Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Uncategorized category.
Britney, marry our station?
MTV just started a new reality show last week, “Britney for the Record.” This makes for Britney Spears’ second reality show, after “Chaotic” aired in 2005. The program documented Britney’s new life with her husband Kevin Federline until the show ended, followed by their failing relationship. And now MTV has brought her back. It is no secret that MTV loves Britney, but it seems that they love her a little too much. After Britney went M.I.A. for a few years, entered rehab, and shaved her head, it seemed as though her time was up. Well, everyone thought that except for MTV who had her perform at their September 2007 Video Music Awards. The anticipated comeback wound up receiving a lot of negative criticism.
media poking fun at Brit’s VMA performance:
Things only got worse the following month when she lost custody of her kids which made headlines, and child welfare got involved in December. But, of course, the first episode of “Britney for the Record” included multiple scenes of Britney caring for her kids and expressing her love. Don’t worry, Brit, MTV’s got your back, and would probably try to buy it if they could.
I don’t approve… but I’ll watch anyway
The Office (UK version)
I feel that NBC’s “The Office,” is not only one of the best adaptations from a UK show, but also one of the best shows on television. Although The Office is scripted, I think the U.S. has done a sufficient job with the difficult task of bringing over UK reality show ideas (American Idol, anyone?). This got me thinking, what if the U.S. tried to adopt other UK reality shows? Well, according to this list of “controversial reality TV shows,” I think it is safe to say that certain UK reality shows would never be accepted in the US.
The Office (US version)
Take, for example, the UK show, “There’s Something About Miriam,” where six men tried to pick up a 21-year-old model, unaware that she was a transsexual until the final episode. Although the male contestants sued the show for “psychological damage,” it did not prevent the broadcast companies to air the series in full a few months later. In fact, the show reached other countries and was eventually aired in the US, despite immense controversy, in 2007. So even though the US may not produce shows as cruel and unusual as the UK’s, our country is still guilty of watching them.
The final episode of “There’s Something About Meriam”:
Going down together
I ran across an interesting article in the L.A. Times blog section about a possible relationship between the decline of the economy, and the decline of reality TV ratings. The interesting part is that it really is only certain, popular reality TV shows that are losing viewers and not just TV in general. In fact, shows like “Gossip Girl” and “30 Rock” have reportedly gained viewers this season, whereas the reality show, “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” has dropped 35 percent and now has 5.5 million viewers.
There is no explanation as to why this trend is taking place, except for the fact that shows like Survivor are simply getting old as it approaches its 17th season. The article ends by saying:
- And what about that economy? Well, hard times may not have any direct effect on what people choose to watch. But there’s little doubt that during times of upheaval, viewers’ tastes can shift. For example, the deep recession of the early 1980s may have created a fertile environment for the success of nighttime soaps about the treacheries of the rich and infamous, such as “Dynasty” and “Dallas.”
Currently, the irony is that in this time of economic depression, people are choosing not to watch shows called “Survivor,” and are instead trying to survive the true reality upon us. So, maybe this correlation does have some merit to it.
You’re not so tough after all
Without reality TV, the world really would never have known what a nice guy Hulk Hogan was out of the wrestling ring, or that Rev Run (Joey Simmons) was such a jokester around his kids. “Hogan Knows Best” and “Run’s House” are just two examples of shows that depict the lives of celebrity dads who have a reputation as either a tough guy or uninvolved father due to their status (in Rev’s case, a famous rapper). The latest of the bunch to come out is Oxygen’s “Coolio’s Rules,” which follows rapper Coolio as he raises four teenagers as a single dad.
Rev Run- such a family man!
It seems that most recently producers have been itching to make shows about tough guys portrayed as nice guys (also see my previous post on NFL stars in reality shows), and for what reason? Because America thinks you can’t enjoy playing professional football and enjoy playing with your kids. Furthermore, media stories like Kobe Bryant’s 2003 rape case bombard the news outlets before the police even have all the details, and articles like this about Akon admitting to practicing polygamy are all we hear about. So, I am actually pretty proud of reality TV for dispelling myths and creating a more balanced representation of the celebrity bad boy.
Did you see that?!
Personally, I hate the genre of Science fiction, yet, when it takes on the form of a reality show, I find myself watching it and enjoying it. The Sci-Fi Channel’s show, “Ghost Hunters,” documents two guys who investigate houses and areas in which the owners have claimed to have seen paranormal activity. They use electronic equipment that supposedly has the power to detect the noises and movements of ghosts. Everything seems real—the orbs on the wall, the high pitched screams, the temperature changes (which indicate paranormal presence)—except I’ve become so immune to special effects on TV and movies that in no way can I be convinced that this is real.
Then what really is making those screeches? And why did the temperature suddenly drop once the ghost was beckoned? If you’ve ever watched the show, you will agree that the two guys know what they’re doing. They use digital infrared cameras, in addition to tons of other ghost hunting equipment and terms I know nothing about. After all my rants about how reality shows aren’t real, could it be that no one, including myself, is believing this show because it is so extraordinarily real?
Top 10 Ghost Hunter findings:
Football or Feng Shui?
