Big Brother 10: Brian Evicted/Jessie is New HOH

Posted by Jacci Lewis
Categories: Prime Time, Reality, CBS, Editorial, Gossip, News

He flew too close to the sun and got burned. Brian, the former Air Force crew chief from San Francisco, talked himself right out of the Big Brother 10 house. He wasn’t even nominated originally.

Jerry, the Head of Household, put Renny and Jessie up for nomination, but Jessie won the Power of Veto. This coincided with increasing suspicion of Brian’s attempts to control other house guests and tell them how to vote. At one point, Brian suggested he was “pulling all the strings” in the house. He’d originally formed an alliance with Dan and Ollie. But Ollie has formed a stronger alliance (like the physical kind) with April and April didn’t like Brian so Ollie turned on him.

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More Reasons Why Regis Philbin Should Retire

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Daytime, Talk Shows, ABC, Syndication, Editorial, Video

A few months ago, I listed 8 reasons why I thought Regis Philbin should start making his retirement plans. Now I would like to add a #9 and #10.

#9. Back in May, the talk show host was talking about the recent American Idol finale when he said, “What happened to the past winners? Where are they today?” When told by co-host Kelly Ripa that they come on their show “all the time,” Regis responded, “Really? I haven’t noticed.”

#10. Philbin, who actually went to the premiere of The Dark Knight yesterday evening, sadly referenced Heath Ledger as ’Keith Ledger’. (You can see that clip from today’s show below.)

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Big Brother 10: Grandpa Got Game

Posted by Jacci Lewis
Categories: Prime Time, Reality, CBS, Editorial, News

Maybe there is hope for presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain yet? Right now the hottest guy on Big Brother 10 right now is a muscle-shirt wearin’, gravelly voice talkin’ ex-Marine who just happens to be a 75-year-old great-grandfather.

The new season of CBS‘ perennial fish-bowl reality show is proving that old doesn’t mean obsolete. In the premiere episode of Big Brother 10 Jerry, the oldest person to every compete on the show, not only became Head of Household but also copped a feel of one of the hottest girls in this season’s cast. (Before his wife of 54 years has a heart attack that girl, April, sort of forced Jerry to do it.) Still, it was a good strategic move for the Magnolia,Texas retiree. In that instant you could see his fellow house guests quickly shift their concept of Jerry from Depends and defibrillators to babes and booze.

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Ken Burns Tackles National Parks in 2009 Offering

Posted by Jacci Lewis
Categories: Mini Series, Reality, PBS, Announcements, Editorial, News

Mark out some time in 2009. PBS says it will air Ken Burns new documentary on America’s national parks sometime in the fall of that year.

The 12-hour, six-part documentary is called “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”.

According to the Associated Press the series traces the origins and growth of the national park system over 150 years. The series will highlight both the lofty idealism that lead to their creation and the opportunism of some who sought to make money on some of America’s most majestic natural locales. 

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Read More | Associated Press

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Big Brother 10 Cast Revealed

Posted by Jacci Lewis
Categories: Prime Time, Reality, CBS, Editorial, Gossip, News, Video

“Somebody for everyone.” That’s how executive producer Allison Grodner describes the cast of CBS’ Big Brother 10.

After a slide in ratings in the past few installments of the long-running reality show, Big Brother is returning to its roots of throwing actual strangers from all walks of life into one pretend house. This time around producers assure viewers there will be no ex-lovers, no secret father-daughter pairs or long-lost siblings. This is the first time house guests have been true strangers since the third season. (You can see a video clip with the latest contestants after the jump.)

Other than that though, the premise is the same. 13 people try to lie, cheat and steal their way to the $500,000 prize while their every move is monitored by 50 cameras for three months. The producers insist there will be twists, but past relationships aren’t among them.

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Read More | Associated Press

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The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Review

Posted by K.C. Morgan
Categories: Drama, Kids, Prime Time, ABC, Cable, Editorial

The compelling promos, tons of press and Seventh Heaven association might have been enough to rope me into watching the premiere of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, but it was the mere presence of Molly Ringwald in the cast which sealed the deal. And so it was that last night during prime time, I found myself watching cable instead of network TV. I don’t think it was a mistake.

