Story time. Gather 'round.

McKey (the brown-haired one) won America's Next Top Model the other night.  Out of the three finalists, she was my favorite.  She just has that high-fashion/runway look that they other two girls just didn't quite have.  After 11 seasons (or cycles, as Tyra prefers them to be called), I think the show is starting to get a little flat...  I mean, there are only so many ridiculous photo shoots they can come up with.

In other Tyra news, Robert Pattinson made a surprise appearance on her show and gave Tyra something that every teenage girl and like 12% of men want: a bite on the neck.  Lucky bitch.

Julianne Hough may be putting away her dancing shoes forever, or at least for the next season of Dancing With The Stars.  She's going to focus more on her "music career."  Hm.  In this interview, she also predicts that her brother Derek and partner Brooke Burke will be the champions of this season.  I may have to agree...

It's about time!  The most successful American Idol champ, Kelly Clarkson, is working on a new album, and the first single may be released soon!  I hope it's good.

Saturday Night Stories

It's definitely not a spinoff...  J. Alexander and Jay Manuel of America's Next Top Model are getting their own show on The CW, in which five women from one town all get makeovers and do some sort of competition until a winner is chosen...  Interesting.  It's called Operation Fabulous.  Good one.

How many more spin-offs can they come up with?  This time it's Daisy from Rock Of Love's turn to try to find her one true love.  I'm sure some guy who loses on her show will end up with his own show, and so on and so on.  It's a vicious cycle and I LOVE IT.

Dancing With The Stars has come up with a Plan B.  So far this season, like five people have been injured on the show, including Misty May-Treanor who actually had to leave the competition.  Well, the producers have come up with this idea...  If a member of a team is injured during rehearsals and doesn't feel up to dancing live on the show, they can opt to show (probably edited) rehearsal footage.  Reality TV is so real!  

This should be good: Sarah Palin has reportedly signed on to guest star on Saturday Night Live's October 25th show!  In all fairness, I hope she does a good job.

I can't wait to hear David Archuleta's debut album, due out November 11, a week before champion David Cook's own album drops.  David A. has finally landed a manager and all the pieces are coming together for the cutest crooner to hit the Idol stage. 

Final Thought:  Seacrest out.  He's so funny.

Sarah Palin is BACK (on SNL)!!!

In case you missed it...  Because I know I did!  Tina Fey reprised her role as Governor Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live last night.  Amy Poehler was also in the sketch, and this time, I think she nailed it (as Katie Couric).  Check it out.

In other news, Oxygen network has taken over America's Next Top Model!  Not only do they have the exclusive rights to the past seasons, they will be airing the current season on their network. It's really not that exciting, I know... 

Final Thought: Happy Birthday, Bam Margera!  (And Lora, Serena, Jamie, etc.)

Some stuff.

Happy Birthday, dear Sanjaya!  19 years old and still a joke.  :-\

I'm not sure if talk shows count as reality TV, but this clip is completely worth it.  One of Maury's guests from a few years ago, Victoria, age 15, was obsessed with having a baby...  According to her Myspace page she now has one, but that doesn't take away from the hilarity of her rantings and ravings a few years back.  Please check it out.

Christian Siriano from Project Runway is going to be on CNN this Friday taking questions from viewers.  It's part of their "young people doing great things" segment, or something like that. What would you ask The Fierce One?

The world of TV fashion divas is in turmoil right now...  Janice Dickinson and Tyra Banks are fighting!  Apparently Janice accused Tyra of stealing her idea to have a transgender as part of ANTM; Janice thinks that her show, Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, was the first (and therefore the only???) that featured such a cast member.  Hmm...

Wednesday morning news...

Celebrity Rehab is coming back for another season, and so far Aaron Carter is the biggest "celeb" who has signed up!  According to Perez, he was offered a spot on the last season of Dancing With The Stars but turned it down--what an idiot!

New reality show alert: RuPaul's Drag Race.  Seriously.  How amazing is that???

