Category Archives: TLC
90 Day Fiance Review
90 Day Fiance is standard TLC half-scripted reality fare. It follows four couples, each made up of an American man and a foreign woman. Each couple has 90 days to decide whether or not to get married and go through with the ceremony. Throughout the process, the couples have to deal with culture shock and family members’ concerns that the women are scammers.
In the first episode, we meet three couples: Mike and Aziza, Russ and Paola, and Alan and Kirlyam. The men live around the United States, whereas the women are vising from Russia, Colombia, and Brazil, respectively.
Out of all the couples, Russ and Paola appear to have spent the most time together prior to getting a K-1 (Fiance) visa. Russ met Paolo when he was working on an oil rig in Columbia. Their relationship is very physical. Paolo wanted to shower with Russ. They are constantly kissing and hugging. If the cameras weren’t on, they probably wouldn’t be discussing their relationship and what moving in with Russ’s parents will do to their relationship. It’s obvious his parents don’t like Paola because she’s a girly girl with a strong personality. When the family was eating dinner, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.
Read the rest of this entry
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?
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.
Weekly TV Update: January 7
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Michael J. Fox returns to television with a new sitcom.
Jimmy Kimmel makes the cover of Rolling Stone. His issue is out on newsstands now.
Do you want to be a contestant on Jeopardy? Entertainment Weekly has some tips for the online test.
Honey Boo Boo’s mom may be the first reality star not to blow their money.
David E. Kelley still thinks people are interested in a Wonder Woman reboot.
What Not to Wear Changes Format
What Not to Wear got a makeover this season. The new season premiered this past Tuesday with a live studio audience. This completely changed the feel of the show and not for the better. Someone at TLC fixed what wasn’t broken.
The show used to be sort of a documentary about one woman’s clothing journey. Clinton Kelly and Stacy London would throw out all of the woman’s old clothes and spend the week boosting her confidence and giving her a new look. Now with the live studio audience, What Not to Wear has turned into a highbrow point-and-laugh show.
While the part of What Not to Wear where a secret camera follows the unwitting participant was always creepy, the show never went into cruel and unusual punishment territory until this season. Even though the first person made over, Ana, looked like a teenaged hooker with her sort skirts and dead Muppet vests, she did not deserve the meanness that comes with the new format. You could hear the audience laughing at her as soon as she walked through the door. With the old format, you might have been laughing at the badly dressed woman at home, but at least it wasn’t to her face.
Wait! What's A Dial? 