Watching Reality TV

You know, this looks to be a better season than I expected. Not that I didn’t expect it to be good, but that last year’s all-stars season was just so fantastically tantalizing that I didn’t expect anything to top it. And while the jury is out on that, this season seems to be able to hold it’s own.

The house, for starters, is very “Alice in Wonderland” themed, with extra large furniture and extra small furniture. Small doors, silly mirrors and goofy windows. Even the first HOH competition involved revolving mushrooms. Very cute.

The contestants are vapid, for the most part. But they’re always pretty vapid so that’s nothing new. Some of them I seriously would like to put a muzzle on though. And Joe leads that pack for me. He’s annoying with a capital A. Flamboyant is an understatement and while I don’t necessarily have a problem with that, I think he goes over the top. To make matters even worse, he has an ex-boyfriend (Dustin) in the house and is so horrible about that fact that it literally causes pain to watch him. Anna Nicole look-alike Danielle has a rival too, and it’s her father (who admittedly goes by the name EvilDick). You sorta feel sorry for her, though you don’t quite hate him yet either. I’ll be interested to see that whole thing play out. I wonder who’s “side” I’ll end up on. The other “enemy” pair is Carol and Jessica who used to be friends in high school but aren’t anymore because Carol owes Jessica $5 or some such nonsense. I think I favor Carol in this particular equation though I’m sure they’re both pretty detestable. But Jessica’s hair bothers me and I can’t take cheerleaders seriously.

Kail, a 37 year old mother and “multi-business owner” (read: rich) won the first HOH competition and we haven’t even gotten to see her room yet. Eric is a shrimpy (5′7) guy from Chicago who is “America’s Player” and I will admit to being more intrigued by this twist now than I was before I saw the show. I’m starting to see the real potential in this deal and I think it might work out for the best. Can’t wait to see how the show ends up using this. I hope CBS doesn’t “micromanage” too much.

So we’ll return on Sunday for the nominations, to learn more about “America’s Player” and see if anyone (Joe and Dustin, namely) has killed each other yet. If you missed last night’s episode, (shame on you) you can catch it on the CBS website in it’s entirety. The internet so totally rules.

Sorry for the lack of postage yesterday.  I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July celebrations.  I had to remind myself all day long that it wasn’t a Saturday after all.  These mid-week holidays really throw off my schedule!  There’s not much stirring in the world of reality TV news this morning, but there IS something that I wanted to remind you all of.  Yep, CBS’s “Big Brother 8″ premieres tonight at 8pm (check your local listings!).  If you’re a reality junkie like me, you won’t want to miss it.  Sounds as if the show has some great twists and intrigue set up for us to enjoy and this should help us get by until our normal shows come back in the fall.

Recently, host Julie Chen was asked about her hosting style for the show.  She’s developed a reputation for being robotic and wooden.  Turns out?  That was her strategy all along.  According to an interview in USA Today, “Chen says she has played her role as straight as possible, displaying no emotion, for example, toward eliminated contestants she might personally dislike.”  She has tried to apply journalistic standards to a show that doesn’t really call for them in the first place.  Some speculate the only reason she’s still employed is she’s married to Les Moonves, the network president.  I don’t think she’s that bad, but she’s not that good either.  Still, it’s gotten to the point where when I turn on “Big Brother”, I expect to see Julie Chen.

And I’ll be expecting to see her come 8pm tonight.  Who’s with me?

The cast for this summer’s “Big Brother 8″ has been announced at last, along with some of the twists we viewers can expect to see unfold over the next several months.   The twists include contestants who “have a beef” with one another which might make rumors that some of the contestants are old high school enemies true.  Also, there will be an “America’s Player” who will have to act on the whim of the American public including voting the way America decides and flirt with who America dictates.  Could be interesting.  Unless, of course “America’s Player” gets voted out the first week or two.  That would suck.  Also?  The house is styled like “Alice in Wonderland” with big beds and little chairs.  Why?  I don’t know.