Whitney became the first plus-size model to win America's Next Top Model!  Congrats, girl.  Of course, some people just can't let her enjoy it--there's a conspiracy theory out there that the show tried to keep her "fat" over the season or something like that.  (Oh, the article is also interesting because apparently Tyra made a shout-out to the sister restaurant of the place I work--Houston's!)

NBC nixed the idea of having OJ Simpson on the next season of Celebrity Apprentice.  Thank God.  

Never before have I wished I could be back in high school at this point in my life...  But now I do!  ABC has a show coming out this summer called High School Musical 3: Get In The Picture. Ahhhhhh!  One incredibly lucky person will be chosen to perform (in a music video) in (the end credits of) the movie with all of the stars (who will be filmed at separate times)!  I wish it could be me, but I don't think a 6'3" 23-year old with braces is exactly what they're looking for...  :(

In case you've been living under a rock (or on a cruise ship in Europe...)...

Quite a few reality shows are nearing the ends of their seasons, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to catch you up on what's going on!

Top Chef: Chicago

The most recent elimination challenge pitted the chefs against one another in two teams for a wedding reception.  One team cooked for the bride while the other team cooked for the groom. Richard won, Nikki packed her knives and went home.

To find out who else has been eliminated this season, check out the episode guide from Bravo.

America's Next Top Model

For their most recent challenge, the four models had to do a photo shoot with Nigel Barker. That hardly sounds like a challenge to me!  He's so hot.  Anyhow, they were posing with a male model and were dolled up like 50's-era Hollywood leading ladies running from the paparazzi. Earlier in the show, the girls each took a turn as the photographer and did a shoot with Paulina Porizkova, judge and former supermodel.

Who's left?  Anya, Fatima, and Whitney.

I Know My Kid's A Star

I only watched a few episodes of this show, but it was pretty ridiculous.  To be honest, none of the kids are all that talented...  Anyhow, the finale was tonight, and McKenzie won.  Lora says that she was the best one as well as the only kid who wasn't completely insane.

Project Runway

There isn't currently a season underway, but there has been lots of gossip about everyone's favorite fashion show lately...  After next season, the show is moving to Lifetime network!  A few weeks ago, it was announced that Nina Garcia was being fired from Elle magazine, jeopardizing her role on the show!  Luckily for us, Perez has figured it all out.  Hmm...

Dancing With The Stars

I haven't watched one single episode of this season which is especially strange because it was last season that inspired me to start my blog...  Remember my obsession with Sabrina Bryan? Anyhow, Tuesday night's was the 100th episode, and they pulled out all the stops, including having the judges rate the 10 best dances from all five seasons!  Here's a brief show recap, including the impressive list of guest appearances.

Here are a few of my favorite performances from their list:

1. Drew Lachey & Cheryl Burke's freestyle

2. Mel B & Maksim Chmerkovsky's paso doble

3. Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson's jive

4. Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas' paso doble

My personal favorite: Sabrina & Mark's jive, mostly because Mark Ballas is a ballroom GOD!

A few updates...

YES!  Katharine McPhee is making a comeback!  Well, sorta.  She's been announced as the next spokesperson for Neutrogena skin care, bringing in an estimated $500,000.  It's a start, right?

Last night on Idol, the singers performed songs from the year they were born.  I can't wait to watch tomorrow night!  Thank GOD for TiVo.  And thank God for friends who actually have TiVo.

There are rumors circulating that Tyra Banks might be leaving ANTM!!!  What???  I mean, I don't think they could find a better host for that show; it would kind of be like American Idol without Paula, Simon, Randy, and Ryan.  It just wouldn't work, you know?

Janice Dickinson, etc.

I've seen a few episodes of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, and I'm starting to realize that it's a pretty fierce show. Janice seems like a genuinely good person to work for; when she was on ANTM I always thought she was insane and probably a crazy bitch in real life, but it looks like she really cares about the models working for her. Like in this episode am watching, Kehoe shows up a little hungover to a shoot and Janice goes nuts. Let's face it: if you're going to be a fierce model (especially for Janice Dickinson), you'd better have your shit together.

