The Entertainment Value of Fake Reality - The Week The Women Went, The Real World: Brooklyn, And More

The Amazing Race, Top Chef, Project Runway, So You Think You Can Dance are the gold standards of reality TV. American Idol and Survivor are the popular ones. Then there's everything else. And I'm such a hypocrite because while I recommend the ones above, I'll admit, I still watch a lot of others. (Despite my usual rants against bad reality TV and the death of scripted television, yet here I am, one of the culprits of the problem).

For one, I've been watching ABC's What Would You Do, which replaced Eli Stone in the Tuesday 10pm timeslot. I should be boycotting the pseudo-news reality show but the "social experiments" they set up with actors are quite entertaining. Fake and obvious as hell but it still brings some moistness to my eyes when strangers do good and step up to stop the wrongs being recreated. That or I'm having my period every Tuesday at 10pm.

The Week The Women Went is the CBC series (Wednesdays at 8pm) that documents the ... well... the week the women went. The production sends all the women in a small town away (to a resort to be pampered), leaving the menfolk to run the town, the households and take care of the children. It's a contrived set up to help reinforce stereotypes but it's hilarious nonetheless.

Especially when watching the father that always throws up while changing the baby's diapers. Plus it's a CBC show (think BBC or PBS), so they make it as classy as you can on one of these things.

This second season turns the lives of the townspeople of Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia upside down.

My favorites are the guy with the leaky ceiling in the kitchen who finally gets a taste of what his wife has to deal with now that he has to cook in the kitchen.

There's also hottie Micah Stewart (below), the man's man who loves to work and take care of the town more than he does his own children. His poor wife Treva tries to engage him but alas, this is the week he's going to be forced to.

Mark Langille has the same problem and though he's willing to watch the kids, his obsessiveness over cleanliness and organization is kind of hilarious, especially when his kids call him out on it.

I also love Jimmie LeFresne, the "train conductor" who turned the local train and train station into a bed and breakfast. He's essentially a kid who gets to play with his giant train set all his life. Love it! But now that all his workers left (duh, the maids, the cooks, the waitstaff), the boys will have to run the show now.


More on The Bachelor, True Beauty, The Real World: Brooklyn, Top Chef, Project Runway Canada, American Idol:

The Bachelor - Jason Mesnick - Ep. 1304
True Beauty - Ep. 104

So I was wrong about CJ winning the whole damn thing. I mean, Chelsea really should have been in the bottom 2 and on her way out but they REALLY want her in don't they? Considering she creates the most drama on the show. On the other hand, I actually kinda like Billy so I'm glad he wasn't kicked off.

Meanwhile, was this the first time the bachelor didn't give out all the roses? That was fantastic. Nice move Jason! Bold, truthful and highly entertaining for those last few minutes. Now what's next in the script!? (When is DeAnna going to return? Dun dun DUN! Cue soap opera music).


The Real World: Brooklyn - The Outs & Ins of Brooklyn, The BFF-O-Meter Eps. 2102-2103

Yah, Chet just needs to come out. Or shut up. Loved his family's reaction to JD though. On learning that JD is gay: Mormon Mom "Oh that's why he was so nice!".

I still think Ryan's hair is adorable and I'll give him props for going to the gay bar but he needs to STOP WITH THE SINGING. Apparently I'm not the only one. He should, you know, stick to pole dancing!

And Scott needs to keep his shirt off... hola!


Top Chef - Down on the Farm, Restaurant Wars, Super Bowl Chef Showdown - Eps. 508- 510

I kind of want to stab Stefan and kiss him at the same time. Is that wrong?

I loved the farm challenge. There was a freshness to it and it all looked SO good!

Oh, the Top Chef Showdown brought back past season chefs and man, I miss Andrew. He was so cute and quirky.

Although I cannot BELIEVE Stefan, of all chef's, he who had won 5 competitions in a row, lose badly to Andrew from the All Stars team.

I was just about to list who I still love but at this point, I actually like everyone left. Carla makes me laugh. Jamie scares me a little but she really does seem concerned with impressing. Fabio makes me laugh, and Leah and Hosea seem like nice people and I have no real reason to hate them.

I still think Arianne got shafted way back when but oh well. I know most people hate Jeff's douchiness but I find it endearing but alas, I think he got himself chopped by talking too much against the judges cause I think Fabio was close to being cut.

Meanwhile, I'm hungry again...


Project Runway Canada - Fashion Is A Battlefield - Ep. 201 - Season Premiere

OTTAWA? They are in Ottawa this season? There's fashion in Ottawa? I thought it was a bunch of government suits. So the show starts off in the new Canadian War Museum (which I really must go and visit at some point).

Apparently fashion wars are bloody because who would have thought TWO people would flake out of the competition in the FIRST EPISODE? How lame is that? The producers must have been having a fit. Danio drops out due to health problems while Jaclyn has a panic attack (again. in the FIRST challenge) and drops out. For REAL?

So using a camouflage theme, the new designers show their stuff and the people with the irregular names; Adejoke, Baylor and Sunny, seem to have the best stuff. I don't really remember the others, except for Jason's blanket dress, that flips from a dress to a cloak to hide in on the field. For real. What was he thinking? It's too bad because it looked half decent as a dress.

Christie's blue lighting bolt was hideous. Like something that survived from the 80's under a pile of rubble and discovered for the show. I can't believe she's still in.

In the end, Camille's dress, with an unflattering top, just didn't measure up, and Iman said so long to her.

I'm also liking Jessica and Jeff so far, but I don't really remember the others yet right now (not that many were given much screen time with the two flake-outs and all).

But I am happy that Iman is back! She scares me but in a good way!


American Idol - Auditions in Jacksonville and Salt Lake City - Ep. 805, 806

There's still one more new audition episode tonight (on a special Thursday episode) before next week's Hollywood week (oh god finally. I know they already shortened the auditions this season but I never cared for it and am only watching to keep my eye on anybody that I might put my bet on for the pool I'm entering).

And seriously, so far this week, I've really seen no one that I would put my money on yet. Jacksonville was horrific. Salt Lake City was a little better at least.

The Osmond kid with MS (what's with these sob stories this year?) was pretty good. There were a few other singers in Mormon country that seemed cute.


Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com