Category — Reality Shows

VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” began its second season last week. As in the first season, the cast is a bunch of “celebrities” I’ve never heard of, for the most part, with the exception of Rodney King (since when does getting the crap kicked out of you by the LAPD in 1991 make you a celebrity?), and Gary Busey.

In just the two episodes that have aired so far, Gary Busey has successfully usurped heights and centipedes, to take place as the thing I fear the most. However, I have to commend the “Celebrity Rehab” producers, because that was a stroke of casting genius.

It’s only a matter of time before the suits over at VH1 realize just how genius they were to cast Gary Busey, and we begin to see promos for “Busey of Love,” “Busey Knows Best,” or simply, “Busey!” That one’s my favorite.

In the meantime, you can get your dose of The Buse on Thursday nights, 10pm eastern and pacific on VH1. I can tell you from personal experience, he will haunt your dreams.

One of the only reality television shows that I like is “Project Runway“. Why? Because they actually make something at the end of each episode, the contestants have amazing talent (for the most part anyway), and who doesn’t just love Tim Gunn and host Heidi Klum! I love her friendly german accent during eliminations, it’s so cute even the contestants who are cut can’t get mad at her.

“I am sorry, you are out. Auf Wiedersehen!”

And last season’s winner, Christian Siriano was hilarious (as was Amy Poehler spot on impression on SNL) or FIERCE as he would say.

With the legal hub-bub over whether the next season will be shown on “Lifetime” or Bravo, the television show rushed into the latest season over the summer and I totally missed it. Bravo re-runs “Project Runway” like no other, but I never managed to watch any of the eps saved on my TiVo HD DVR. Luckily, Design-Bitch has a nice photo wrap-up of the season five finale.

Time for Sunday lunch, your weekly hearty hate stew, and this one will really stick to your bones. Or chill them. This week’s topic: MTV’s “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF,” the grandest exercise in televised narcissism I have ever seen. Keep in mind, I watch these shows so you don’t have to.

The gist of the show is you have a bunch of imbeciles competing– yes, competing– to become Paris Hilton’s best friend while on camera and only until the end of the taping of the finale episode, but not in any legitimate sense.

Naturally, this leads to a cast of sycophants participating in activities like “always looking hot,” doing whatever Paris tells you to without complaint, seeing who can party the longest, etc., all while providing a truly endless supply of compliments and adoration to one Paris Hilton. Most noteworthy of all aspiring BFFs is Onch, below.

First of all, that is a dude. My estimation was that what Chris Crocker was to Britney Spears, Onch is to Paris Hilton, so you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Chris and Onch had some sort of feud that I don’t quite understand or care about, sometime last year.

Anyway, this show is pretty unbearable, but if you’re in the mood to yell at your television, this just might be for you.

[Picture source: MTV.com]

Okay kids, it’s time for the hate stew that I promised you on Friday. Consider it your Sunday supper.

“Dancing with the Stars.” Where, oh where, do I begin? I have deliberately avoided this show for however long it’s been on up to now, but masochism and work obligations got the better of me, and my hand was forced. I finally had to check it out Tuesday night.

The entire production seems like a poorly written sketch parodying reality shows. And, considering how well it does in the ratings, compared to other really worthwhile shows that fail dismally, I can now say that I have lost all faith in mankind.

To call these washed up F-listers “stars” is a flat out lie. Take Kim Kardashian, one of the competitors this season. Her most noteworthy credits include making a sex tape, dating Reggie Bush and having an ass that is often mistaken for a dumptruck.

Yes, with Kard-ass-ian, Susan Lucci and Jefferson from “Married with Children,” being on the show, I can only imagine the list of superstars they must have rejected during casting. Perhaps next season they’ll have Corky from “Life Goes On” competing. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, calling Kim a has-been. Kim Kardashian is actually a never-was, if you want to get technical.

When Tom Bergeron unleashed his manic, lilting, joyless “host” laugh in response to something that was entirely unfunny for the second time inside of 40 seconds, I turned to a friend who was watching with me and asked, “Do you suppose he goes home and just cries and cries? Don’t you think he must really hate himself?” My friend thought for a moment, then answered “yes.”

