January 24, 2005
Gordon: So this is season 6, eh?
Chico: I lost count after season 4 :-)
Gordon: Ah. Well...Happy New Years - This is Gordon Pepper,
and I am hoping
that everyone is enjoying their snow - even in California!
Chico: Snow? What snow? All we get is cold!
Gordon: We've gotten snow - and we're getting a dumptruck load
this weekend!
Chico: I'm Chico Alexander, and from somewhere in glacial
America... WLTI is
on! It's been a long month since the last show, hasn't it?
Gordon: Lots of stuff to go through, as usual. Let's start
with giving
reviews of shows that have premiered since we were gone.
Chico: Starting with the beginning... Fear Factor Couples...
Not bad.
Gordon: It's cool and funny - I like it, but I've always been
a Fear Factor
fan. They know the formula and they don't screw it up.
Chico: Point taken. Then comes SI's Swimsuit Model Search. Can
you say
"completely unneeded?"
Gordon: It's cute for what it is. Unfortunately, what it
is...isn't much. I
think that Tyra doesn't have to worry about that show - or
about Missy Elliot's
show.
Chico: The Road to Stardom is, like Misdemeanor herself, okay
in small doses.
Gordon: Here's the difference between Tyra and Missy. Tyra
comes off as
someone who acknowledges that the business is tough, but who
tries to help in any
way she can. Missy comes off as just unlikable and you are
wondering why these
people would want to tour with her even if they win the
competition. Plus
'The You May Be Going Places' catchphrase sucks.
Chico: I sense there are more vast difference between the
two...
Gordon: I sense you got a Big Board brewing.
Chico: Hey, you put the idea in my head, man.
Gordon: It doesn't matter if we've been off for a month, I can
still read
your thoughts.
Chico: Yes you can. Now stop it.
Gordon: I'm not going to read the naughty bits, though I am
curious as to how
the goat and the matador's costume got in there.
Chico: Again, you know that I was random. Today's subject:
Tyra vs. Missy.
Obviously, you have the likeable factor....
Gordon: Yep - and I think Missy is a great artist - but she
does not come off
as someone you'd want to watch weekly.
Chico: True. I'm sure she's a cool cat, but thrust into this
sort of
situation? Yeah...
Gordon: Next difference - the talent level of the contestants.
Top Model 3 -
The contestant's talent might not be there yet, but they
clearly have
potential. RTS - You have to wonder what some of those people
are doing there to begin
with. You do a talent search and this is the best you can come
up with?
Chico: All the RTS crowd seem to be interested in is making
profit... The Top
Model crew seem to work harder.
Gordon: That's true as well. At least 3 or 4 of them have no
right to be on
that show and the contestant level, as a whole, is worse than
(shudder) Fame.
Chico: Harlemm wasn't THAT bad =p
Gordon: He's a man. He sang women's songs. Even worse, he
sounded like a
woman and I was wondering if instead of Fame he should have
been auditioning for
The Mikado. Only 500 CDs sold for Mr. Lee dictates that yes,
he was that bad.
Chico: Okay, he was. Now comes the push factor. Little odds
and ends that
make the show worth watching. Top Model: when chicks go crazy.
I cite the Amanda
dance. When she lost her crystal, and blamed "a certain bitch.
Certain bitch,
certain bitch."
Gordon: And the best part was that she lost the crystals
instead of the
'certain bitch'. making her the instant villain of the series.
Chico: D'oh!
Gordon: Which leads us to the next point - the likeability of
the contestants.
Top Model 3 had a lot of likeability to it - all of the
characters were
compelling. RTS...not so much.
Chico: You can't tell me you don't like someone named Yelawolf.
Gordon: Good name. Not a lot on the talent meter. In the words
of Simon
Cowell - So What?
Chico: We're getting there, we're getting there!
Gordon: In Top Model, you could have seen 10 of the 12 people
winning the show. In RTS, I can only see 4, at most.
Chico: Back to the premiere bit that was supposed to swamp the
first act...
Wickedly Perfect. It's the kind of show that my sister would
watch.
Gordon: I thought it would be the type of show that I would
watch -
especially with the Marc Summers interview that said that this
would be a show focusing
on the talent and less on the drama. WRONG.
Chico: It's reality television. 75% of what you see is dramma.
