DEC. 16-Four reality television shows are in the top five most popular regularly syndicated TV shows for 2009 according to the The Nielsen Company.
Larry Juchartz, who holds a Ph.D in English and is a professor at Mott Community College (MCC) as well as a member of the Popular Culture Association (PCA), believes that high ratings support that an increase of reality TV in the past few years has been a good choice for networks.
"The one-hour drama is the most expensive type of show to make, while the 30-minute reality show is the least expensive," he said. "So networks have flocked to the latter."
Season six bachelor from ABCs "The Bachelor" Bryon Velvick and the woman he chose on the show, Mary Delgado have now split after five years of being together.
This makes Velvick not only the latest bachelor to end a relationship, but also adds him to the list of all other relationships that have failed from the show. In fact, he was the last one and now every relationship started on the show is reportedly over. Well, that is with the exception of the last bachelor, Jason Mesnick, who seems to still be dating the girl he left as runner-up after breaking off an engagement with the woman he actually chose.
"Rad and Bad Reality" hopes that at least one relationship in the future of "The Bachelor" will last at least forever, or maybe a couple will at least make it down the aisle. It is hard to really want to watch future seasons of the show knowing that no one has stayed together (except the guy who changed his mind). In the real world, it's a little harder to just decide who you want, even if you already told them you didn't want them, and then have them come right back. But, for lack of anything better to watch, and a love for reality TV, "Rad and Bad Reality" will watch next season anyway.
"Rad and Bad Reality" believes this is important because "The Bachelor" is one of the biggest reality TV shows and was actually one of the first, with the new season, which airs on Jan. 4, being the 14 season. A post like this mainly reflects the traditional news value of audience. The audience was absolutely shocked when Mesnick picked his runner-up and many viewers are always shocked to learn of a relationship ending. When the show is on, much discussion of the show can be heard by viewers in person and on the Internet. This show has a following of people who watch it every season and the audience plays a very crucial role in the show, including in news about couples breaking up after meeting on the show.
Matt Giraud, season eight "American Idol" contestant recently returned to his home state of Michigan to perform two sold-out shows at Cornerstone Church in Caledonia, a village and township about 50 miles from his home city, Kalamazoo.
Tickets for the show cost $10 and included a concert, a meet and greet (with autographs for the first 200 fans) and free snacks. The meet and greet and snacks were after the first show, at 3:30 p.m., and before the second show at 7:30 p.m.. Fireworks followed the 7:30 p.m. show. Flash photograph and video were not allowed at the event.
Giraud is known by some as a "piano man" and played piano throughout the entire performance, only switching to a keyboard for a few songs. The piano was also the only instrument used, aside from Giraud's vocals.
Matt Giraud performing at one of his sold-out shows at Cornerstone Church. Photo Credit: WittyBlonde
Adam Lambert, second place finisher on season eight of "American Idol" put on quite the performance at the 2009 American Music Awards on Nov. 22.
Lambert busted out some of the crazy vocals he was known for on the show, but also went a bit further than he ever did on idol. Several of his dancers were dressed in leather and one was on a leash. Lambert put a dancer's face into his crotch and simulated a sexual act that caused caused ABC to cut to an overhead shot of the audience and kissed a male dancer.
After much speculation of the show ending, or being called "Kate Plus 8" instead, the series finale of “Jon and Kate Plus 8” finally aired on Nov. 23. TLC gave the show a one hour time spot from 9-10 p.m.
The show opened with Kate talking about the fact that the children got to do and see things they otherwise wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the show. She seemed very grateful for the show and also very sad to see that it was ending. She said her goals are different than Jon’s and her number one priority is and always will be her children. Kate said that she is stronger than she ever thought possible and now knows who her true friends are. She never envisioned how the show would end, but she thinks it ending now is too soon. She also mentioned the fact that the children do not know about Jon's girlfriend.
Jon spoke of the fact that he met Kate when he was 20, got married at 22, had children at 23 and only felt free after the divorce. He admitted that he still has some growing up to do, takes some of the blame now and will be there for the children no matter what.
"The Biggest Loser" contestant Rebecca Meyer may have lost weight (and the competition), but she gained something as well. Meyer gained love.
Meyer recently told Jay Leno that she is now in a relationship with other former contestant Daniel Wright.
Meyer got kicked off the show just one week after Wright and said, "Daniel was my best friend, is my best friend. Leaving the show we talked -- like five, six hour conversations -- and then, you know, he told me he had feelings."
Meyer also told Leno that it was easy for her to connect with Wright because they have been through the same things. She also said she fell in love with her best friend.
