|
Keeping It Simple
January 22
Welcome to the Block Party Podcast for
the week of January 22, 2008–"Keeping It Simple." Just a reminder. If
you are hearing this in the audio version, thank you for the download.
If you are reading this...you can download it directly from the link to
the upper left or the webpage at www.blockpartypodcast.com.
And when it comes to keeping it simple, the comeback of "The Amazing
Race" is nothing short of simply spectacular. And who do we have to
thank for that...none other than Hugh Jackman himself. Yes, Wolverine
saved Phil Keoghan’s bacon.
When Hugh Jackman’s "Viva Laughlin" (a bad attempt by CBS to make an
Americanized version of the British show "Viva Blackpool") tanked after
two episodes, CBS rushed "The Amazing Race" onto the schedule. And after
the very unsuccessful All-Star Edition, the hopes were really not that
good. I even said that the show was past its prime.
Boy was I wrong. This season has been great, and the ratings have shown
it. So, why has the show been so good?
–The time slot is right on. This is a Sunday night at 8PM show. Families
love to watch the show together.
–The casting has been great. Every team has/had a story to tell.
–The challenges were fantastic. I loved how this show has been a race
from leg to leg. Although, I will nitpick and say the new "Speed Bump"
feature needs a bit of improvement. Both "Speed Bumps" were mostly part
nuisances (a yoga class, and a dash through fireworks). The speed bumps
didn’t hinder either team, and albeit for a bad decision, Kynt &
Vyxsin
might still be in the race.
–The reason why the show has won every reality show Emmy up to this
point is evident. From Phil as the host, and the great editing, the
production has kept it’s top notch status.
And with the elimination (finally!) Of Jen and Nathan, we have three
teams you can root for. You have Ronald and Christina, the father
daughter team in 1st place that are peaking at the right time, TK &
Rachel, the newly dating couple who’s laid back style hasn’t hurt them,
and Nicholas and Donald...the sentimental favorites that are grandfather
and grandson.
So, who do I think is going to win? Looking at it objectively, I think
Nicholas and Donald’s age gap will finally wear out, and TK and Rachel’s
luck will run out. Look for Ronald and Christina to take the million.
And it will be simply...the best season finale in a long time.
Another show that has gone back to the concept of "Keeping It Simple"
has been, believe it or not, "Celebrity Apprentice". This show has
surprised the heck out of me for doing what the show hasn’t done in a
while...gone back to its roots.
Which is a business competition...not a showcase for products. Yes,
Pedigree dog food was on last week, but the week before it was a hot dog
selling contest. Simple as that...and we have people who are playing to
win...except Omarosa...who, in my opinion, is trying to make it the
Omarosa show.
Mark my words, that will bite her in the butt soon enough. She will be
in the boardroom enough times, if team Empresario keeps losing.
This is going to be fun to watch...and I really was glad that I’ve been
proven wrong.
In life, sometimes my crystal ball can be very fuzzy. Sometimes my
crystal ball comes in full 1080p HD. This time was one of the times
where I was right on the money. The day NBC announced it was remaking
"American Gladiators", I said that NBC should test the Gladiators for
anabolic steroids. Well, according to Broadcasting and Cable, they are
doing just that.
The New York Post picked up the story on Monday saying that the
Gladiators were tested when they had their early physicals and are
subject to random tests at any time. Broadcasting and Cable insiders
state NBC is doing it for health concerns of the gladiators...the Post
theorizes that they don’t want a bad public relations steroid scandal,
especially in the wake of the Mitchell report in baseball.
Whatever, the reason, you got to give kudos for NBC to at least making
an attempt to protect the health of the athletes. I think the fact that
a quick renewal of a second season, an announced live tour and a cartoon
series (yes, you heard me right!) might have something to do with it as
well.
Finally, this week, American Idol came back in a big way this week, and
we saw a few potential top 24 candidates in the auditions in
Philadelphia and Dallas. I am partial to Kristi Lee Cook from Selma,
Oregon myself. But, as predicted, we saw a bunch of incredibly bad
auditions...and a man in a Princess Leia Bikini. A heavy set man in a
Princess Leia bikini. My eyes need some permanent washing from that one.
But what really disturbed me this week was the audition of a man from
New Hope, Pennsylvania...Now, I will not give the man’s name on here
because I don’t want to encourage him, but basically, his audition was a
crazy man’s song about stalking Paula Abdul.
Now I am not blaming the man who sang it, or wrote it. I am blaming Fox
and the producers for showing it. You have a lot of celebrities being
stalked, especially on shows such as TMZ. Look at the Britney Spears’s
fiasco. And then you have the nerve to show this...it went on way too
long and basically exploited Paula Abdul’s well being for the sake of
entertainment...not good, guys...not good at all.
Another thing that wasn’t good was the fact that the producers were
using valuable broadcast time to showcase two attention seekers who were
a) older than the age requirements of the show (By the way the age
requirements are 16-29 years of old for those who don’t know) and b) had
no shot to win the competition.
Last year, Fox did this in the right way. A man who’s wife died of a
terminal illness wanted him to audition and the producers let him. Yeah,
he was old. It was a sweet, tender moment which was nice to watch. With
the "auditions" of "No Sex Allowed" Guy and "We Are All Brothers"
aluminum foil cape man (again, I’m not giving these guys’ names out) the
producers are doing the viewers a disservice. I know the oddballs make
the show work, but don’t you think the reason why viewership is
down (even at 33 million people) is because WE WANT TO SEE THE TALENT! We
want to see who the top is going to be. I really hope this is not going
to be the start of a trend.
That will do it for this week, until next time...remember...don’t just
play fair...play to win!
Jason
Block still won't cop to his cop outfit for the next
Idol audition. E-mail him at
jb.regis@verizon.net. |
