Thursday, January 19, 2012

Reality TV Worth Watching in Real Time

My love for the boob tube is well documented. And, seeing as I'm a non-cable subscriber, I have to get my fix by more, ahem, unsavoury means. There are only a couple reality shows I keep up with as they air though – most of the time, I'll just catch a little of whatever's on while I'm near a TV. But these bad boys, no, these I anxiously await the latest episode's airing, then scour torrent sites within a couple hours. I plan date nights with pals so I can watch them on their TVs. And what are they, you ask?


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Project Runway All-Stars
God, I feel conflicted about this one. On the one hand, we have the return of some of the best (and most dramatic) runners-up in Project Runway history – Austin Scarlett's back, Mondo's back, bitchy  Kenley's back, whiny Michael Costello's back – but on the other hand, Lifetime has finally made the changes we've all known was coming since the day the show changed networks. A new host, new judges, new mentor – all seemingly subpar. As my friend Sandy put it, it all feels a little bargain bin now.

Isaac Mizrahi? Really? The new model host is devoid of any sort of personality, and that dishrag Joanna Coles as a mentor (who has yet to say anything but "I'm interested see where this is going") is a poor substitute for Tim Gunn. On the plus side, the prizes seem much more substantial than usual (priced at nearly half a million dollars) and there seems to be a higher calibre of guest judges and appearances than the show's ever had before – Valentino's popped up his leathery little head, and the duo behind Badgley Mischka did a great job on last week's panel.

Lifetime made a smart move in bringing back fan favourites to help ease the switch, and one can only hope that for the next round of newbie designers, we'll be back to Heidi and Co. But guys, I can't help but keep watching until then – not only am I way too curious to see more from some of these designers, but Miss Piggy's the guest judge next week. I CAN'T EVEN.


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The Bachelor
Whoa, whoa, hold your horses. I was once like you. I once thought I was above this show. But nay, I am not, and if you gave it half a chance and a viewing with your snarkiest pals, you wouldn't be either.

The bachelor this season is a nice enough guy named Ben, a typical beta male who makes wine in the Sonoma Valley and has a floppy haircut. He's pretty boring which, paired with a lopsided grin and his oodles of family money, is enough to make the gaggle of women competing over him completely bonkers. Seriously – some of our noble contestants are as follows: a blogger/aspiring Carrie Bradshaw, a Nomi Malone-alike hooker with a heart of gold, a possible lesbian, a girl who rode in on a horse, a germaphobe PhD student who rapped about catching the disease known as love, and a psychopathic model. That's not even the half of it.

Put these women in a house filled with nothing but alcohol, time, and one dude to fall for, and watch the kindling ignite. Best shared with similarly jaded pals, wine and/or Twitter tuned to the hashtag #bachelor.


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Kourtney and Kim Take New York
This season opened with a sampling of the media frenzy that broke out after news of the Humphries/Kardashian split had been dissected to death, and then a fade to black with the words, "Eight Weeks Earlier". The producers on this show were probably thanking their lucky stars that this poorly conceived marriage was dissolving as the cameras rolled.

But in watching it, beyond the sheer voyeurism of the show generally, it's a fascinating look at a relationship falling apart. Ill-designed as the union may have been from the start, with neither party willing to give or take what's necessary to make a true partnership work, I don't think Kim went into it expecting it to fail. Really, I'm not sure what her expectations were at all, since I'm not sure she thought much about what would happen after the "I Do"s had been said (I don't know that Kris Humphries even has that kind of cognitive ability, but that's another story).

It's interesting to see how the tide starts to shift, how the play fights become less flirting and more power struggles, how Kim's relationship with her family and her whole demeanor begins to change. And Scott Disick, lord love him, is by far the best part of the show – the voice of reason and the surprising anchor of the New York group.

Ultimately, although the Kardashians are some of the silliest celebrities we've got, there's something so compellingly raw about this drama, something so achingly familiar about realizing you've made a terrible mistake, and about Kim's unwillingness to recognize it, especially given the high profile life she leads. It's especially interesting to see this example alongside Scott and Kourtney's relationship which, though far from perfect, shows evidence of two people actually trying to make it work. In short, it feels like the Kardashians are sharing some of what feels like the most honest relationship depictions in reality TV by showing what happens AFTER the fairytale wedding.


What shows, reality or otherwise, are you completely addicted to right now?
Anything you think should be on my radar too?

2 comments:

  1. Love The Bachelor! No one is above watching it lol

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  2. The reason Tim wasn't mentor was because All Stars filmed at the same time at as Season.. 9? Whatever the last one was.
    And he didn't want to be running between two sets.
    Explains why the production quality is noticeably worse- they probably used a lot of newbie crews too.
    New host? I can't explain that one. but the next normal season will be back to Heidi and her cackling coven.

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