We seem to have hit a mid-season lull in several shows, most notably, Survivor and The Amazing Race. The last couple of weeks haven't shown much excitement in either show. Survivor suffers from the tendency of both tribes sort of hunker down getting ready for the merge. The only interesting item was that Taj gave the individual immunity idol she found to her new alliance partner Stephen.
I can't understand that move. I would never give up possession of the idol, particularly not before the jury portion of the game. Your so-called alliance could easily get you voted out and you have little recourse. Stephen seems to understand that, so we will have to see if this works out for Taj.
A good twist about now would definitely help shake up things before the merge, but I'm not optimistic. The NCAA basketball tournament always forces a break in the season, this year CBS seems worried about post-break viewing as evidenced by the number of commercials telling fans when and what time it will appear. Although the idea that a "clips" show is a new episode is laughable at best.
Over at TAR the good news is that the legs have gone to very interesting locations. The idea of traveling on the trans-Siberian railroad was great. The scenery has been spectacular and there have been more whimsical challenges this season than before. The run through town in your underwear in -4 degree weather was hilarious.
There just hasn't been much drama. Everybody is behaving rather well, there haven't been any disastrous decisions. We have had the first of two, or is it three, non-elimination legs. The now used speed bump was in play the following leg and I think the flight attendants might not have been eliminated if they had not had to do the speed bump. The stunt men made a clearly wrong choice in the detour. Never, ever, pick the task that involving searching for an object if the other choice is at all doable. It looks like it almost cost them the race.
Both shows have been holding their own in the ratings as there seems to have been a general surge in ratings for established unscripted shows. (The Celebrity Apprentice seems to be the exception. More on that later.)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Survivor: What Happened?
It's not a good thing when three days after Survivor airs I can't remember what happened. I think there were some challenges and someone got voted out. I don't remember exactly why, something to do with a poor performance during the immunity challenge. Yawn.
The tribes do seem to be playing the game as they are paying attention to who goes to Exile Island and why. That might make for something more interesting as we approach the merge. Survivor has just been renewed for seasons 19 & 20, making it the longest running reality competition show currently on network television.
In most recent seasons the game only got interesting after the merge. Let's hope that holds true this season.
The tribes do seem to be playing the game as they are paying attention to who goes to Exile Island and why. That might make for something more interesting as we approach the merge. Survivor has just been renewed for seasons 19 & 20, making it the longest running reality competition show currently on network television.
In most recent seasons the game only got interesting after the merge. Let's hope that holds true this season.
A Few Thoughts About Celebrities & Reality TV
Bad idea. Why is it necessary to have third or fourth tier celebrities on unscripted competition shows? The Apprentice wasn't such a bad concept until Trump & the producers made it into one giant product placement. Then to resurrect it they decided to bring in celebrities to compete for charity. First of all, I don't like the charity angle at all. While some money is raised for charity let's not forget that Trump, the network and others are making significant money off of this show. So it's really not about charity. I guess the most interesting thing about this show is how poorly some of these entertainment types behave.
The Apprentice casting is particularly suspect. Andrew Dice Clay? Dennis Rodman? Really? The best part of Clay's brief appearance on the show was his claim to be the most famous comedian around. Hah! That was the funniest thing he said in the two hours on the show. Rodman's behavior makes you question the sanity of allowing him on the show in the first place. He obviously has no interest in the concept of the show other than continue his brand of total self-centered freak show. Who cares about watching these celebrities put the squeeze on their friends for dollars. As a poker play, I happen to love Annie Duke, but that's not enough reason to care about the outcome.
Dancing with the Stars is another matter all together. The concept of this show is to take minor celebrities and see if they can dance at a decent level. This show seemed charming the first season, and ok the second. Now it seems tired and bloated. Some people can dance, and others can't. Is that entertainment? I'm not sure. Would the show work with regular people rather than stars dancing? It might be worth a try - but I'm guessing, probably not.