Gordon: I don't mind drama. I do mind watered down generic
competition that
focuses less on the talent and more on the drama. This is a
show that is
supposed to be looking for the next Stylemaker.
Chico: Yeah... but they have to find an audience somehow...
They found one...
and then steadily lost it.
Gordon: I want to see tips and hints that would blow me out of
the water in
terms from people as they show that they deserve to be the
next big-name
stylemaker. The audience, like me, aren't happy that instead
of getting something
that would be similiar to that, we're getting 'Survivor
Retread, Martha
Stewart-Style' instead.
Chico: That would've been about it, yeah. We'll see what
happens when it
moves into the death row called Saturday. Speaking of which...
The Will. So bad
that it was spanked, and then yanked, after one episode.
Gordon: Its called 'The Death Row' for a reason - and it
claimed another
victim earlier on this year.
Chico: Clubhouse. Sorry... "What is Clubhouse?"
Gordon: I'd like to take it out and spank both Clubhouse and
The Will. At
least with Clubhouse, some of the characters are likeable and
the plot is
promising. The Will, to be frank, was awful. The plot was
cheesy, the contestants
were even cheesier and unlikable, and add the Fleiss Factor,
and you get...yuck.
Chico: I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Mike
Fleiss... Never think
of another TV idea again... EVER.
Gordon: Or at least think of something original.
Chico: No... NEVER think of another TV idea again... No
more...
Gordon: So I take it you're not watching The Bachelorette 3?
Chico: No.
Gordon: Not even to see the gay man try to win Jen's heart?
Chico: If I wanted to see jackasses fawn over a pretty girl, I
would've spent
more time at Medusa's on the Carnival Legend. And that's all
I'll say on the
Bachelorette 3 lest I wish to incur the spoiler drive.
Gordon: Fair enough. Let's go back to Wickedly Perfect - or
should I say, the
show that does everything perfect that Wickedly Perfect should
be - Project
Runway. Now THIS is a show that does everything right. You get
drama, but you
see their projects and how talented they truly are. This is a
great and
underrated show. Going back to returning shows, we can't
forget about Mr. Cowell.
Chico: We're GETTING THERE! We still have a calendar sequence
to follow :-)
Gordon: Is it much further, Papa Smurf?
Chico: Just a little further.
Gordon: OK - next show?
Chico: That Friday we had the second season of Ultimate Film
Fanatic. I
happen to be a fan of the second and third rounds where
fisticuffs are involved.
It's a movie trivia buff's wet dream.
Gordon: This is the first time that I got IFC and was able to
see it - it's a
fun show that has a high play-along factor. This is a cool
studio show - now
why can't we have more shows like this?
Chico: Because not everyone sees cable as the last bastion. Oh
well. Staying
on cable, another good studio show... Iron Chef America. I had
high
expectations after the micro-series Battle of the Masters...
and Food Network failed to
disappoint.
Gordon: It was a great start, and although I still have no
clue why they put
it against Desperate Housewives, the translation is an
excellent one.
Chico: But still, holding a decent audience opposite Desperate
Housewives,
but we're getting there as well.
Gordon: Next?
Chico: Monday: the Ultimate Fighter. Anything with violence
and Willa Ford
can't be THAT bad.
Gordon: Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was
going to be - and
I think it's hardcore enough to keep the audience that it's
going after.
Chico: Oh yeah. Now to Tuesday... and Gordon... we're finally
there.
American Idol... Could this be the best season yet? After last
year, we're kinda
owed. Although we're starting out focused on the VERY VERY bad
of the auditions
while we don't see that much of the good. I guess that's a
by-product of
extending the audition series.
Gordon: I think what they are doing is giving us more of a
back story of the
final 24, which I think is warranted. I didn't see any
difference in terms of
the amount of bad singers between this and any other season -
I just saw a
greater development of the people who did get in - and I think
that's important.
Regina Brooks, the person who sold her rings to get the
audition, will have a
HUGE edge if she gets into the top 24.
Chico: Not around here =p
Gordon: Fantasia Factor. Girl coming from nothing to get to
the final 24 -
and we all know what happened after that. That carried her
last year, as her
voice certainly didn't.
Chico: They actually had this on the radio, and they said that
she didn't
deserve to be in the contest.