Without further ado, here’s the contestant list, featuring a large amount of those in the alcohol peddling industry:

• Amber, 27, Las Vegas, separated, cocktail waitress
• Carol, 21, Lawrence, Kan., single, student
• Daniele, 20, Huntington Beach, Calif., single waitress
• Dick, 44, Los Angeles, single, bar manager
• Dustin, 22, Chicago, single, shoe salesman
• Eric, 27, New York, single, talent management assistant
• Jameka, 28, Waldorf, Md., single, school counselor
• Jen, 23, Beverly Hills, Calif., single, nanny
• Jessica, 21 Haysville, Kan., single, college student
• Joe, 23, Chicago, single, receptionist
• Kail, 37, McKenzie Bridge, Ore., married, business owner
• Mike, 26, Three Lakes, Wis., single, painting contractor
• Nick, 25, Kimball, Minn., single, former pro football player
• Zach, 30, Burbank, Calif., single, graphic designer

“Big Brother 8″ starts July 5th at 8pm on CBS.  I’ll be excited to watch, considering the train wreck that is “Pirate Master” and “On the Lot” (the latter which lost another large chunk of viewers this week).

There are a lot of juicy reality TV news tidbits this morning.  So many that I couldn’t chose just one to share and no single tidbit would make a full-bodied and interesting post so I decided to gather them all together and post them up for you to enjoy.  Enjoy!

• For everyone who has always wanted to watch the “Big Brother” live feeds but hasn’t wanted to deal with the hassle of subscribing and watching them online, there’s good news!  Showtime will be airing “Big Brother: After Dark” from 9pm to midnight every night, showing live feeds from the house on their ShoToo channel.  Profanity and nudity?  Totally unedited.  Sweet!
• Speaking of “Big Brother 8″, the show will debut (as will the “After Dark” version) on July 5th on CBS.  The schedule will be: Tuesdays at 9, Thursdays at 8 and Sundays at 8.  Yep, that means “Pirate Master” is going to be moving.  To when, I don’t know.  Do I care?  No.  “Big Brother” trumps “Pirate Master” any day.
• Bindi Irwin, the late Steve Irwin’s daughter, debuted her show on Animal Planet this last weekend as a part of the Irwin Family weekend.   There were several specials highlighting Steve Irwin, Bindi’s new show and Bindi and her mother.  Did you happen to catch any of them?
• British “Big Brother” ousted a contestant from their show recently for racism.  Apparently 19 year old Emily Parr used a derogatory term about a fellow contestant on last Wednesday night (the remark was not aired live).  Producers were forced to eject her immediately from the house, in light of an incident that aired on “Celebrity Big Brother” where they aired insults towards Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and the public outcry was overwhelming.

I don’t know about you, but after writing all of that, I’m so ready for “Big Brother” to start.  Quite simply the best thing about summer TV there is.  Well, besides “The 4400″ and “Hell’s Kitchen”, that is.

I have to admit, this one sounds like a lot of fun. You know, minus the prostitutes. Apparently John de Mol, creator of “Big Brother”, is looking to launch a new reality mega-show on ABC called “The Golden Cage.” And, like “Big Brother”, this is a show that has already been a hit with the Dutch. The similarities don’t end there, either. The show features ten contestants who share a house. Except this is no mere home. This is an opulent mansion, complete with servants and live the lives of millionaires. Now, the Dutch version also included prostitutes but I can’t see where an American counterpart would even consider implementing that little bonus. The contestants won’t be completely locked inside, they’ll have limited contact with family members and friends as rewards for various competitions. There’s also a nice prize at the finish. The winner wins the home itself, as well as a good chunk of change. And? There is no set time limit for this show. Contestants will leave either via their own decision or if every other contestant agrees to vote them off during the twice-monthly dismissals. Also to look forward to? The 24/7 live feeds on the internet where you can see what the contestants are doing at all hours of the day and night. Just like “Big Brother.”

de Mol says, “The format is so bloody simple, you wonder why we haven’t thought of it before. … It’s all on a much higher level. It feels like a drama.�? Like I said, I’m intrigued.

I was way into watching “Big Brother 7: All Stars” this last summer. I’d really loved season 6 and the “good guys” from that episode, like Kaysar, Howie and Janelle. Save for Kaysar, BB7 changed my mind about all that. By the time the finale aired in September, I had a strong distaste for both Howie AND Janelle. And a healthy respect for Will, which I never expected.

Anyhow, fast forward to last night’s VH1 “Big in ‘06″ Awards show. Janelle, the over-inflated windbag, won for Big Reality Star. She’s big alright, but I can’t guarantee that’s saying anything good about her, you know? I don’t know, maybe I hold too much against her. She was very good at what she did. I just lost all respect for her by the end of the show. But she still was a strong competitor. Perhaps she did deserve this award.

Then again, it is just a VH1 awards show. And judging from the portion I watched, a pretty crummy one at that. So I guess there’s no accounting for taste.