The final two were Laura and Nicole, as chosen last week. Both models had to shoot photos for Covergirl and make a commercial together. Laura was nervous about the commercial because she is dyslexic, but seemed to do fairly well. Coach Jay Manuel told Nicole she seemed snobbish in her commercial. The judges were surprised with Laura's performance in the commercial because they could understand her even through her thick southern dialect. However, they didn't seem fond of Nicole's because she, "Threw her model out the door," according to host Tyra Banks.
The models also had to participate in a fashion show. Some contestants who had previously been sent home participated in the show as well. The fashion show was about "elements" and the models had to walk down the runway in such things as wind and water.
In the end, the judges seemed to like things about each model, but Nicole was declared the winner. She is the first petite model to ever win "ANTM."
Spencer Pratt from "The Hills" is a little upset after "The Today Show" canceled an interview between him, his wife Heidi Montag and Al Roker on Nov. 16. He is so upset in fact that he let the world know via his Twitter.
On tonight's episode of "The Biggest Loser," the contestants returned to Washington D.C. and met host Alison Sweeney outside of the ranch they live in.
The contestants were surprised with by Tabatha Coffey from "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" and Tim Gunn from "Project Runway." The makeovers were given to the contestants before they had to give inspirational speeches about their experiences on the show and what it has been like to lose weight.
All contestants were surprised by their family members before giving the speeches to an audience of more than 300 that included many overweight individuals. The speeches were very inspiring and motivational. Every speech seemed to touch people in the audience in different ways and many tears were shed.
According to People.com, in October, at the time of her arrest, she said that being arrested "was the worst thing to happen to me and, at the same time, it was the biggest blessing."
"Rad and Bad Reality" was absolutely stoked (in a, "See, we knew this reality thing was a big deal" kind of way) to hear that the three men who make the most money in prime-time television are reality stars.
This is all according to Forbes.com, which states that "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is the best paid man in prime-time. "American Idol" had an average weekly audience of 27 million viewers last season and US Magazine states that between the dates of June 1, 2008 and June 1, 2009, Cowell made $75 million. He seems to have made a pretty good career for himself by telling people they can't sing on national TV.
Second on the list is Donald Trump, star of the reality show "The Apprentice" who made an estimated $50 million this year. Ryan Seacrest, host of "American Idol" banked about $38 million this year. Seacrest also produces reality shows "Keeping up with the Kardasians" and "Denise Richards: It's complicated." He signed a three-year contract for $45 million, but that will count toward next year's earnings.
This show follows ghost hunting trainees as they learn the in and outs of the ghost hunting world.
The episode began by showing the viewers who the trainees will be. There are only five of them, Susan, Ben, Chris, Heathyr, and Karl. Two members of "TAPS," the ghost hunting team on "Ghost Hunters," Steve and Tango, are the trainers throughout the entire season. Grant and Jason, the TAPS founders kicked off the episode by warning the trainees that they should not mess up or will be kicked off quickly because there are many other people that want to be in the competition, in which one person will be chosen as a TAPS team member in the end.
Heathyr revealed immediately that she is a medium, a person who can communicate with the dead. Because of her ability, she chose not to tour the facility of her first investigation in Philadelphia. She felt that it would give her a bias because she would know things she wanted to find out on her own.
David Hasselhoff may soon finally be more popular in his home country than he is in Germany thanks to the possibility of a new reality show in the works on A&E.
The train wreck that is Hasselhoff's life is rumored to become a reality show where he will star along side his daughters Hayley and Taylor.
Hayley tweeted last week that "the Hasselhoffs signed the deal with A&E...get readdyy for it." The Tweet is no longer available on her Twitter page.
There is currently no air date set, but a representation of A&E told E! News, "We are in discussions about the possibility of a series, but nothing official at this time.
On the latest episode of "Supernanny," which aired Nov. 6, Supernanny Jo Frost had to deal with something she doesn't exactly enjoy. Frost has made it well-known in a few episodes that she does not believe in corporal punishment, including spanking.
When it comes to discipline, Frost is actually more of a believer in children sitting in time out for one minute per year, until they have been in time out for as long as the age they currently are.
But, the parents in tonight's episode, "Phelps Family," did spank their children and didn't follow the time out rule.
The family consisted of the parents and four boys. At one point, one child fell down the stairs, but luckily avoided serious injuries. The parents fought often and Frost tried to help with that as well.
