Category Archives: Primetime
Shows That Should Be Forgotten: ‘Pink Lady and Jeff’
Pink Lady, better known as Pink Lady and Jeff, is a notoriously bad show. It regularly makes it onto Worst TV Shows Ever lists. There is no good excuse NBC can come up with for having produced this train wreck of a show, which put the final nail in the coffin of the already dying variety show genre.
In 1980, NBC President Fred Silverman decided to create the show Pink Lady featuring the Japanese singing group Pink Lady, which had two members: Mie and Kei. He called in Sid and Marty Kroft, who are were known for their surrealist children’s show like H.R. Pufnstuf, to produce the show. Everyone quickly realized Mie and Kie didn’t speak a word of English, so NBC brought in comedian Jeff Altman. This should have been about the time NBC cancelled production of the show, but production went ahead anyway, leaving Mie and Kei to learn their lines and the English-language pop hits performed on the show phonetically with predictably terrible results.
‘Spell-Mageddon’ Tries To Make Torture Fun
Did you ever wonder what would happen if Nickelodeon threw up all over a spelling bee? No. Well, too bad because ABC Family answered that question with Spell-Mageddon. The Alfonso Ribero hosted show would be at home on 90s Nick. The only problem is some of the situations are straight up torture, so the show is more terrorist’s nightmare than messy kid-friendly entertainment.
The show doesn’t start off too bad, but quickly gets boring. The first round has contestants maneuver over a blow-up obstacle course. The first person to reach the end and buzz in gets to spell a word. If the contestant gets it correct, they get to move on to the next round and the process is repeated over and over again. In total, viewers see the same thing six times in a row. While the obstacle course undoubtedly gets harder, the final round has the contestants wearing vision impairment goggles, no one cares because they are still watching basically the same thing and just wasted time that could have been better spent doing anything else like being unproductive on Facebook.
Who’s the Problem on ‘Wedding Island?’
Sandy Malone
In last week’s review of Wedding Island, I called Sandy Malone, head of Weddings in Vieques, not a very nice person. This post will attempt to be fairer to her.
Wedding Island subscribes to the philosophy that anything that can go wrong will. Sandy always has to deal with other people’s major mistakes, such as a restaurant called Lazy Jack’s booking two wedding parties on the same night. She claims that the owner decided to book the another group over her’s because they were paying more money. The owner made it sound like it was a genuine mistake and someone misplaced their reservation, but Sandy’s attitude made him not want to make the situation right. Instead, he told her to get lost and that he doesn’t need her business. On the show, scenarios like this happen all the time. This time it worked out because anther restaurant down the street was able to accommodate the 20 guests, but Sandy stressed everyone out and made a scene by arguing with Lazy Jack’s owner in the middle of the street. Do people on Vieques not respect her because she doesn’t respect them?
‘Perfect Score’ Doesn’t Deserve One
After the new Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The CW airs Perfect Score. It is an extremely odd pairing. While Whose Line? appeals equally to both men and women, Perfect Score goes directly for The CW’s female demographic.
Perfect Score, hosted by Arielle Kebbel, is a slightly classier version of GSN’s Baggage, which is appropriately hosted by Jerry Springer. Baggage has people reveal unsettling secrets, such as collecting an ex-lovers toenail clippings in an urn, whereas Perfect Score settles for using cheesy pickup lines and other gimmicks, such as having men dress up as superheroes and sharing their superpower. Unlike Baggage, contestants can win money on Perfect Score, but they have to compete for a date against their best friend.
Welcome To ‘Wedding Island’
Wedding Island: where Mr. Rourke and Tattoo make your fantasies come true. Oops, that’s Fantasy Island. On Wedding Island, wedding planner Sandy Malone and employees do their best to make sure brides have their perfect wedding. The title is self-explanatory, the show is about planning island weddings.
Wedding Island takes place on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Unlike the main island, which has over 3.5 million people, Vieques has less than 10,000 residents and is only 21 miles long and 4 miles wide. The island only has one baker and one rental company, which means there is a very real possibility that something may not arrive on time or even at all. On top of that, there are no flowers on the island, so flowers have to be flown in from elsewhere. As Sandy points out, anywhere else, she could get in her car and drive to the florist. In Vieques, the flowers she ordered may die on the runway from neglect and the only thing she can do is yell, which is not a problem for Sandy.
Not Everyone Can ‘Deal With It’
Howie Mandel is a prankster. He also likes to produce Candid Camera inspired shows, which is why Howie Do It, Mobbed, and now Deal With It exist. The former two shows both lasted less than 20 episodes. If TBS is smart, Deal With It will meet the same fate. In other words, the show isn’t good. To make matters worse, it is an exact copy of a short-lived Food Network show that even the Internet doesn’t remember.
Deal With It ambushes a random restaurant patron, who is then asked to participate in a game where they can win up to $5,000. Of course, all the people agree to go along with whatever crazy thing host Theo Von and his celebrity guest tell them to do. There are five rounds, which are worth $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, respectively. If a contestant does not feel comfortable continuing the game, he or she can end the game by saying “I can’t deal with it.” Unlike many shows in this genre, the contestant then gets to keep the money won up to that point.
The CW Gets 5,000 Points For ‘Whose Line?’
The only show where the points don’t matter and everything is made up on the spot is back. This time on The CW. Despite a six year absence from television, Whose Line Is It Anyway? never skipped a beat. Drew Carey didn’t come back, but Aisha Tyler holds her own against old favorites, Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, and Ryan Stiles.
Fans of the Drew Carey version of Whose Line? will notice that Aisha doesn’t participate in the skits like Drew did. Hopefully, Aisha comes out from behind the desk and joins the gang in later episodes because right now she is funny and clearly not using all of her potential. Those who are used to the UK version where Clive Anderson interacts with the performs, but never leaves his desk probably won’t mind that Aisha doesn’t move.
‘Hollywood Game Night’: Fun Show, Obnoxious Host
Hollywood Game Night combines elements from all of the classic game shows, specifically Password and Body Language, and makes them modern. It may also be the first new game show that allows the viewer to participate at home, which is something that Minute to Win It and The Winner Is lack. Watching people make fools of themselves on television is only fun for so long.
Television is usually a passive experience, but the reason why Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and The Price is Right have been around for over 30 years is because people love to feel like they are participating at home in a way that doesn’t involve consuming large amounts of alcohol. Hollywood Game Night‘s producers understand that. Although, host Jane Lynch did recommend a Hollywood Game Night drinking game five minutes into the show; it was tongue in cheek.
Late to the “Arrested Development” Party? No Problem!
Netflix released the fourth season of Arrested Development on May 26. Now that the initial frenzy is over, it is fair to say that fans who waited seven years for a new season were disappointed. However, I was not one of those fans, which worked out in my favor.
To be honest, I was 12 when I saw first two episodes, which means I was way too young to understand the show. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon once all my friends were declaring it their favorite show, I waited because popularity doesn’t necessarily mean good. Well, my friends were right this time: Arrested Development is an excellent show, but I am happy its new to me.
So, Why am I glad I was late to the Bluth party?
1. I haven’t been annoyed at Fox for the last 7 years.
For some reason, Arrested Development fans are hardcore. Fans who became fans well after Fox canceled the show were annoyed that the show was cancelled. Until recently, half the time a fan brought up Arrested Development, it would be followed by a bitter swipe at Fox. Granted, most fans do not have an attachment to the show that parallels Buster and Lucille’s relationship. However, those that do were the most vocal and tainted even the most well adjusted fans view of Fox and its treatment of the show.
Wait! What's A Dial? 