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Reality TV hit a lull...nothing to write about when M'Lena (on Average Joe) got to droll over hunks after picking through the average guys....there was a spark when Survivor's Johnny "Fairplay" played the dead grandmother card to get an edge on the competition (his grandmother is alive and well and was the highlight of the wrap-up show)...and I guess I missed all the fun of this year's version of Temptation Island called Paradise Hotel... Oh well....ho hum
BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cold Canadian winds have blown in a whole new crop of nonsense! Nothing to truly cause couch imprints on your butt, but of some interest...
Donald Trump fires one person weekly in this contest to become his "apprentice". The winner will run some "small" (tiny?) Trump company for one year at a salary of $250,000. The 16 contestants --all very bright entrepreneurs-- have been divided into 2 teams: boys vs. girls. Each 'week' they are assigned some business task. The losing team joins Mr. Trump and his toadies in THE BOARDROOM where blame is assessed and someone is fired.
Task 1 was to sell lemonade on the streets of NYC. The women removed clothing...the men lost. Blame was assessed for (1) bad location, (2) hype without substance....and a doctor with an MBA was fired. As a 'reward' for winning, the women got to tour Donald Trump's personal apartment...sure the view is spectacular...but it brings to mind classic Steve Martin: "Yeah...I got a lot of money... I bought a Fur Sink, Electric Dog Polisher....Sure, I bought some dumb stuff, too..."
Task 2 was to do a spiffy ad campaign for a private jet company. The guys made the usual nice ad. The women's ad almost needed a late night cable timeslot....I have never realized how much jet engines resembled testicles... So....the men lost. Blame was assessed for not even consulting the customer on the ad requirements and the team leader was fired. Meanwhile the women got flown to Boston for a special dinner and cat fight!
Nice to have a reality show with seriously smart people for a change. And you gotta love Trump -- no pussyfooting around (or at least only behind closed doors with girlfriend Melania), his "You're Fired." comes fast -- none of the usual 'build the tension' nonsense.
Did anyone else catch Saturday's MONSTERS VS. MASCOTS episode and see the Totem Pole try Sinkers and Floaters? You don't know what you're missing....endorsed by 6 of 7 members of the family I grew up in (yup-- in gathering for Christmas we discovered that all us siblings are in agreement that it's a great show). Right you are, Ken!
Celebrity reality shows only work when the networks torture the celebrities as if they were normal slobs. The opening credits of this round introduce Stephen Baldwin as "from the USUAL SUSPECTS and star of CELEBRITY MOLE: HAWAII". Likewise, Corbin Bernsen is just "from MAJOR LEAGUE and CELEBRITY MOLE: HAWAII" (so much for 8 seasons on LA LAW). Yup, two LOSERS from the original Celebrity Mole have returned to lose again... this time in the Yucatan Peninsula (NAFTA regulations no doubt).
Corbin was 'executed' this week -- the 2nd show...just as he was in Hawaii! It's just as well, Rudy-from-the-Cosby-Show was pissed at him and planning to get even. She grew older, but not 'up' exactly from those Rudy days, but is holding her own against the likes of Dennis Rodman and Tracy Gold (the almost-died-while-anorexic girl from that Kirk Cameron ripoff of the Cosby Show). The show is also torturing model Angie Everheart (interesting mostly for her Howard Stern comments).
If you like THE MOLE format, it still works. And Angie's clothes were off by the second episode.
They got the wrong girl. They were supposed to get Mary from the Bachelor (the one with Bob)...but they got Meredith (who really did have a dead grandmother card to play). She is pretty. And so are the guys. There were 22 guys about 5'10" with brown hair... one guy with curly hair all over the place...a tall blonde guy... and a black guy. After the first round Meredith did show enough taste to keep the 3 guys you could tell apart. And the personal trainer fussed about how most women know how much he has to offer.
The verdict is still out...unfortunately no ambulances are shown in this round's previews...and hopefully no grandmothers were harmed during the filming of the show...
(and by the way, on the last JOE MILLIONAIRE the cowboy tried to pick the Czech model and BIG SURPRISE she decided the rural Texas lifestyle didn't appeal...and Bob on The Bachelor picked Estella ...snore....no, I wasn't into ANYTHING Trista...)
This is it! The only week worth watching AMERICAN IDOL while there's a chance to see the truly disillusioned. The show is still overproduced and there's much too much one-on-one with Randy, Paula and Simon (as well as way too many commercials!), but next week they'll be back to the ole boring voting shows and all hope will be lost....
Premise: Blonde chick gets a million bucks if she can convince her family to support her sudden engagement (and soon to be wedding) all the while an actor (unknown to the chick who thinks he is in the same boat she is) tries hard to be the most obnoxious person ever. Apparently the theory of the show is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION as I think they are using the same mansion as JOE SCHMO. But a house alone can't make a good show...
Deem it unwatchable. The guy doesn't seem to be funny enough while being obnoxious (wasn't ANIMAL HOUSE available at Blockbuster?), and the family seems to actually think marriage might be worth more than a Brittany Spears interpretation.
FEB 1st FOLLOWING THE SUPERBOWL I GET MY RUPERT BACK!!!!!!!!!
Apparently I also get Richard, Rudy, Susan and Jenna from Season 1 back (them I remember well).
And Ethan, Lex, and Thomas from Africa (okay....Ethan is too nice...but Lex could be interesting)
....and Colby, Tina, Alecia, Amber and Jerri from Australia (I am delighted Alecia gets another shot...and Jerri was the original 'love to hate you' gal and it will be fun to see if Tina can still play on Colby's Oedipus complex)
....only Shii-Ann survived Thailand (boo! I wanted my neighbor, Jake, to be on All Star! Then I could go back to stalking him and dropping in during Survivor Parties...Hmmm Bowie on THE APPRENTICE lives in Dallas....and so does Colby I think...)
....AND we get Jenna, Rob, and Cathy from Survivor: Amazon (Cathy??? who is Cathy???? I even remember Sonia from only the first 3 days on Puala Tiga (the Borneo location of the first Survivor) and I don't know no Cathy!
And there's one more "all-star" I can't remember off the top of my head. The current rumor is that the show will divide the gang into 3 teams of 6 and have them battle it out that-a-way....that could make the alliances interesting -- of course one would assume Rudy, Richard, and Susan are inseparable...
Just can't wait!