Fox Reality Channel's "Really Awards," which aired Oct. 17 and was hosted by Vivica A. Fox, is a way to showcase the ups and downs of reality TV in a much bigger sense than this here blog. Since reality TV stars probably don't feel the need to be awarded by a writer in the blogosphere, "Rad and Bad Reality" is simply going to recap the award winners. Perhaps mentioning their name again will make the winners feel like even more special. Most likely not. But, at least it will serve the purpose of breaking down the winners for those that missed it (whether by accident or on purpose).
Television personality Ryan Seacrest was recently the victim of an alleged stalker, making him the second person affiliated with "American Idol" to fall victim to such an incident. Former Judge Paula Abdul was the victim of a stalker that committed suicide outside her home ironically only a days shy of one year that Seacrest became a victim. Details of the latest "American Idol" stalker are still pouring in, and "Rad and Bad Reality" will stay updated, but here's what's happened so far:
For the first time in "America's Next Top Model" history, the girls on this season are 5'7 and under, heights below the normal height standard for models.
On the latest episode of "ANTM", which aired Nov. 4, Marisa Miller was the guest judge and showed the contestants how to pose for photos while taking a shower to wash off sand they were told to roll in.
The girls then jumped off cliffs and into the ocean while having to strike a pose. Nicole won the competition by having the best photo and received a $5,000 chocolate pearl necklace. The winner also got to chose a friend who got more frames at the next photo shoot. That friend got to chose a friend and so on until one girl, Erin, was left without extra frames.
The girls then threw a birthday party for Laura, but Nicole quit the party and went to bed early so she wouldn't be tired for the next day's photo shoot.
Janet Wiedenheimer, also known as "Nana Janet" to the Gosselin family, stars of the TLC hit reality show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" died on Oct. 28 at the age of 72. Funeral services for Widenheimer were held Oct. 31 in Pennsylvania.
Weidenheimer appeared in several early episodes of "Jon and Kate Plus 8," but was not seen in recently. She cared for the eight children voluntarily and at times even did simple chores such as fold laundry.
Perhaps the most notable episode featuring Nana Janet was the sextuplet's birthday party when she rode a pony. "Nana Janet, she is entertaining. She's 69, she's crazy -- she's really loud and fun," Kate said in the episode. She also added a plea for Nana Janet to not hurt herself while riding the horse because she needed her help with the children and refers to her as a "pseudo grandparent."
The latest episode of the increasingly popular reality television show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" didn't air.* It wasn't because the show will never be on again, but because instead of the normal 30-minute episode showing the life of Kate Gosselin as a single mother, a 60-minute episode aired in its place Nov. 2.
The interview aired on TLC, the same channel as "Jon and Kate Plus 8," but NBC News' Natalie Morales asked the questions, instead of the producers of the hit TV show, as is usual when Kate does televised interviews on TLC.
With the media frenzy and rumors surrounding Jon and Kate's marriage, Kate sat down to reveal intimate details of her personal life and the lives of her family to Morales and the viewers at home.
Kate revealed such things like the fact that she can't sleep because there is no one she can trust. "People leave your house and tell completely different stories," she said. She also revealed that her "breaking point" in the marriage was when Jon began accusing her of having an affair with her bodyguard Steve Neild. Morales made it known that Neild was on the set of the interview, though she didn't hint at whether or not she believed the rumors. Kate, however, denied them.
The mission of this blog is simple: report on the happenings of reality shows and the celebrity status reality TV stars gain (even if they're not exactly trying.) I'll use examples from "Jon and Kate Plus 8," or whatever it's called these days, to explain my concepts.
First off, the simplest posts that will be found on this blog are anything that sparks my interest from a reality show or something that happened to the people on reality shows outside of what the viewers see. For example, it may be a post related to something outrageous that Kate did in the last episode of "Jon and Kate Plus 8," or it may discuss Jon Gosselin's latest public apology.
Other posts may include topics about the celebrity status reality TV stars gain. Although "Jon and Kate Plus 8" is being used to explain every concept already, there probably is no better example anyway. Kate has been featured on numerous magazine covers over the last few months, including appearing on the cover of Us Weekly six weeks in a row in June.
The posts will remain fair and balanced, but will reflect the fact that reality TV has its ups and downs.
My long-term hopes for this blog are to report on not just what happened on a certain show, but on how they shape our culture and impact the lives of those involved.
Kaitlin is a journalism major at the University of Michigan-Flint as well as the interim layout editor for The Michigan Times, the UM-Flint student newspaper. She enjoys writing, editing, design and popular culture. She is currently the co-editor of Wildeboomerz and editor of Rad and Bad Reality.
Kaitlin can be reached at kaitlido@umflint.edu
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