Rollicking pop music kicked off the top of the episode, which immediately plunged its viewers headlong into teen pregnancy. Seriously, the main character Amy (played by Shailene Woodley) was barely introduced (as a marching band member) before she was in the restroom staring at the positive results from a home pregnancy kit. No time wasted here on introductions.

Actually, it felt more than a little forced. The audience was given no time to connect with this character in any way before BAM! she’s knocked up. And then, the beginning credits rolled.

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Read More | ABC Family

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Bravo Steals Another Reality Idea

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Food & Home, Prime Time, Reality, Bravo, Cable, FOX, Hell's Kitchen, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef, Editorial

As much as I love Bravo, am I the only one getting tired of their FOX reality rip-offs?

Today, the cable channel announced that it is producing a spinoff for one of Shear Genius‘s competitors from last season. Later this summer, the cameras will be following Tabatha Coffey as she “visits struggling salons in the Los Angeles and New York areas and literally takes over the establishments to whip them into shape.” While some may say a show about hair stylists has nothing to do with FOX, I say this production smells exactly like Kitchen Nightmares.

In fact, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover would be the second time Bravo has adopted a concept already seen on that other network. Hell’s Kitchen debuted in May 2005 while Top Chef coincidentally appeared in March 2006. And how about So You Think You Can Dance? That reality hit program played a part in Step It Up & Dance‘s debut this year.

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Read More | Futon Critic

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Celebrity Feuds Win for NBC

Posted by K.C. Morgan
Categories: Games, Prime Time, Reality, NBC, Editorial

The first ever spin-off of Family Feud, a game show which itself was originally a spin-off, premiered last night on NBC. Very few changes to the standard show format, along with celebrities and much larger cash prizes helped NBC pull down promising ratings for this summer show.

Feud first began airing in 1976 with host Richard Dawson at the helm. His charm, slightly chiding nature and constant kissing quickly cemented him as one of TV’s best-loved hosts. In those early days, ABC owned the show, which was canceled by the network in 1985.

The show was born again on CBS in 1988, this time with petite Ray Combs holding center stage. This version was officially canceled in 1993, but continued as a syndicated version (amid some host troubles) until 1995. The show would not return again until 1999 on FOX as a daytime syndicated spot. Nine years of set changes and host changes have kept Feud on FOX ever since, with re-runs always available on GSN. 

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Read More | NBC

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The Two Coreys Return to A&E

Posted by K.C. Morgan
Categories: Prime Time, Reality, Cable, Editorial

The second season of The Two Coreys premiered Sunday night, and those who didn’t see it missed some Grade A reality TV.

Generally, the second time around is never as good as the first. We see this all the time in sequels, remakes and television renewals. How could the second season of The Two Coreys, which ended last season on a highly intense dramatic note, ever be as good as it was in the beginning?

Great editing and text-based narratives created can’t-miss drama in the first moments of the second season opener. The show began with very little recap and preamble, devoting much of its time to showing a series of events which led up to a meeting between Corey Haim and Corey Feldman - for the first time in six months. This meeting was briefly highlighted at the beginning and end of the opener, then more fully explored in the episode which immediately followed. Terrible secrets and past pain were revealed early on, somewhat shocking in their nature. 

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Read More | A&E

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TBS Makes a Hit…or Mistake?

Posted by K.C. Morgan
Categories: Games, Reality, ABC, Cable, CBS, NBC, Editorial

Get Smart. Indiana Jones. Re-making old classics is the latest trend on movies…so why can’t the same technique be applied to TV? I’ll admit - I’m a huge game show fan. Any game, any time, I play along and I usually do quite well. True TV game-players know where the best action can be found: GSN. But in this age of old-is-new, where past ideas are suddenly no longer passé, the classics come alive. In this case, it’s Match Game.

A show with a long history that just got a little bit longer. Match Game originally hit the air in 1962 on NBC, running for seven seasons before cancellation. This is not the most famous version of the show. Match Game didn’t hit its real stride until it found a home on CBS in 1973. The episodes have resulted in some of the most popular programming GSN has ever ran, and for good reason.

I can summon this up for you in just two words: Richard Dawson. 

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Read More | Hollywood Reporter

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