Mark Burnett, the producer of Surivor and The Apprentice was once asked if he would put celebrities on Survivor since there had been some interest in that concept. He indicated that he thought that would kill the show. Agreed. But about that time I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, a hit in Britain, was imported for a summer run on ABC. It was terrible. But now NBC has announced another try at it.
My response is get the celebrities out of unscripted competition shows. They get enough exposure.
The Apprentice casting is particularly suspect. Andrew Dice Clay? Dennis Rodman? Really? The best part of Clay's brief appearance on the show was his claim to be the most famous comedian around. Hah! That was the funniest thing he said in the two hours on the show. Rodman's behavior makes you question the sanity of allowing him on the show in the first place. He obviously has no interest in the concept of the show other than continue his brand of total self-centered freak show. Who cares about watching these celebrities put the squeeze on their friends for dollars. As a poker play, I happen to love Annie Duke, but that's not enough reason to care about the outcome.
Dancing with the Stars is another matter all together. The concept of this show is to take minor celebrities and see if they can dance at a decent level. This show seemed charming the first season, and ok the second. Now it seems tired and bloated. Some people can dance, and others can't. Is that entertainment? I'm not sure. Would the show work with regular people rather than stars dancing? It might be worth a try - but I'm guessing, probably not.
Mark Burnett, the producer of Surivor and The Apprentice was once asked if he would put celebrities on Survivor since there had been some interest in that concept. He indicated that he thought that would kill the show. Agreed. But about that time I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, a hit in Britain, was imported for a summer run on ABC. It was terrible. But now NBC has announced another try at it.
My response is get the celebrities out of unscripted competition shows. They get enough exposure.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Survivor: Don't Get Sick!
I'm late with last week's Survivor comments partly because I didn't watch the show live. For years, at least through season 15 I sat down every Thursday evening turned off the phone and spent 60 minutes in front of the set. Not any more. The DVR (the greatest invention since electricity) and the sameness of structure of the show has lessened my interest.
In Survivor getting sick means almost certain elimination. I'm amazed that more people haven't gotten seriously ill over the last nine years. We have seen injuries, emotional melt-downs and some quitters, but only a few people actually got sick. Unfortunately Jerry could not handle it out there. And in true Survivor fashion the tribe decided that the one unforgivable sin in the game is to be physically incapacitated. So out he goes - even if they all liked him and had someone else in mind.
Not much more to comment on in episode 3. The only thing that interests me is the strategy of sending the same people to Exile Island. I guess one line of thinking is to make sure you only have to deal with one person potentially having the hidden immunity idol. Makes it easier to force it out later in the game. That never seems to have worked in the past. But we shall see.
Of more interest is the possibility of a cross tribe alliance this early in the game. I don't remember any such attempt previously until tribes were scrambled before the merge. The twist of having two people from opposite tribes at Exile Island might make for a very different game.
That would get me back in front of the tube live on Thursdays.
In Survivor getting sick means almost certain elimination. I'm amazed that more people haven't gotten seriously ill over the last nine years. We have seen injuries, emotional melt-downs and some quitters, but only a few people actually got sick. Unfortunately Jerry could not handle it out there. And in true Survivor fashion the tribe decided that the one unforgivable sin in the game is to be physically incapacitated. So out he goes - even if they all liked him and had someone else in mind.
Not much more to comment on in episode 3. The only thing that interests me is the strategy of sending the same people to Exile Island. I guess one line of thinking is to make sure you only have to deal with one person potentially having the hidden immunity idol. Makes it easier to force it out later in the game. That never seems to have worked in the past. But we shall see.
Of more interest is the possibility of a cross tribe alliance this early in the game. I don't remember any such attempt previously until tribes were scrambled before the merge. The twist of having two people from opposite tribes at Exile Island might make for a very different game.
