I Heart TV

I love TV. You love TV. I love to read about TV. Hopefully, so do you.

8.23.2005

wealth and reality tv

Reality Blurred recently linked to a great article in the Los Angeles Times about the failure of The Princes of Malibu, the recent reality show featuring Brandon and Brody Jenner (sons of Bruce Jenner) and their angry stepdad, composer David Foster. The show lasted only a few episodes before being pushed off onto the Fox Reality Channel amid allegations that the action on the show wasn't exactly "real."

This is a claim I've also heard recently made in reference to Laguna Beach, and I think the article subtly raises the question of whether or not this is a positive direction for reality shows to take. Is this genre of shows where real people play themselves in somewhat staged situations even really "reality"? (Obviously not, I guess.) But what else can we call it? I'm generally not a fan of this reality subgenre, with the exception of those shows that are also competitions (like Real World Road Rules Challenge) and the "what happens in Cabo stays in Cabo" episode of Laguna Beach.

But the main question of the article relates to the intersection between wealth and celebrity and reality television, and attempts to answer a question I've often wondered about. What drives relatively famous and wealthy people (and their children) to develop their own reality shows? Why is some fame and forture not enough?

8.17.2005

can kids hack it on the amazing race?

Reality Blurred points out that CBS has the cast of Amazing Race 8 up
on its website now. This
season is the "family" season on Amazing Race, and it's been made a
little more family-friendly--the 10 teams only traveled 30,000 miles,
less than half the normal distance. When I first head about this
season, I imagined that all the teams would have child members, but
that's not the case here. Half the teams are made up entirely of
adults (though whether they'll be acting like adults is anyone's
guess) and a few of the others have teenage racers.

Only two teams have children under 14: the Gaghans of Connecticut and
the Blacks of Virginia, and in a contest between the two I'm pretty
sure the Blacks would kick ass. Bill, the Gaghan dad, admits in his
bio that his biggest pet peeve about himself is his lack of patience.
Sure, who needs patience when racing 30,000 miles with two small
children? Billy, 12, wants to "show his dad he has what it takes to
compete" and Carissa, 9, who is so adorable it hurts, "wants to show
her parents she is a tough competitor ready to take on the adults."
The girl is nine! And looks to have the competitive spirit of a teddy
bear.

On the other hand, Kenneth Black, 11, is a black belt in tae kwon do,
and his younger brother Austin, 8, the youngest competitor ever on The
Amazing Race, has a brown belt. The Black children won't have to prove
to their parents that they can take the heat of the race; you can tell
by the looks on their faces that they think they've already won. Even
though they're wearing tie-dye.

8.11.2005

how tv guide was once relevant

There's a great article on Slate today about TV Guide and its once and future relevance. Despite a recently announced overhaul on the horizon, TV Guide still seems to be headed ever closer to oblivion. With a Tivo and its season passes, I rarely have a need for TV listings, and as a kid we never subscribed to TV Guide (despite my begging) because there was a guide that came for free with the newspaper. I scan it every week now, since we subscribe at my (soon-to-be-former) job, and I do like Mike Ausiello's column online, but I don't really respect TV Guide, and neither does Slate.

But it wasn't always that way, according to the article. In TV Guide's golden era, it published contributions from Margaret Mead, John Updike, and Joyce Carol Oates, among others. It was more than a listings guide, more than a place for puff pieces. It was a haven for TV scholarship, the kind of writing that I still feel like I don't see enough of, and the kind of writing that motivated me to start this blog. I feel like there's so much great, snarky, hysterical writing about tv out there, but very little scholarship.

8.08.2005

did real world go too far?

Heather Havrilesky briefly escapes her NARM! obsession to talk about last week's episode of the Real World in her I Like to Watchcolumn. (Scroll down to the bottom of that page, and continue on to the next.) In her opinion, the show went too far not in showing Danny's grief but in flashing back to his phone call the previous week with his mom, where she talked about how much she loved him and he brushed her off.

