Category Archives: Reality TV
Weekly TV Update: August 6
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Showtime ends Weeds and The Big C. The season finale of Weeds will air September 16. Date for The Big C have not been announced yet.
Comedy Central roast stalwart Jeffrey Ross offends with a too soon joke about the Aurora, Colorado shootings.
Nick Jonas may become a judge on American Idol.
According to The New York Post, Sharon Osbourne is quitting America’s Got Talent because NBC fired her son from Stars Earn Stripes.
Which new daytime talk show hosts will last? The Hollywood Reporter assesses the pros and cons of all the new daytime hosts.
AGT Results Recap: July 25th
Cher Lloyd
Despite the limited success in showcasing true talent on AGT this season, Tuesday night was obviously the best performance night in the quarterfinal rounds. It’s a great thing that America got to see some talent, but it’s a problem when it happens so rarely on a show called America’s Got Talent.
The first result was between Ulysses, Olate Dogs, and David “The Bullet” Smith. While Smith and Olate Dogs have genuine skill, Ulysses is nothing special because most people who have heard television theme songs are able to badly mimic them. His act has never been worthy of a live performance. As for Smith, a human cannonball act may be scary and dangerous, but it is not suitable for Vegas. Out of the three acts, Olate Dogs advanced to the semifinals, which they deserved. These dogs are truly unique and their trainers work extremely hard to get them to a level far above other animal acts.
AGT’s Last Quarterfinal Performances
William Close and the Earth Harp
The 36 acts that have performed during the live shows on America’s Got Talent have been disappointing to say the least. A lot of terrible acts have been through to the Top 48 and even some of the acts that have made it through to the semifinals did not deserve it. I have said from the very beginning that the judges did not find 48 talented acts. They followed protocol anyway. That is, until last night. Tuesday’s show proved two things: some people in America have talent and also that putting them against other people who do not is a bad idea.
David “The Bullet” Smith
There’s no question that David “The Bullet” has a unique ability. However, watching him fly through the air out of a cannon ball can only be done so many times. He got shot out of a cannon ball and landed on a net, just like he did in his audition. There’s no way this could sustain itself as a Vegas show. It’s just one of the acts that could be seen at the circus. Risking one’s life for the public’s amusement has been part of American culture for a long time, but it can get boring.
Weekly TV Update: July 23
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
WWE Raw reaches its 1,000th episode. It will feature a look back the shows 19 years on air.
Aaron Sorkin lets go of more than half of The Newsroom’s writing staff.
The Olympics opening ceremony is Friday. Find your local Olympics schedule at NBC Olympics.
Mindy Kaling is returning to The Office for at least one more episode.
If you missed the Teen Choice Awards, Jen Chaney of The Washington Post has a summary of what happened.
Mariah Carey Joins American Idol
Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez vacated their judging positions only last week, but one seat on the American Idol judging panel has already been filled by Mariah Carey. Meanwhile, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said at a Television Critics Association meeting that since Lopez told Ryan Seacrest that she was only “99 percent sure” she was leaving, there is a 1 percent chance she will return. Then, Lythgoe went on to contradict himself. He also expressed a desire to keep the show fresh with new judges each season.
Over at The Hollywood Reporter, there are some interesting American Idol related charts, such the following one.
Do you think Mariah Carey will make a good judge? Does American Idol even matter anymore? Tell us what you think in the comments.
The Anticlimactic Finale of Food Network Star
From left to right: Yvan Lemoine, Justin Warner, Michele Ragussis
As this is a review of the finale, naturally, it contains the winner. If you have not seen the finale and want it to remain a surprise, please stop reading now.
The finale of Food Network Star brought all of the season 8 contestants, their mentors, and the judges together for one last time. In what amounted to a glorified talk show clip show, the contestants shared their thoughts and behind-the-scenes footage and flashbacks aired between the conversations.
Most of the show consisted of high school superlatives and gossip. Viewers found out that Team Alton liked being called the nerds, Giada didn’t mind that her team was called the cheerleaders, and Bobby felt that “the jocks” was an accurate term for his “take no prisoners” team. Then the show went into how annoying Michele and Nikki found retro-rad Emily because she would wake up the house with a shrill good morning, which was followed by Malcolm being voted cockiest and Nikki being voted the most competitive.
The 2012 Emmy Nominees
Earlier today, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the 2012 Emmy Awards nominees. HBO (81 nominations) and CBS (60 nominations) lead the networks in nominations. Mad Men and American Horror Story (tied with 17 nominations) were shows nominated for the most awards.
Here is list of shows nominated in the major categories:
Best Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep
Best Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men
AGT Results Recap: July 18th
Ashleigh and Pudsey
A poor night of performances has become the norm on this season’s America’s Got Talent, so the result shows are not really exciting. It’s hard to root for anybody to advance. AGT makes it seem like sending four acts to the next round makes the decision tough because two-thirds of the acts get sent home. However, the real challenge is not deciding which acts have to go home, but rather which average acts will get an undeserving chance at winning the competition. In a season like this, a semifinal of 24 acts seems too big. America is forced to choose the best of the worse.
The first result grouped Mike Price, Jacob Williams, and Cristin Sandu. This was an easy decision for America, but it wasn’t a rewarding one. This group was made up of a juggler who dropped his props, a balancing act that failed, and a promising comedian whose skills are still raw. Williams was the only performer out of these three whose act went as planned. Of course, that gave him an advantage. I’m happy for Williams. While he may have deserved to advance, he also got pretty lucky.
AGT’s Third Quarterfinal Performance Night
All Beef Patty
This season, I have come to expect disappointment from America’s Got Talent. Most of the acts that made it this far do not deserve to be performing on a national stage in front of millions. They are just not good enough. Some have promise, but are very unpolished. Some are just outright horrible to the point that I feel sorry that they were given so much false hope. Some are good, but they serve as only a mildly pleasant surprise. The competition is far easier for them than it should be. The performances this season have repeatedly come up short. Tuesday night’s show was no exception.
Food Network Star: Promo Time
This season of Food Network Star has been underwhelming because many of the contestants were boring and the format did not work. Other than the handful of finalists, I do not remember anyone’s name because most of the constants were instantly forgettable. As for the format, it managed to make Giada DeLaurentiis, Bobby Flay, and Alton Brown unlikable because they had just as much at stake as the contestants: they would produce the pilot of the winner, if the winner is on their team.
Last night’s episode of Food Network Star seemed rushed. It could have easily been extended to 90 minutes or split over 2 weeks because it contained to distinct situations. Each situation could have made a complete episode, but for some reason neither one got the time it deserved and both were compressed down to a half hour. The first 30 minutes saw the remaining 6 contestants shoot 30 second promos for their potential Food Network show.
Spoiler Alert
Wait! What's A Dial? 