thewb.com's web-only High Drama: Against All Oz follows high school drama production
Today, The WB debuts its first original reality series, High Drama: Against All Oz, which follows the impressive, not-quite-high school production of The Wizard of Oz at Barnstable High School in Hyannis, Mass. It will air only on thewb.com, the web-only reincarnation of The WB TV network that launched at the end of August with full episodes of excellent scripted series such as Firefly, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Gilmore Girls. Two three- to five-minute episodes of High Drama will be released every Monday. In the first episode, especially, the music is too aggressive and the editing a bit too frantic, but it calms down somewhat and finds its footing. The production is kind of crazy--heck, they plan to have a horse and a fireball on their high school auditorium stage--but that makes it interesting, like when the student director is fighting the faculty adviser over budgets (the student wants to spend less). Overall, it works because the series documents real people doing something real, especially when the series gets serious, revealing that one of the kids has cancer. This isn't The Hills--thewb.com's version of that show comes on Oct. 20 with Rich Girl/Poor Girl, a series from Laguna Beach's producers. Here's the High Drama trailer: High Drama [TheWB.com]>> share, link to, or e.mail this story >> read the latest news about other shows >> find more reality TV news and gossip at reality blurred
Realityblurred.com Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:11:19 -0500
Amazing Race begins another season of delayed episodes and familiar, if stupider, contestants
Last Sunday, The Amazing Race debuted, and something happened that just a few seasons ago would have been unthinkable: I didn't even start watching it until Tuesday, and even then, I only made it through half the episode. Basically, I was uninterested and almost bored. I've gotten increasingly irritated with the show's Emmy wins, because it seems to be getting worse. But really, it's the same strong, well-produced series, it's just that the format has made it age rapidly. Season after season, the teams blend together. Another pair of blondes, another pair of frat boys, another separated couple, another pair of siblings. Perhaps the most distinctive couple this season was the hippie beekeepers, at least before they were eliminated. But what did we know about them other than that they're beekeepers with crazy hair? There's some degree to which the format consumes the contestants, and doesn't let us really get to know them beyond superficial details and conflict. Hell, with the same-sex teams, it's hard to learn individual people's names until late in the season. While shows like Survivor, Top Chef, or even Flavor of Love live or die on the strength of their contestants' personalities and interactions, people are increasingly interchangeable on The Amazing Race. When there is conflict, it's extremely familiar: arguments over directions, irritation because of jealousy and trust issues, debates with taxi drivers who don't know where they're going, the same stuff again and again. The way the editing and music create artificial tension--whether that's a race to the pit stop or an airline agent's epic search for seats--also ultimately hurts the series, because everything is tense and crazy, and ultimately that makes nothing tense and crazy. As a result, the show has become increasingly less interesting to me. And CBS' stubborn insistence upon scheduling the show at a time where it's nearly always delayed--and since they don't have the digital rights, it's not online, so you're screwed if you miss it--seems like an open invitation to give it up. Having previously cited The Amazing Race as my favorite reality series, I don't want it to die. Right now, I kind of just want the race to slow down: let us get to know the contestants, and the locations, much more than it does now. It is a race, of course, and so that may be impossible, but the challenges could borrow from The Mole, for example, and require a lot more thinking and strategizing. That won't happen this season, though. And there are still spectacular locations and funny moments. Here are the things that stood out from the second episode: Why do Nick and Starr wear camouflage? Are they expecting combat? And do they realize that sleeveless camo kind of defeats the purpose?During a cab ride, Terence told Sarah, "Find the spot, really stick this in there. ... Now, if you will be kind enough, blow it." The Parents Television Council is already filing a complaint (even though he was just asking her to fix a minor wound on his forehead caused by the cab driver