Watching Reality TV

I didn’t discover “Hell’s Kitchen” until about halfway through the second season. But from the first moment, I was HOOKED. Watching the strangely enigmatic Ramsay berate and humiliate his chefs was high, high entertainment. Now, we get an another chance to watch him rain on someone’s parade; Fox is coming out with a new reality series called “Kitchen Nightmares” which will follow Ramsay around America to help restaurants who are having problems getting their act together.

According to the article at Reality TV World,

Each Kitchen Nightmares episode will see Ramsay visit a different struggling American food establishment. After arriving at the restaurant in crisis, Ramsay will motivate the owners and bully the kitchen’s brigade in an attempt to reverse the fortunes of each struggling restaurant in just one week. Whether he’ll save them from their current nightmare or just create a new one will depend on how the establishment’s lazy cooks and moody wait staff respond.

That there sounds like some good television to me. “Kitchen Nightmares” goes into production in February and I’m assuming will be airing later on this year. Also, season 3 of “Hell’s Kitchen” will air this spring.

Gordon Ramsay, FOX, Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen

Happy New Year, tv watchers! You may be wondering what the new year will have to bring to your television sets. I found a great roundup of the reality tv schedule over at Reality TV World. This gives us a good look at what (and when) old favorites are returning for another go (”Survivor”, “Amazing Race” and “America’s Next Top Model” to name a few) as well as some new shows (”Grease: You’re the One That I Want” and “I’m From Rolling Stone” are a couple). Give it a look-see, after the jump.

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This may be considered old news, but with all the holiday hub-bub, I just read it today: There’s a new show debuting on January 11th and it’s starring Rob and Amber Mariano. It is called, according to RealityTVWebsite.com, The Rob and Amber Project. When I first heard that, I thought, “Oh lord help us, it’s going to be a show about them trying to have a child.” Because, honestly, that’s what it sounds like, right? Never fear, it’s not that. Though, it sounds almost as bad; the show will follow the couple as they move to Vegas where Rob wants to become a professional poker player. Amber, predictably, is not so sure about him gambling away their reality tv winnings. Much fun and hilarity should ensue, I’m sure.

If you’re interested (or even if you’re disgusted and want to see how this will all turn out), you can catch this new show set to air on Fox Reality, which happens to be the only cable channel that is dedicated to all reality tv, all the time.

I’ve been out of the loop for a while now and I apologize to all you reality tv fans out there. I had a very, very sick baby on my hands and (perhaps foolishly) we went out of town for the holidays as well. But I’m back home and the baby is on the mend, so it’s time to get back to the news!

• I’m sure you’ve all heard (if you’re not currently residing under a rock) about the mega-feud between Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump (creator and head honcho type over at “The Apprentice”). The battle, which originated when Donald granted a pardon to disgraced the Miss USA, has heated back up again after a cool holiday truce between the two personalities. I rather liken it to watching six-year olds fight on the playground. Regardless, it brings good press to “The Apprentice 6″ and the new season airing in January.
• Jenna Fisher of NBC’s “The Office” reportedly wanted to be on the first season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” but was turned down by the show’s producers! At the time, she wasn’t sure that “The Office” gig would last and wanted perhaps another shot at fame. Maybe she’ll get another shot at it in the future? That is, if she’s interested since “The Office” has gained such popularity and probably keeps the young actress pretty busy these days. At any rate, it’s yet another celeb who has wanted to be on that show.
• “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood is dating Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo. This quashes the rumors that Romo was seeing “Newlyweds” star Jessica Simpson. The two were spotted together on the field at Texas Stadium before the game on Christmas Day. The sports commentators even speculated that perhaps she was too big a distraction for Romo and what is why the Cowboys lost the game to the Philadelphia Eagles.

That should cover the highlights and hopefully sate your reality tv news-lust for the time being. I’m sorry for being gone and a Merry Belated Christmas to you all. Have a great New Years weekend!

Sounds like a cross between “The Apprentice” and “Project: Greenlight” to me! Some of you may have already heard about Steven Spielberg’s new show, “On the Lot” which is set to air this May. In the show, viewers will get to vote for which director gets eliminated each week. The goal is for Spielberg to find new directing talent. He had been talking with super-reality producer Mark Burnett about collaborating on a film when the topic came up. “I mentioned that I was interested in sweeping the world to find new actors and directors. I said, ‘You know, it could also be a reality show’.â€? Mark Burnett then ran with the idea. According to him, “We all watch movies and sit there saying this movie is great or that one is crap. This show gives the audience the experience of being a critic.â€?

Spielberg won’t actually be a part of the show, not like Trump is with “The Apprentice”. He will show up for the finale, presumably to congratulate the winning director.

I really love the idea of this show. I love television, of course. But I also love, love, love movies. So this is a wonderful pairing of the two loves. I can’t wait to see what kind of talent this show brings forth.

Or at least, that’s what ABC is counting on. Yep, you heard it right, Oprah is expanding her vast empire to cover the wonderful world of reality tv. Daily Variety has reported that Oprah and her Harpo Productions team have gotten together with ABC to air two primetime reality tv shows. This marks a first Oprah, her first primetime television show and also a first for Harpo’s new TV development department. The two shows are “Oprah Winfrey’s Big Give” and the tenuously titled “Your Money or Your Life.” ABC, for one, is very excited and feel both shows are a wonderful fit for their brand.

There are no scheduled launch dates for these shows, which will focus on bettering people in line with themes from Oprah’s daytime show.

Okay, for a minute, I thought this was a joke. But no, it is reality. As in, reality tv. Yes folks, you heard it right, there will be a new reality tv show debuting on CBS (perhaps in 2007 though the news story left out that particular information) that will make celebrities actual police officers.

Erik Estrada (of “CHiPs” fame), LaToya Jackson, Jack Osborne (of “The Osbornes”), Wee Man (of MTV’s “Jackass”) and Trish Stratus (WWE pro wrestler) will all star in a new reality show where these b-list celebrities will fight crime in Muncie, Indiana alongside the real, actual police officers. The contestants have been officially sworn in as reserve officers, allowing them to carry badges and guns for the show.

I don’t think I can even find the words to describe how I feel about this. Scared comes close.