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The new reality TV brigade

Published Monday, July 31, 2006 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

More new "reality TV" shows debuted tonight, continuing the onslaught. It really is an onslaught, too, which anyone with half a brain cannot comprehend, those with full brains have stopped pretending to comprehend, and the brainless -- well, the brainless don't care a whit. Nor do they know what a whit is.

Let's recap the 2006 summer season...

NBC
Tonight I saw the debut of Star Tomorrow, which is American Idol for singers AND bands, with a host who at first reminded me vocally of Brooke Burke (Rock Star: INXS or Supernova), but ultimately realized the familiar noise as the voice of Comcast On Demand.

Also on NBC tonight, another episode of the new Treasure Hunters, which essentially is a B-movie version of The Amazing Race (featuring less intelligent -- thereby more entertaining? -- contestants) in a C-movie version of The Da Vinci Code.

Rounding out the NBC lineup is America's Got Talent, which is The Gong Show with a million-dollar prize. How do they keep stringing this along? Should the Rappin' Granny win a cool million? Are you crazy?

CBS
The only new venture of the summer, Tuesday Night Book Club, sank like a silicone breast implant, once again proving that America wants its Scottsdale gold-diggers in smaller doses (see: The Will).

ABC
Tonight, actually right about now, is the debut of One Ocean View, which comes from the makers of MTV's The Real World, and that's no shocker. This is essentially the same show, only with a slightly older, less diverse cast thrown out on Long Island. Yippee. Or not.

The One? Yes, you blinked. You missed it. I kinda dug it. But it had absolutely awful scheduling, going up against both Rock Star: Supernova and So You Think You Can Dance? The premise was easy enough to follow. Take American Idol, add backstage footage a la Rock Star, then add a Survivor element with competitors making the final cuts. Oh well.

BRAVO
Something should be said here about Tabloid Wars. I absolutely positively love it. And that has nothing to do with my feelings about the New York Daily News (which are more on the objective side). It offers a realistic look inside a metro daily newsroom, warts and all. At least the debut episode last Monday didn't appear to 1) pull any punches, or 2) try to manipulate the print people into TV-type actions.