So, yeah, you could say DWTS was not my cup of tea. Man, I really feel like watching some “Married with Children” now.

I can’t believe I just found out about Eric Schaeffer’s reality tv show on Showtime! It is a documentary about the book tour he went on to promote his autobiographical book, I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single, and the subsequent dates he gets set up on by friends, fans, and acquaintances. Thus, his new series is called “I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single”.

Check the promo:

I’m probably one of the only people who has seen the complete Schaeffer oeuvre. And it was just by accident, I swear. Most of his movies I saw by chance on Cinemax or IFC, usually the ones where he was director and star. I would find myself strangely engrossed in the relationships he depicted, as if I was hypnotized. He has a wonderful knack for portraying relationships: like a torrid affair with a model in Fall, or a strange relationship with his best bud (played by Sarah Jessica Parker btw) in If Lucy Fell, or his struggle with sex and drug addiction in Wirey Spindell.

And with the FX television show, “Starved”, it just happened to premiere along with “It’s Always Sunny”, so I watched it and liked it.

So when I was channel surfing on Sunday and came across Eric talking to his assistant about how hot women were in Denver, I obviously was intrigued instantly. The show is honest, funny, and enjoyable for anyone, since it’s all about love and relationships. It’s really about looking for fulfillment in one’s life and coming terms with the idea that it could be a long and windy path to you finding Mr. or Ms. Right. I need to get his book ASAP, from the readings he did during the episode, I’m dying to know his further musings on “America’s Next Top Model”, women, yoga, and so much more.

Related links:
Eric Schaeffer’s Blog
Eric Schaeffer’s Myspace page
Buy his book!

The last time I watched “TRL” was when I was becoming slightly obsessed with that Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian flick.

Thank god, MTV is putting “TRL: Total Request Live” to bed, so I don’t have to watch my favorite stars in shame as they plug their shows/films on that silly show. Seriously, it was getting really bad for awhile there for stars of television and film. It seemed like it was a pre-requisite to appear “hip” with the 18-24 demographic, one must make a stop at the TRL studios in New York City.

(Picture source: Ben Barnes and William Moseley on TRL in May 2008)

For reasons I am not going to get into, I had to watch NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” this week.

Sweet. Fancy. Moses. If David Hasselhoff isn’t back on the sauce, you could have fooled me. Between his slurring to a 4-year-old girl “You should run for President!” and Sharon Osbourne, who has had enough work done at this point to be a prime candidate to play Jocelyn “The Cat Woman” Wildenstein in a Lifetime biopic, I barely had enough energy left to hate Jerry Springer properly.

By the time the show got to an act called “The Zooperstars,” which is a bunch of jerks in inflatable mascot costumes who formed a dance team, I was genuinely concerned I had unwittingly slipped myself a lethal dose of PCP. The fact that there is an act on this show where people dance around a stage– and quite enjoyably, sometimes fall off the stage– in duck and monkey costumes to an old “Jock Jams” CD is more than enough explanation for NBC’s standing as a fourth place network. Abandon all hope for humanity, and check out this clip.

[Picture source: NYMag.com]

Adrian Grenier has created a non-fiction television series for Planet Green called “Alter Eco”. The show will follow his green squad as they tackle fun and exciting green projects around LA. I guess by playing spoiled film star Vincent Chase on “Entourage”, Grenier garnered enough fame to create his own tv show and at the same time help the environment.

The thirteen series run of “Alter Eco” premieres on June 9th after “Living with Ed” with Ed Begley Jr.(another actor turned television host).

Thanks to Green-Vaccine for the tip!

David Cook and David Archuleta go head to head tonight on “American Idol”. I barely watch this show, since reality tv is not my bag, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion.

I think David Cook has been set to win this contest from the beginning. And as he should seeing how he was in a moderately successful band before auditioning for AI. As for Archuleta, he reminds of a chipmunk who doesn’t have the charisma to really be a true music “idol” (even if his voice is as good as they claim).

Don’t believe me? Check out his rendition of Chris Brown’s “With You” that really should have been sung with clearly more stage presence.

But what do I know? Most of the music I enjoy is based more on the guitars and synthesizers rather than singing talent.

This is the stuff that gives television a bad wrap…

Seen at Last Night a DJ Saved My Life.