Also, I have to admit that Janice has some of the hottest models I've seen, specifically in the male category. I think she and I have very similar taste in men. :)

Here's one of Janice's most popular shots from her youth, in case you haven't seen what she used to look like.


Final Thought: Angela from Project Runway season 3 was sighted over the weekend at Casa Nueva, a local breakfast hotspot for hippies, alternative-ies, fierce divas, gays, and their supporters in Athens, Ohio. I bet she had a seasonal omelette.

Crowned with Thorns

Crowned, the new show which premiered on The CW after Top Model tonight is a thorn in my side.  It's horrible.  And not that funny, trashy, "I can't wait 'till next week" kind of horrible.  It's just bad.  First of all, the music is ridiculous.  Second, there are WAY too many tears.  Third, I just don't really get it.  They're not models, they're not pageant girls, and they're not interesting.  What's the point?  

Final Thought: I missed the Top Model finale, but I hear that Saleisha won.  You know, the one with that ugly-ass bob.  Her hair reminds me of the Beatles!

ANTM Judge Quits

It comes as no surprise to me that Twiggy has decided to leave ANTM. Whatever, she was pretty forgettable as a judge. I mean, who could compare to Miss J, Tyra, or NIGEL BARKER? Let's be honest. Maybe Twiggy has plans to start her own model-search show? I wouldn't be shocked.

They're replacing her with some 80's supermodel that I've never heard of. I guess I wasn't paying that much attention to fashion when I was that young... But that's no surprise, either, especially to those of you who remember some of the outfits I came up with as a gay youth. Hideous.

Some favorites from the vaults...

I thought I'd share a little background of my experiences with reality TV. In other words, here are some of my favorite moments with a bit of explanation...

Project Runway singlehandedly brought Bravo into the reality spotlight. The show takes a handful of designers to New York City and gives them challenges to create various pieces of fashion, all the while eliminating a designer each week. The finale takes place at Fashion Week, where the top three designers showcase an entire collection of clothing. There are always incredible characters on the show; artistic people are known to be--how can I say this gently--a little insane. Santino from season *two was no exception, and he was able to make up for being such a dick by doing an awesome impression of Tim Gunn. I think most of the designers on that season shared my sentiments, as they all join in on the laughter.

Another wildly popular reality show giving a fashion-hopeful the chance of a lifetime is America's Next Top Model, produced, hosted, and judged by the unpredictable Tyra Banks. Each week, the models have photo shoots and are critiqued by some of the biggest names in the business, concluding with the elimination of the one who didn't give enough face, skipped out on a challenge, had ugly skin, or just wasn't fierce enough. At the eliminations, Tyra is always acting her FACE off, often lecturing the girls about why they are going home and why they should probably just give up on their hopes and dreams altogether. During cycle four Tyra really hit the wall, totally GOING OFF on Tiffany upon her elimination (the only double-elimination ever on the show). It's one of those moments where you are watching the TV and thinking, "What is going on?" Tyra is insane. It's all in the clip.

One of my favorite reality shows of all time is American Idol, duh. I have vivid memories of watching the first season with a few of my friends in someone's basement, sipping stolen alcohol out of empty shampoo bottles (don't ask). Though there have been some obvious duds (Ruben Studdard, namely), Idol has produced some fierce champions, but many of my favorites haven't even been in the finales... Check out Jennifer Hudson singing "Weekend in New England" from Barry Manilow night on season three. It's insane, and she looks insane, too. And here's Latoya London, one of my all time favorite contestants, singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Big Band night (again from season three, the best season EVER!). Idol was probably the first show to really give its losers a chance in the spotlight, especially William Hung and his awesome rendition of "She Bangs." Want more Idol? Just go to YouTube and search--you'll find years worth of clips, both good and bad.

Some reality shows only have a small following, but this doesn't mean that they don't provide incredible entertainment. A perfect example is Trading Spouses, a show that I've tried to watch since it's inception. Without question, the absolute best "trade" was when The God Warrior spent a week with a Pagan family. Check out her reaction upon her homecoming. It turns me into a God-fearing man, I'll say that.

More to come...