slamming the trunk on his head, which is definitely a point for the cab driver).Arriving at the airport, Ty asked Aja, "What do you want to do--do you want to buy the flight first or do you want to change the money?" Then they decided to change money instead of buy tickets. Did someone forget to tell them this is a race?Tina got increasingly more annoying after convincing herself that she'd convinced an airline to get a bigger airplane so that all of the contestants would fit. Because the best way to endear oneself to others is to demand that they like you, Tina went around and told everyone what she'd done, and then instructed them to appreciate her. "You owe me," Tina told Ty and Aja, and then pulled a horse head out of her backpack and dropped it on the ground in front of them."I'm going to start giving people candy!" one of the blondes, Marisa or Brooke, said, thinking that'd be an effective strategy to get people to help her rather than, say, call the police when she starts handing out candy to strangers.Anthony and Stephanie foreshadowed their elimination by talking about how the abject poverty around them helped them to appreciate their lives, because there's no better way to feel better about yourself than to compare yourself to someone whose life appears much worse upon superficial examination of that person's community. It also helps if you're condescending and insulting, like when Anthony criticized the country's taxis and said, "If they learned how to fix a car, they'd probably make it rich."Deciding to do the more physical Detour challenge, one of the (not exactly Abercrombie) frat boys said, "Me and him lift all the time, so it's not like we'd pull a muscle or anything." And that, friends, is proof that lifting weights and physical fitness do not necessarily have anything to do with one another.Any sentence that starts with "As Yoda would say" is a sentence that I wish I never heard.Nick declared, "Taxi Parking: There's a sign that I can read." I think he meant, "there's a sign that's in English," or even "there's a sign I'm glad to see," but it's much funnier to imagine that anything more complicated than those two words represents a significant reading challenge for him, and that he really had to work hard for his Pizza Hut Book It! personal pan pizzas."Should we go in there and get an ice cream?" Terence asked Sarah, who replied, "Yeah, babe, because we're sightseeing." Seriously, did the producers forget to tell these teams they are racing?Kelly and Christy raised their stupidity flag as they wasted time in one of the most incomprehensible ways ever: "We were searching in the sand, searching in the water for a container we did not need," one of them said. Yes, after they completed their own Detour task, they read the clue for the other Detour, which talked about location a shipping container by number, and so they started digging in the sand, apparently not realizing that they were a) doing something completely unnecessary, b) digging in the wrong place, and c) looking for something the size of the trailer they will soon occupy if their intelligence is any indication of their future earning potential.There was so much confusion between Spanish and Portuguese, the actual language spoken in Brazil, that I don't even know where to begin except to just sigh.Phil hasn't been much of a presence this season, but he did get a little randy on the mat when Dallas and Toni, Terence and Sarah, and Aja and Ty showed up. "Maybe you should talk about this love that I'm seeing here," he said. "You guys are hugging and kissing."As if their search for the shipping container wasn't enough to demonstrate their cluelessness, Kelly and Christy stood around waiting for a taxi when theirs was sitting with the others the whole time."I have a lot of things in my life to be thankful for: I have my health, I have my parents, I have, you know, my looks, and I have Stephanie," Anthony said. Well, three out of four isn't bad.>> share, link to, or e.mail this story >> read the latest news about The Amazing Race 13 >> find more reality TV news and gossip at reality blurred
Realityblurred.com Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:06:32 -0500
Apolo and Julianne Pictures
Pictures of Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough performing on Dancing With The Stars.
About.com Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EST
Natalie of Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious
Photos and info for the hopefuls competing on Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious. Meet Natalie.
About.com Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EST
Picture of Kat Von D and the MTV Video Music Awards
See pictures of reality stars out and about.