That would get me back in front of the tube live on Thursdays.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The Amazing Race - My Brother's Keeper
The Amazing Race is not just about the roadblocks, detours and route information. What makes it compelling is seeing how two people work as a team under very stressful conditions. In past seasons we have seen some truly psycho personalities at work. Who can forget Johnathan hitting his wife? Recently the producers seem to have moved away from the freak show giving us more stable people that sometimes have a melt down. That makes TAR a class act for reality television.
On leg 3 we saw two teams get some very bad breaks and both handled it rather well. Tammy & Victor had a rough day. First out of the pit stop they were way ahead when they were the only team to make a 3:40 flight only to have the flight turn return to the airport because of mechanical problems. Because of that they missed the next flight and had wait until the last flight of the day. Not once did we see them act out due to what certainly had to be a major disappointment.
But it only got worse for them the next day when Victor made a disastrous mistake following red & white markers rather than the standard red & yellow route markers even when Tammy told him he was wrong. Exactly how much time this cost them is hard to know, but it looked as if it would cost them the race. There was a bit of tension but it never broke out into a real battle. When they hit the pit stop Victor was visibly distraught even though they were not eliminated. You had to love this brother & sister team because Victor knows he was too dominant and Tammy wants to learn to speak up more when she feels she's right. Good for them. I like them.
The eliminated team was one that we had not seen much from so far. Unfortunately Brad and Victoria did something that TAR fans encourage: they gambled big at the airport. This older couple decided to try to make up some time by taking a connecting flight through Amsterdam that would have given them a several hour lead. This is a tactic you only want to take when you are near the bottom. As most regular travelers know, flights are never on time anymore.
And that is what happened to this team, they missed their connecting flight and were forced to stay overnight in Amsterdam putting them a good 1/2 day behind the rest of the racers. Yet they never went ballistic, there were no complaints. It's a shame to see them go, and for once TAR has no older team left in the race. CBS prides itself on the diversity of their reality show cast, but you can't always control the outcome.
I have a favorite team now. Let's see if I'm right. Amanda & Kris get my backing partly because they are from San Diego where I spent the previous 14 years before I moved to Arizona. Also because they are young, athletic, focused and were able to recover from a serious mistake by keeping cool.
On leg 3 we saw two teams get some very bad breaks and both handled it rather well. Tammy & Victor had a rough day. First out of the pit stop they were way ahead when they were the only team to make a 3:40 flight only to have the flight turn return to the airport because of mechanical problems. Because of that they missed the next flight and had wait until the last flight of the day. Not once did we see them act out due to what certainly had to be a major disappointment.
But it only got worse for them the next day when Victor made a disastrous mistake following red & white markers rather than the standard red & yellow route markers even when Tammy told him he was wrong. Exactly how much time this cost them is hard to know, but it looked as if it would cost them the race. There was a bit of tension but it never broke out into a real battle. When they hit the pit stop Victor was visibly distraught even though they were not eliminated. You had to love this brother & sister team because Victor knows he was too dominant and Tammy wants to learn to speak up more when she feels she's right. Good for them. I like them.
The eliminated team was one that we had not seen much from so far. Unfortunately Brad and Victoria did something that TAR fans encourage: they gambled big at the airport. This older couple decided to try to make up some time by taking a connecting flight through Amsterdam that would have given them a several hour lead. This is a tactic you only want to take when you are near the bottom. As most regular travelers know, flights are never on time anymore.
And that is what happened to this team, they missed their connecting flight and were forced to stay overnight in Amsterdam putting them a good 1/2 day behind the rest of the racers. Yet they never went ballistic, there were no complaints. It's a shame to see them go, and for once TAR has no older team left in the race. CBS prides itself on the diversity of their reality show cast, but you can't always control the outcome.
I have a favorite team now. Let's see if I'm right. Amanda & Kris get my backing partly because they are from San Diego where I spent the previous 14 years before I moved to Arizona. Also because they are young, athletic, focused and were able to recover from a serious mistake by keeping cool.
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