Gordon: And you're telling me that the people who don't
deserve to be there
won't get the compassion vote?
Chico: Well, I think back to Carmen Rasmussen and have to
think about that...
Gordon: Every year, there's at least one person who gets much
farther than
they should because of it - Nikki McKibbin. Josh Gracin.
Jasmine Trias. And a
certain red headed kid named John Stevens who forgot his
words...
Chico: Just remember. Regina Brooks has only gone to Hollywood
at this point.
We'll see how she does on her own power.
Gordon: True - but what I'm saying is that Fantasia was
clearly not the best
singer - but she had the best charisma and that plays a HUGE
part in the
competition.
Chico: But over all, a pretty good season based on the two
shows we saw? And
the information that we've gathered?
Gordon: Excellent so far - as the singers who did get there
deserve it.
Chico: Okay, moving forward... Distraction. Cute if not
blissfully insane.
Or.. just blissfully insane.
Gordon: I don't know if putting clothes pins on my face,
getting my vertebrae
damaged by furniture or seeing my $15,000 prize getting
mangled is 'cute'.
Chico: One, I happen to know that fakey glass doesn't crack
vertebrae.
Gordon: Fakey wood can. Ask any pro wrestler.
Chico: It's Fear Factor... if trivia was involved.
Gordon: I'm waiting for the eels and balut. I don't think it's
as good as
Fear Factor - and the contestants overacted so much in that
episode that I am
wondering if they were all actors and if this was actually the
pilot episode
being shot. Still, I think the show has potential, even as a
'car wreck', and it
did hook me to see the next episode of it.
Chico: Guess we'll find out next week. Thursday saw another
favorite of
yours...
Gordon: You're fired!
Chico: This season, it's Mark Burnett's original vision:
book-smarts vs.
street-smarts.
Gordon: It is a favorite of mine, and I already like this
version better than
Season 2 - and I liked season 2 a lot.
Chico: I didn't think season 2 did it for me. Not compared to
season 1, at
least.
Gordon: I've always liked this show, and I think the premise
is going to be a
fun one. The first half of season 2 was better than season 1.
Chico: We're not talking about half-seasons, though.
Gordon: the second half degenerated from 'I want the job' to
'I want to
sabotage other people from getting it'. If the people keep the
eyes on the prize,
then this could be the best season of the show, as the
personalities are
already the best of the three seasons so far.
Chico: Yep. I like Danny. I was scared for him.
Gordon: I also thought the first challenge was well
conceptualized - take a
product and run with it - and it really showed who wants the
prize and who will
be leaving quickly.
Chico: I'd have to say so, yeah.
Gordon: We'll see if they can keep this up.
Chico: Then finally... Casino Night on GSN. With two new
entries for WSOBJ
and Poker Royale.
Gordon: A great start for them too. I wonder why you are
sticking it on
Fridays, but I liked both new shows that came out of that
night.
Chico: Don't really know, to tell the truth. I think Mondays
or Tuesdays
would've worked out well, but as it is right now... I don't
know.
Gordon: Monday would have been a nice fit for the show -
unless they are
using it to cover a GSN show that hasn't been getting the
ratings...Dream Derby.
Chico: Started strong, but got lame quick. I blame the fact
that aside from
horses... It looks like everything else.
Gordon: It goes back to the characters. I thought the ideas
were pretty cool
- but there's no reason to get behind any of the characters as
they are all
caricatures of people and there's not a likeable one in the
bunch.
Chico: No one like caricatures.
Gordon: I like them in my newspapers. Not in my TV Shows.
Chico: Can you name one series with a LIKEABLE caricature. And
Garfield and
Friends doesn't count.
Gordon: Donald and Simon Cowell as as caricaturish as you can
get.
Chico: Doesn't count. Simon's a judge, not a player, and
Donald's the host.
Gordon: There are no good series with caricaturish contestants
Chico: Exactly. But there are some thing as good commercials
with caricatures.
Gordon: And with that, it's time to see one.
Chico: Here's an example of a few. We'll see you after the
break with more We
Love to Interrupt.
(Brought to you by Jackie Gleason's One Hit Wonder Emporium.
Come see all of
the failed series, starring the host of You're In The
Picture'. Guest Starring
Mike Fleiss).
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HERE to continue
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