Posts from — December 2008

I thought I had not done much that was festive on Reality Ravings. So I found footage of Season Five’s Australian Idol runner up Matt Corby playing at a Christian festival at Easter this year.

I love the haircut. Someone must have videoed it on their phone so keep the volume down as there are a lot of screaming girls.

Since it is the end of the year I thought it was time to give my totally biased reality TV awards.

Best Australian TV Show

Winner: Project Runway Australia – It was the best Australian re-creation of a US show I have seen. The contestants were both talented and entertaining. The host, judges and the mentor were just as good as their US counterparts.

Unfortunately people who don’t have Pay TV were unable to see it, therefore the ratings of this show were not what they should have been.

Equal Runner Up: So You Think You Can Dance Australia and Australian Idol

SYTYCD Au just missed out on taking my winner prize because of a few teething problems at the start of the series.

It took a few weeks for this show to hit its straps, with a very nervous host Natalie Bassingthwaite, some dodgy choreography, and the judges not gelling, in particular Bonnie Lythgoe. These glitches should be ironed out in Season 2 and I expect it to be an absolute cracker of a show.

Well Australian Idol is almost compulsory viewing, and this year there was some great talent particularly the winner Wes Carr. The mentors we had like Chris Isaak, and Cyndi Lauper were much better then the geriatric mentors they had on the American show (think Neil Diamond, and Andrew Lloyd Webber).

The only criticism were the judges I think they may need to mix it up a bit in 2009. Dare I say it Kyle Sandilands was easily the most entertaining. With Dicko and Marcia both sleep inducing.

Honourable mention – Farmer Wants A Wife, Australia’s Next Top Model, and The Chopping Block.

Worst Australian Reality TV Series

Winner: My Kid Is A Star – This channel 9 production was abysmal. In fact it was so bad it was almost in the it is so bad it is good category. The production values were cheap and shonky. The talent of the judges and kids were non-existent. It ended being shown in the humiliating time slot of 12.00pm on Saturdays. Previous post here on why it was so bad.

Runner Up: Big Brother – Even with the new hosts of Kyle Sandilands, and Jackie O did not help this show. The show had gotten so far away from the original premise of watching strangers live in house together that it was now unwatchable. There were to many FHM wannabees, and really stupid people. Also too much producer interference with games, and twists and turns for me took the entertainment value out of it.

Thankfully it won’t be on our screens next year.

Honourable mentions: Dancing With The Stars, and It Takes Two.

Best Overseas Reality TV Program

Winners: The Amazing Race – Season 13, Survivor Fans V Favourites, So You Think You Can Dance, and Project Runway Season 4.

I am not being very discriminating. However The Amazing Race is one of my favourite shows, and going through the Ukraine and Russia was entertaining. Also watching the Superbad team get through each week even though they were hopeless was amazing.

Survivor Fans V Favourites was Survivor back to its best. There were blindsides, changing alliances, multiple sagas over the immunity idol, and even a romance. I don’t know why Channel 9 buried this in a 10.30 timeslot.

So You Think You Can Dance continues to entertain with great dances, even better choreography, and judges who know how to entertain on a reality TV show.

Project Runway Season 4 – This was the first season I had really watched the show, and it was fabulously entertaining particularly with the winner Christian Siriano, and Chris March.

Runner Up: Any Bravo TV program particularly, Top Chef, Top Design, The Rachel Zoe Project and The Real Housewives of New York City.

Honourable mentions: American Idol, Ladette to Lady, and America’s Next Top Model three zillion cycles.

Worst Overseas Reality TV Program

The Celebrity Apprentice – the celebrity’s are not celebrities and the format is tired.

Best Australian Reality TV Host

Kristy Hinze – Project Runway Australia. From the first episode she looked confident and comfortable on camera.

Worst Australian Reality TV Host

Jodhi Meares – Australia’s Next Top Model. A clear winner as she did not turn up to her own show’s live finale. Also could not ad lib at all. The judges out shone her.

Best Overseas Reality TV Host

Ryan Seacrest – American Idol. I was going to say Jeff Probst, Phil Keoghan or Tom Colluchio from Top Chef as they are the ones I really like. However Ryan this year with his witty adlibs really deserves the title as he has the much more difficult job. In fact I really liked him this year and he gave me some real laugh out loud moments.

Honourable Mention: Cat Deeley and Padma Lakshmi

Worst Overseas Reality TV Host

Winner: Elizabeth Berkley Step It Up And Dance. This show is only just screening in Australia, but this botoxed blonde was unable to invoke either warmth or wit.

Runner Up: Donald Trump who has really become a parody of himself.

Best Reality TV Villian

Winners – Kenley Collins – Project Runway 5, who managed to get everyones back up with her total self confidence and abrasive manner; and Jade Cole the egomanical model from America’s Next Top Model Cycle 6.

Runner Up – Demelza Reveley eventual winner of Australia’s Next Top Model. Demelza was caught out bullying another contestant Alamela. The producers managed to beat it up to ensure high ratings for this Foxtel 8 show.

Best “Oh My God What Is Happening Here Moment”

Winner: Paula Abdul judging a song that had yet to be sung. Theories that Paula Abdul was given scripts to read on Amercian Idol buzzed around the internet for months. If you need a recap on what happened go here.