Professional football players are certainly no strangers to reality TV. Ever since New York Giants Quarterback Jesse Palmer’s stint as “The Bachelor” in 2004, it seems that more and more NFL players have been featured in reality programs. Just this fall, for example, Oakland Raiders legend Tim Brown hosted his own reality show in which 16 aspiring players compete in elimination challenges to prove who is the next great “Legend”—sort of like “Survivor” on a football field instead of an island. Even as we speak, former defensive tackle Warren Sapp is a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and he is actually doing surprisingly well.
While these shows may have had at least some merit to them, reality TV’s football fascination might be stretching its limits a little this time, with the upcoming A&E show “Tackling Design.” In “Tackling Design” (premiering in 2009), recently retired wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson (also Warren Sapp’s former teammate) will test his skills as an interior designer, as he tries to impress a client in each episode by redesigning and refurnishing rooms in their houses. I can see how watching Warren Sapp dance—as absurd as it sounds—can have at least some entertainment value, but watching Keyshawn Johnson rearrange furniture and repaint walls is a reality TV fumble.
Good enough
Personally, I have never been interested in applying to be on a reality show, but I happened to come across the eligibility requirements for “Survivor.” Mixed into the usual age and U.S. citizen requirements, number six says, “All contestants must be in excellent physical and mental health.” Makes sense, since the contestants are enduring difficult bodily tasks, but what exactly constitutes “excellent?”
I then checked up on other reality show requirements to see how they compared, and the results were… interesting. “Big Brother,” “The Apprentice,” and “Wife Swap” also require that their contestants (and families, in the case of Wife Swap) be in excellent physical and mental health. So, you supposedly need to be in excellent health to manage a lemonade stand and tidy up a house (tasks seen on “The Apprentice” and “Wife Swap”), but what about if you want to race around the world, traveling through unfamiliar countries, searching for check-points? According to The Amazing Race’s requirements, you only have to be in “good” physical and mental health to do that. We can add that to the list of the ironies of reality TV.
the beginning of last week’s episode of “The Amazing Race”:
Just don’t quit your day job.
“The Hills” was created as a spin-off of Lauren Conrad’s move to Los Angeles after being on MTV’s Laguna Beach. It is now in its fourth season and also proving to be a success. In this week’s episode, Audrina moves out of Lauren’s house because she hopes that her boyfriend, Justin, will move in with her. She gives her sister a tour of the new pad, and we see a spiral staircase and a huge, modern kitchen, among other things. Where did this 23-year-old get the money to buy this?
from left to right: Whitney, Lauren, Audrina, Heidi
Similarly, in that same episode, another character, Heidi, gets fired from her job as an event planner because she was enjoying some company drinks. She leaves her boss’s office calm and unemotional. How could she not care she lost her job? There are two answers. The first is that this show is clearly scripted at times, but the second answer is because Heidi truly does not need this job. MTV apparently pays big bucks to live your life. Heidi reportedly makes $64,000 an episode ($1.25 annually), Audrina makes $35,000 per episode ($665,000 annually), and Lauren Makes $75,000 per episode ($1.442 million annually). What a life.
Watch the episode referenced in this post here
V-O-T-E
Are you extremely good at soccer? And have you always wanted to be on a reality show? Well good news for the few of you out there who answered yes to both these questions. Beginning on November 9, Washington’s Major League Soccer team, the Seattle Sounders, will have open tryouts for potential players. Even more, producers have taken this as an opening to create a new reality show, where viewers get to choose the finalists. Then, the final tryout will reveal the one winner, chosen by a group of judges. Wait, there’s more. That episode has already been scheduled for February 1, immediately following the 2009 Super Bowl on NBC.
By doing this, NBC would be pairing the world’s biggest sports event with the finale of an unfamiliar reality show that may or may not have gained an audience following its close January premiere. I thought for a moment how this could be risky, but then I remembered that America goes crazy for reality show voting. I’ve never been good at math, but if we take the 97.5 million votes that were casted for the 2008 American Idol winner, and combine it with another estimated 98 million Super Bowl viewers who watched last year, it is safe to say that even the most idiotic interactive reality show would have ratings going through the roof.
I do…want to break up
Why are celebrity couples still making reality shows when it has been proven that the majority of them lead to a break up? The examples that come to mind include: Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey (from MTV’s “Newlyweds”), Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and his wife Shanna (from “Meet the Barkers”), Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro (from “Til Death Do Us Part”), and Hulk Hogan and wife Linda (from “Hogan Knows Best”). On a similar note, 11 out of the 12 episodes of “The Bachelor” have ended with the couples getting a divorced, although that category is slightly different considering those couples first met on reality TV. Nonetheless, it is obvious that for whatever reason, relationships are hard to handle when they are documented for the nation to see.
the days when Electra and Navarro were in love
Now, Jodie Sweetin, who starred on Full House over a decade ago, is going to start filming a reality show about her new life as a mom, with her husband Cody Herpin. I did not see Sweetin when she came to speak here at UConn a few weeks ago, so I definitely do not plan to watch her reality show. She was quoted as saying that she believes she and her husband can “break the reality show curse.” I think Sweetin can beat the stereotype, too, because luckily the show will most likely fail first before her and her husband’s relationship has a chance to fail.
The Real Deal 