants will find that even the finer things of life can be catered for — with the perfectly-useable luxury goods that get thrown away.�

Now tell me that isn’t a fantastic idea for a reality show? I wonder how long it will take for the US to steal the idea and “trash” it up some, in good American style. That’s what we often do to hit shows from the UK, after all.

reality tv, new show, channel 4, UK, England, Dumped

NBC announced that they will air the live finale of “The Apprentice: LA” from the infamous Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, April 22 at 10pm. The Donald will grace the same stage as such greats as The Who, The Doors and The Beatles. The Bowl is 84 years old, but recently received a renovation in 2004. The Bowl is now wired for video with huge video screens which will serve the finale quite well. I hate to sound snarky (I do!), but this sounds like just the sort of buzz-creating stunt that Donald Trump specializes in. However, given my opinion of him (and via him, his series as well), this will only serve to tarnish my own opinion of the Hollywood Bowl. Let’s hope NBC euthanizes “The Apprentice” soon, eh?

Donald Trump, The Apprentice, season finale, Hollywood Bowl

Sure he can play basketball, but can he host a reality tv show? Thanks to ABC, we’re going to be finding out. The former Miami Heat star has been chosen to host a new reality tv show that focuses on childhood obesity and health. This show, like many other reality shows, is patterned after a successful UK program, “Ian Wright’s Unfit Kids.” Ian Wright is a former soccer star across the pond. This issue is near to Shaq’s heart, as the father of six children and an outspoken proponent of the awareness of childhood obesity.

The series, being filmed in Broward County, Fla., will track the lives of the children involved. O’Neal will be on hand as booster and, in episodes yet to be shot, will lobby politicians on causes including school nutrition, Daily Variety reported Monday.

A premiere date and show times haven’t been released yet, but keep your eyes peeled. I’m thinking we’ll see this one pop up sometime this summer so that perhaps more children will be able to tune in and learn during their summer breaks.

Shaquille O’Neal, reality tv, new tv show, childhood obesity, children’s health, ABC, Ian Wright’s Unfit Kids

I’m sorry I didn’t have a recap of last week’s episode. Can you believe that I forgot to record it again? What the heck is my problem? I have no idea, but obviously I’ve got one. All is resolved, however. I’ve finally set up my DVR to catch it, so I got to finally watch an episode on tv last night. Shocking, I know. And I’m going to talk about some of the highlights here with ya’ll.

• Charla and Mirna are out of control. The showdown that Mirna had at the counter with Teri was pretty ridiculous and almost uncomfortable to watch. Their sense of entitlement is pretty screwed up.
• The beauty queens aren’t really bugging me all that much this time around. And that kinda freaks me out.
• I did not enjoy David and Mary this time around. At all. Well, mostly Mary. She yells at her poor husband ALL THE TIME. She grated on my nerves virtually every time she was on the screen. I was very happy to see she and David were going home. Wow, what a difference a season makes, huh?
• The flat fish from the Roadblock freaked me out. Not to the extent it freaked out David and Danielle (who ever heard of being scared of fish??), but anything that flat with both eyes on one side of it’s head just ain’t right. I’m not sure what kind of fish it was, but I wouldn’t mind never seeing it again.
• During the Roadblock, Eric kept yelling at Danielle and telling her to use her enormous boobs to hold the fish down. And, get this, Rob thought those comments were distasteful. Wow, has marriage mellowed Rob?
• You know, a lot of people don’t like Rob and Amber but there’s a reason they keep coming in first place. They’re just darn good at this sort of thing. They have legitimate strategies, don’t care what the other teams think or what they’re doing and they focus. The other teams would be wise to take a page from their book. They’re racing a clean game, so far. Let’s see if they can keep it up.

Next week: Charla and Amber will butt heads. This cannot end well, people. I can’t even begin to guess who’ll come out on top on that one. My thought? Charla will look absurd and Amber will look confused (as will the rest of us).

Amazing Race All Stars, episode recap, David and Mary, Rob and Amber, Charla and Mirna, Eric and Danielle

Little kids love to watch television. I remember being a little kid and TV was great. I watched “Scooby Doo” every day after school. I wasn’t allowed to watch a lot of TV after dinner though, especially on school nights. Some kids, however, are watching television during prime time hours and a lot of them are watching reality tv. According to an article over at reality blurred, children ages 2-11 make up to 10% of a reality show’s entire audience. Also? None of the top eight or ten programs for kids in that age group are scripted comedies or dramas. The two big ones for kids? “American Idol” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. Other big draws for kids are “Survivor” and “Dancing with the Stars”. Now, I have a child in this age bracket and I can assure you, I don’t let him watch a lot of reality tv. I will admit he catches “Extreme Makeover” sometimes when we’re watching it on Sunday nights, but that’s an exception rather than a rule. Plus, I know he’d far rather watch “Spongebob Squarepants” than any reality show.

reality tv, children, children watching television, Survivor, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, ratings, audience

Vincent Pastore, of HBO’s “The Sopranos” fame, has had second thoughts. He was announced as one of the contestants for season four of “Dancing with the Stars” (premiering on March 19 on ABC), but now he’s dropped out as a contestant. His reasoning? His health status. Pastore simply didn’t feel he was up to the physical challenge of the competition after one week of training.

“When I initially committed to joining Dancing with the Stars, I didn’t realize just how physically demanding it would be for me,” Pastore said in a statement released by ABC. “Unable to put forth my best effort, I felt it appropriate to step aside and give someone else the opportunity.”

The show’s producers don’t have someone to replace Pastore yet, but the announcement is expected soon. And this isn’t the first time a contestant has had to be replaced at the last minute.

Prior to its second season, rapper Romeo had to drop-out of the competition due to a basketball injury. He was replaced by his father, rapper Master P.

I’ll admit my first thought when I heard he was withdrawing was because he saw the contestant roster and was horrified by the “D-list-ness” of it all. This season seems to utterly be without big names, with Heather Mills (that’s the ex-Mrs. McCartney to you all) being the biggest draw. “Dancing with the Stars“, indeed.