Friday, February 19, 2010

In REALITY...

It's been a while since I've written about reality TV, or felt compelled to ~ but with no major mishaps going on in my life this week, no remarkable trials or tribulations; now seems like the perfect time to share my opinions about what's going on In REALITY...
I analogize that when "American Idol" starts a new season, it's like the first day of school. You look forward to it, you're excited for it to begin and then you realize that you have another whole year to face and suddenly it doesn't seem so great. Oh, where do I begin... I'm going to try to be as brief as possible (I said TRY) as there is a lot of ground to cover, even at this early juncture in this season of "AI." First let me say; so Paula left, big deal. I'm sure that Fox could find someone else to play Mrs. nice guy and tell the girls when they look pretty. Yes, yes, I KNOW they already did that, I'm just kinda recapping. So Fox decides to have guest judges go on the road in Paula's place - did I like this idea; NO!! I think one of the good things about Idol is consistency, and having a different judge means people were not JUDGED by the same criteria. For instance, I really enjoyed Victoria Beckham and Shania Twain, but I thought Katy Perry was a monster and Joe Jonas didn't say a word; and not for nothing, but if Doogie Howser sings anything, it's Broadway, so I don't really think that he needed to be there (but then again, I was very disappointed in his behavior on "Top Chef Masters"; so I'm probably still holding that against him.) OK, so for some insane reason, FOX chooses Ellen Degeneres to be the new permanent judge on "AI," and to this I say, just because people might like Ellen, doesn't mean that she should be seen ALL OVER THE PLACE. I liken this to the over exposure of Rachael Ray and Paula Dean. Do what you do ladies, COOK! You don't need talk shows, and magazines and several shows on the food network; and a word of caution to Guy Fieri (who I love) don't travel this road my friend. You already have Triple D (which is another one of my FAVES) and "Guy's Big Bite" and if my eyes are serving me correctly it looks like you're also going to be hosting a game show in addition to some Food Network Challenges. Get wise, Food Network and FOX; just because the American Public likes someone it doesn't mean that we want to see them EVERYWHERE. It's like if you absolutely adored cheesecake and all of a sudden you got to eat a piece EVERY DAY (without gaining weight of course;) after awhile, you'd grow tired of the cheesecake and you wouldn't want it anymore. And in "Bumpy Ride" fashion, this is my way of telling you that I don't think FOX should have cast Ellen as the fourth judge. Just because you LIKE music, doesn't mean you are qualified to judge those who are trying to MAKE music; just like she wasn't qualified to judge dancing on "So You Think You Can Dance" last summer. I mean seriously, should Simon host a talk show, a cooking show and start a magazine? NO, he should not, because he knows that he should keep himself as the commodity that he is on "American Idol," or at least he DID know that until he decided that this would be his last season; and not for nothing; do I think that this decision had something to do with the arrival of Ellen; Yes I do, and would I rather see Simon on Idol than anyone; yes I would. So in a nutshell; I'll give Ellen her chance BUT, I'm not happy about it.