About.com Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EST
Hot or Not?: America's Next Top Model 5's Jayla
Check out this picture of America's Next Top Model's Jayla and cast your vote in her
About.com Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EST
Misty May-Treanor reportedly quits Dancing with the Stars after being injured Friday
Olympian Misty May-Treanor suffered an injury while rehearsing for Dancing with the Stars 7 on Friday, and has reportedly been forced to quit the competition as a result. Access Hollywood reported Saturday that "[a] source close to the show revealed to Access that the volleyball star is out of the competition and will require surgery." On Saturday, ABC would only confirm the injury in a statement:"Dancing With the Stars contestant Misty May-Treanor sustained an injury on Friday and received immediate medical attention. Despite previous reports, she did not break her ankle. She is resting comfortably at home. Doctors will reevaluate her condition on Monday and determine the outcome of her participation on the show." In other words, whether or not she's had to leave the competition, ABC will make us wait for the news until Monday night, when the next episode airs. Clever.Injury ends Misty May-Treanor's 'Dancing' [Access Hollywood]>> share, link to, or e.mail this story >> read the latest news about Dancing with the Stars 7 >> find more reality TV news and gossip at reality blurred
Realityblurred.com Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:41:26 -0500
Zombies invade UK Big Brother house for E4's Dead Set
The following is the most awesome, most engaging, most entertaining footage from a Big Brother house I've ever seen: That's a trailer for, as the title card says, Dead Set, a six-episode drama series that will air on the UK's E4 later starting Oct. 27. It's produced by Charlie Brooker, and focuses on what happens when there's a zombie outbreak in Britain and, as the show's site says, "the remaining [Big Brother] contestants" are "blissfully unaware of the horrific events unfolding outside. Until an eviction night when all hell breaks loose." The show's trailer (and other footage) make it look like a pretty standard issue zombie stuff, but setting it in the Big Brother house is genius. It's the perfect claustrophobic hide-out setting, and it also adds authenticity to the concept, because there have been many occasions where Big Brother houseguests have been kept in the dark about world events. Adding to the realism, the show's host, Davina McCall, even plays herself, and The Daily Mail reports that former contestants will also appear. E4's head Angela Jain told Broadcast that she stopped watching the first episode because "I was shitting myself." Dead Set [E4] Big Brother goes bad: Jaime Winstone to star in gory new horror series set in zombie- infested BB house [Daily Mail] Off Cuts: 5 Sept, 08 [Broadcast]>> share, link to, or e.mail this story >> read the latest news about UK Big Brother >> find more reality TV news and gossip at reality blurred
Realityblurred.com Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:36:10 -0500
Weak link gets the boot on 'Survivor Gabon'
Kota's weak link, Paloma,?tried to shift attention to Ace, but the tribe wouldn't go for it.
MSNBC.com Fri, 3 Oct 2008 01:47:03 GMT
Teary-eyed Boyd takes 'Talent' title
Tears streamed down opera singer Neal E. Boyd's face on Wednesday night as he was named the winner of the third season of "America's Got Talent."
MSNBC.com Thu, 2 Oct 2008 13:30:57 GMT
NBC sets date for 'Momma's Boys'
Reality TV: Reality show to bow on Oct. 29 -- NBC has bumped "Momma's Boys" to fall, slating it Wednesdays at 9 p.m. starting Oct. 29.
Variety Thu, 2 Oct 2008 12:58:03 EST
South African farmers want 'Wife'
Reality TV: 'Boer soek 'n vrou' features 10 lonely farmers -- A local version of FremantleMedia reality format "Farmer Wants a Wife" debuted Tuesday on KykNet, the Afrikaans-language channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite service.
Variety Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:07:37 EST
Marcil to host Lifetime reality series
Reality TV: Charlie Green to mentor 'Blush' contestants -- Lifetime's reality competish series "Blush: The Search for the Next Makeup Artist," has tapped actress Vanessa Marcil as its host.
Variety Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:18:41 EST
Judge blocks 'Runway' move
Reality TV: Weinstein Co. to appeal injunction -- "Project Runway's" catwalk strut to Lifetime has hit a snag. A New York judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday, temporarily barring the Weinstein Co. from moving the reality series from Bravo to Lifetime or marketing any such move.
Variety Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST
May-Treanor finished 'Dancing,' Burke says
Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor's "Dancing With the Stars" days are over, according to competitor Brooke Burke, who told a morning radio show that the Olympic gold medalist has a torn Achilles tendon.
MSNBC.com
Derek Hough blacks out after 'Dancing' fall
"Dancing With the Stars" dancer Derek Hough blacked out after taking a nasty tumble and hitting his head, according to his partner Brooke Burke, who wrote about the incident on her blog.
MSNBC.com
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