Runner Up: Watching the live Australia’s Next Top Model finale and realising Jodhi Meares was not there.

Best quote from a Reality TV show

Hands down winner to Andrew from Top Chef Chicago “I have got a culinary boner.” Bravo have even made t-shirts with it on it.

Runner Up also goes to Andrew when taking about Spike said “I’m not gay but I would let him bang me.”

What do you think were the Reality TV highlights in 2008?

So You Think You Can Dance Australia will commence on Sunday 1 February.

But for So You Think You Can Dance fanatics who think that is far to long go to this US blog sytycdism which covers everything you could ever want to know about SYTYCD.

It is a comprehensive blog which has footage of the dancers, updates, and interviews with former contestants of the dance show.

Hours of entertainment.

American Idol judge Paula Abdul has a new boyfriend, name unknown at this stage. He looks like a cross between uber chef Anthony Bourdin and George Harrison.

Apparently they went on a date to Beso her ex-boyfriend’s restaurant. Is she trying to make him jealous.

Full story on Idolstalker.

In other reality TV romance news winner for cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model Eva Marcille is engaged to Lance Gross, an actor. Full story here.

The Superstars of Dance and American Idol appear to be the only two reality shows getting any news lately. Fingers crossed one of the Aussie Ladettes gets knocked up by the gardener at Eggleston Hall in England to give us a bit of new years entertainment.

Anyhow even though there is no news on whether an Australian TV station has bought the dance show which starts in the US next week the NBC publicity machine is starting to crank up.

Monsters and Critics have an indepth interview with the shows producer, Nigel Lythgoe, and the host, he who Irish dances, Michael Flatley.

The interview outlines the format of the show there will be quarter finals, semi finals, and a grand final. It will not be filmed live. I think this must be because they are professional dancers who have engagements to fulfill.

The Chinese team seem phenomenal with not only the Shaolin monks performing, but also a ballerina who pirouettes on pointe on top of her partners head.

And for those who like a bit of gossip Bonnie Lythgoe is apparently divorcing Nigel. Or maybe he is just being a gentleman to make it sound that way.

The promo is out for next year’s So You Think You Can Dance Australia. It looks fantastic.

It starts on February 1.

It was make over day, always a favourite episode of mine as they do make the models look better and there are always tears.

This is the first episode that I have seen of this cycle is it me but some of these girls look like plain janes. Without make up half them looked like secreataries. Diana is a particular case in point.

Jael who was to go from short blonde hair to long. However after 8 hours of getting weave put in, the decided it looked bad so they chopped it off. Understandably she was upset. With what she wears once she gets eliminated she can become a bondage mistress.

Later in the show she got news that her friend died of a overdose. But she did keep it together for the photoshoots.

The first challenge was a Cover Girl one where they had to make themselves up. Cassandra who was looking great with her new afro was disqualified for being outside the timeframe.

Brittany won the challenge where the prize was a Seventeen Magazine shoot. She chose Sarah and Jael to go with her.

Now Brittany was starting to piss some of the other girls off due to her crying, her whinging that her hair hurts, and then a stomach bug. It was interesting that she had a bug but could still smoke!

Renee decided to whip up the Brittany hatred. However Brit did not help herself when she was moaning about having to be naked in icecream shot. She was worried what her mother would think. She is 21 for chrissakes time to forget what her parents will think. But she looked sensational on camera.

Diana the plus sized model had a terrible time trying to make her body look good. Whereas the other plus sized model Whitney had no problems doing this. Black girls with booty always look better then white girls.

Brittany took out the best shot, and bottom three were Jaslene, Diana and Cassandra. Jaslene was near the bottom due to her personality or lack of it. I would have thought that fact that she looks like she has an eating disorder may also be an issue.

Cassandra was eliminated as they thought she had limited potential to become a model. Do you think Diana should have been sent home instead?

Here is an interview from YouTube where Cassandra answers questions that viewers have sent in.

For god sakes Jim Clarke please give your fiancee, Project Runway Australia’s host Kristy Hinze a black AMEX card.

Here she is with shopping carrying the el cheapo sausages from Woolworths. Did she serve them up at her engagement party in Sydney the other night?

She could have at least gotten the Woolies organic ones, or the Peppercorn Gourmet types. Or for a much better solution sent a minion to Pinos in Kogarah for some quality snags.

The Herald Sun has further details on her engagement party.

Blend TV Give Their Round Up of The Winners on Reality TV Shows in the US.
Blend TV talk about the best winners on US TV in 2008. David Cook from American Idol, and Nick and Starr from The Amazing Race both get a mention.

The Amazing Race Season 14 Spoiler
Pure Amazing Race have a article from a person who saw The Amazing Race teams in the upcoming season 14 blast through Bucharest airport in Romania.

Jessica Mauboy Will Sing At Sydney’s New Years Eve Celebrations.
The SMH reveals Australian Idol runner up Jessica Mauboy will be singing at the New Years Eve Celebrations in Sydney. This year’s winner Wes Carr will also be performing.

Jessica also reveals her resolutions for next year are to go to New York and London.