Disenchanted; that's what I am with "American Idol" right now. My friend Lesa G, is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Hollywood gossip and the ins and outs; and she often shares her information with me. Several weeks ago, Lesa told me that Michael Lynche AKA Big Mike had been disqualified from "American Idol" because his dad had told his local newspaper that Michael had made it to the Top 24 and this was a violation of his contract. At the time I hadn't even seen Big Mike yet; but I kept this tidbit in the back of my mind. Michael was a very likable guy with a baby on the way. In fact his wife went into labor when he first got to Hollywood week and he missed the birth of his first child. I kept wondering if they were going to address his discharge or just try to slip someone in on us in his place (which they've done before.) And then when I saw that 16 year old Thaddeus Johnson hadn't been chosen for the Top 24, I thought I had it figured out. They'll replace Michael with Thaddeus and right the wrong of not choosing him in the first place. So my curiosity got the better of me, and I did a little Googling and from what I can tell Michael Lynche has caught himself a lucky break and is remaining in the competition along with some mediocre other guys; who pale in comparison to Thaddeus Johnson.
When I was doing my "AI"research I found that there was an incident with another contestant named Chris Golightly. Chris had made it into the Top 24, but they edited out almost all of his clips from Hollywood week and certainly the clip of him being told he'd made it into the Top 24, because they found that he had a previous record contract; which although not against the rules; he hadn't disclosed and "AI "didn't like this, so they let him go; EVEN THOUGH he didn't break his contract. But Michael Lynche who actually did break his contract is still there. HMMM! With the removal of Chris Golightly, another guy spot was now open on Idol, so this would have been a great time to recall Thaddeus Johnson,(left) but instead they chose Tim Urban; (right) a guy we had rarely seen before. So what's one to do; but create their own conspiracy theory, just as I have. My thinking, is that "American Idol" picks one to three contestants that they WANT to win the show, and everyone else is just varying degrees of fillers. They pick some people who they believe will get eliminated early on from the Top 24 (ie: Tatiana the crazy, crying, laughing girl from last year) and others who they believe will last a couple of weeks or so in the Top 12, but they know from the get go; who THEY want to win; and maybe this just wasn't Thaddeus' year because they believe he can go further another year when he just might be the One, TWO or THREE that they WANT to win. Will Thaddeus buy my theory; probably not, because he's 16 and he wanted this NOW, but will you buy my theory? I'm not implying that the show is FIXED; I'm just justifying their choices for the mediocre guys, so that it makes some sort of sense to me when I'm complaining over the next few weeks about how lousy the guys are. Remember Sanjaya??? FILLER!!
And so much for TRYING to be brief. Now, I know what you're thinking; "If you're disenchanted, don't watch." And you're right, but just because something isn't perfect one moment doesn't mean it can't change; and I'm curious enough to stick with it at least for a while longer, because there are some really good, talented girls. My prediction A GIRL WILL WIN IT THIS YEAR!
Now, believe it or not, with my busy schedule I don't really have a lot of time for TV, though I certainly could convince you otherwise I'm sure. But I DVR everything, and I watch while I'm loading / unloading the dishwasher or cooking dinner or folding laundry and then yah, I do try to allow myself a good hour to relax; and during my relaxation time the other night, I stumbled across a show that is so DIVINE, I am absolutely tickled PINK...
"RuPaul's Drag Race "season 2; just may be my new favorite show; right after "GLEE." I don't think that there's anyone who doesn't know who RuPaul is, but just in case you need a refresher, he /she is the 6'4" GLAMAZON who had the hit song "Supermodel" (You'd better work) in the 90's. She had a talk show on VH1, has done several guest spots in movies and was signed as the first covergirl for MAC cosmetics; making him the first drag queen supermodel. In short; I think that RuPaul is the most glamorous woman in show business. I love her ballsy (pardon the pun) sense of humor and her commanding personality, Oh, yes from one Queen to another, I think she is the hands down WINNER; and now she has a show on LOGO, that can also be seen on VH1. RuPaul's Drag Rce is a competition for drag queens. They typically have one challenge that they compete in as men and another where they have to get all suited up as their alter ego,drag queen personas; then finally, they do a runway competition which concludes with 2 of the contestants having to lip sync for their lives. Oh my God, can you say DELICIOUS!!! This show is nothing short of entertaining. It has the drama that only a room full of queens can bring, outrageous hair and makeup; and did I mention that the ladies MAKE most of their own costumes - move over "Project Runway." This show is da bomb babies; and I give kudos to Rupaul for keeping it real and always being true to herself. Truth be told, I spent way to long trying to find the perfect picture of RuPaul and I honestly although I've included a couple, I didn't find any that I thought did her justice; so just check out her show for yourself, and there will be no disputing my claim.

And while on the topic of "REALITY TV" I have to mention that I did in fact fall pray to MTV's "Jersey Shore." It was one of the umteen days that they were having a marathon, and yes indeedy I got sucked right in. I DVR'D it and i'll admit, was fascinated by the utter stupidity and classlessness of those that thought they were "IT!" To say that I feel sorry for their parents is an understatement, and to say that I just dated myself, may just prove that I had no business watching this show; but honestly I don't care, and i'll be sitting front and center for season 2, cause mindless entertainment can be a VERY good thing in these troubled times. If you haven't caught it; do I recommend it? Probably not. Go find RuPaul's show instead. But if you have seen it and are a fan of the "GTL", "Snookie," or "The Situation;" you'll know EXACTLY what I'm talking about; so go beat up the beat...

Lastly, I will mention the upcoming "Dancing With The Stars," as if I haven't gone on enough already...
Per Lesa, co-host Samantha Harris has left the show; and that's OK by me. Tom Bergeron is the best host ever and it won't realy matter who his co-host is; but in my opinion it should be Kelly Osborne, who was so extraordinarily entertaining and endearing last season. Got that ABC? I hear (per Lesa) that they are considering Brooke Burke and Melissa Rycroft and though either of them would be fine; I'd like to see them go with someone less predictable and more alive; so Kelly gets my vote; as if I have one...

And with that; I think i'll draw this commentary to a conclusion. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on any or all of the show's that I've mentioned; especially if i've turned you on to something new. I hope that you all keep it REAL, and find some time to enjoy yourselves.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

1 comment:

Rachel said...

RuPaul is fierce...I've gotta go check that show out!