I was surprised to read this column, because I thought this was one of the best RW episodes in a long time. Even if you had missed the earlier episode where it was mentioned that Danny's mom was an alcoholic and that he was not close to her (I believe it was in the very first episode), it was clear that he regretted that conversation. Havrilesky says:
Just in case you're not sure why Danny's feeling guilty, we flash back to Danny's last conversation with his mom over the phone, just a few days earlier, during which she tells him she's sooo glad he called and that she loves him sooo much, and he grunts incoherently in response, then gets off the phone quickly. "Wow! He really should feel guilty!" the preteens at home agree, not remembering that Danny's estranged mom, who struggled with alcohol, quite possibly let him down countless times until he felt nothing but anger toward her. Let's not explain any of that now, though; let's maximize the drama by cutting back to Danny, who's saying he'll never forgive himself.


If I were a preteen, I would find this quote even more insulting than I already do. The "preteens at home" may very well remember that Danny's mom is an alcoholic. And even if they, or the teens or adults watching the show, don't remember, I think anyone can sympathize with the thought that someone close may die before you have a chance to tell them what they mean to you, especially if that person is your parent. As a teenager, how many conversations did I end with my parents by shouting "I hate you"? Tons.

Real World isn't brain surgery, but I do think it's a little more complicated than Havrilesky gives it credit for.

8.04.2005

recent tvgasm/real world

You can see more of my recent TVgasm columms here and here. That first link is a bit about Veronica and Rachel (of RW/RR) and their upcoming reality show. The second link is to an article I worked very, very hard on, and it's on a subject very close to my heart. It's all about why people should watch Veronica Mars.

There's also a post up on TVgasm (not by me) on this past week's episode of Real World. I won't spoil it in case anyone hasn't seen it, but watching it this morning in some spare time before I left for work I almost cried. I can't remember when I last felt any emotion besides derision or disgust while watching RW, but this did it for me.

8.03.2005

antm/vm crossover

I just read on Neptunesite (be careful, there are spoilers there) that Naima Mora, winner of this past season of America's Next Top Model, will guest star in the premiere of Veronica Mars as the new journalism teacher. Will she still have her mohawk? Will she be less wooden? Why can't Neptune High keep a journalism teacher? Only time will tell.

8.02.2005

great minds

An article in today's New York Times discusses Celebrity Fit Club 2 as part of a larger trend of overweight-celebrities-shedding-emotional-and-physical-weight shows. On that note, be sure to watch next week when Victoria Jackson confronts the gymnastics coach dad who told her she was too fat AT AGE FIVE.

don't feed phil

Now that I have had Tivo for awhile, you can tell how much I like a show by how soon I watch it after it is taped. Right now I have 3 or 4 episodes of Veronica Mars, my most favorite show, waiting for me on the Tivo; my plan is to watch them all in a row this weekend while eating newman-o's and snuggling on the couch. Shows that I like a lot, but not as much as VM, get watched within 2 days, usually. Shows that are low on the totem pole can languish for days or even over a week.

I watched Sunday's episode of Celebrity Fit Club 2 last night, so with that turnaround, you should know that I like it very much. I wrote about how much I liked the first episode, but it's still high on my list of shows to watch right now.

One thing I like about CFC2 is how the participants (Jackee Harry, Gary Busey, Phil Margera, Toccara Jones, Jani Lane, Wendy Kaufman, Victoria Jackson, and Willie Aames) don't live in a house together. In fact, they don't even all live in the same city. It's up to each one to go home and try to incorporate the diets and exercises into their "real" lives, coming back every 2-3 weeks for a physical challenge and weigh-in.

Although I like all the contestants, my favorites so far are Toccara, for her awesome self-confidence, and Phil, because he's Phil. How can you not love Phil? He just looks so genuinely nice. He has by far the best attitude of anyone on the show or anyone on a reality show.

This Wikipedia entry tells how much each member of Celebrity Fit Club 1 lost. Phil and Gary are definitely on track to beat those totals, but I'm not sure about anyone else.

8.01.2005

TVgasm posts

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I'm currently guest-columning on TVgasm. You can find my most recent posts, on Situation:Comedy and Dancing with the Stars, here, here, and here.