Subject: Reality Shows

• Plain White T's; Vedera; Danger Radio

  March 26, 2009

• The real rockstars of Supernova win!

  As reported here (Rock Stars My Destination by Chris Ziegler) Costa Mesa's true Supernova started up the litigation machine to win their rightful name back from the come-lately Supernova put together for the CBS reality show Rock Star: Supernova. And today they won. Press release says: Under the terms of the settlement, the Orange County rockers will continue to retain the rights to the name "Supernova." [Reality TV magnate Mark] Burnett's band, which is anchored by drummer Tommy Lee and recent

  September 21, 2006

• Public Enemy American Idol No. 1

  Over at her Deadline Hollywood Daily column, Nikki Finke charts all the controversies swirling around American Idol contestant Tom Lowe. Her piece begins: American Idol 6 would be nothing without its controversy. The latest: 28-year-old ex-British boy-band'er Tom Lowe is the target of not just one but four controversies, which is a rarity even for that Fox show. Allegations include that Lowe is too successful, or too well-connected, to compete fairly on the show. Then there's the fact this runn

  February 13, 2007

• Boo Bravo!

  Apparently Bravo can't get enough of The Real Housewives of Orange County and now we're all going to suffer. The network just green lit a one-hour pilot for ousted housewife Jo De La Rosa as she searches for love and tries to become a famous singer in Los Angeles. I didn't think television could get any more desperate for reality shows about love. But hey, they gave one to frickin' Bret Michaels so what do I know. I guess people will watch anything no matter how mundane and irrelevant. That

  November 29, 2007

• MTV's Best American Dance Crew: Kaba Modern

  Though UC Irvine hip-hop dance team Kaba Modern has been making a name for themselves in underground circles and national and global competitions for some years now—including winning first place at the USA World Hip-Hop Championship and taking second at the International World Finals—it looks like they'll finally be getting the mainstream attention they deserve. Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew is MTV's latest foray at the bizarrely popular reality dance competition phenom.

  January 28, 2008

• If Anyone Cares About Bowling Or OC Reality Shows

  Last night some new fancy schmancy bowling alley called Strike had a grand opening party in Tustin. Yes, bowling alleys are the next thing to hop on the glam wagon. And several reality show stars (or former stars) from The Hills and Real Housewives Of OC showed up because... hell, who knows. Here's the link if this strikes(!) your interest in the least.

  June 6, 2008

• Tonight: Francisco the Man!, The Sweet Sweet Things, Free at Detroit Bar

  One thing that I've noticed since moving here is that the local TV news, the ABC affiliate at least, seems to be obsessed with "Dancing with the Stars." Sure, it's a popular show (still?), I get that, and it's filmed in LA and our local news is from LA. I've been known to watch it a time or too myself (OK, I used to blog about it regularly, and I once was a guest on a Canadian talk radio show as a "DwtS" expert. Fine). But is it really something that deserves coverage right up there with the ong

  November 17, 2008

• Sex on the Beach ... With Mom and Dad?

  A local mom is pissed that her daughter was recently approached at Huntington Beach Pier by MTV staffers looking for teens to appear on Sex … with Mom and Dad, which has so shocked the executive director of the Downtown Business Improvement District that she plans to take the matter up with the City Council. This Hot Topic clearance aisle timepiece's advice: Whoaaaaaaa! While we normally favor any attempt to thwart the forward progress of Dr. Drew Pinsky's gawdawful reality television career

  November 19, 2008

• Real Housewives of Orange County: Nothing to Laugh At?

  *CORRECTED!The Real Housewives of Orange County premiered premieres for a fourth season last night tonight, a cause for joy among those who find trashy pleasure in the unreal reality series. But the New York Post's David Hinkley wonders whether the show is just not funny amid these financially crappy times. It could provide an even more valuable escape than ever, a way for the viewer to forget that stack of bills for an hour and enjoy the absurdity of people who debate whether to equ

  November 25, 2008

• Oh boy! 'American Idol' Returns Tonight!

  American Idol, a show a small number of you may have a passing familiarity with, returns tonight (8 p.m., Fox) with a sure-to-be-scintillating two hour eighth season premiere. Of course, the first few weeks are always just auditions, so if you're one of those people who only like to watch bad folks fail spectacularly (like say, this guy), then this is definitely the time to tune in.The first round of televised auditions are from Phoenix (home of season six winner Jordin Sparks; check out a total

  January 13, 2009

• Kitchen Nightmares Taking Suggestions

  Unlike Hell's Kitchen, which seems just a sadistic exercise to embarrass its cheftestants, Gordon Ramsay's other show, Kitchen Nightmares is educational, enlightening, and sometimes, even feel-good.  And what's more, his help seems to actually turn around failing restaurants. I got a nice e-mail from one of the casting people recently, asking for suggestions on candidates for the next season of the show. I blanked. I couldn't think of any, which must mean that I've been lucky with only go

  January 12, 2009

• Venus Infers on MTV's 'The City'

  We're big fans of Venus Infers here, so it's rather heartening to hear that this week they've made it to one of rock music's pinnacles. Namely, they had their music played on the back ground of one of the many spinoffs of MTV faux-reality sensation "The Hills."

  January 28, 2009

• Is Real Housewives a Real Guide to OC-Style Parenting?

  Ginia Bellafante writes in today's New York Times that The Real Housewives of Orange County reveals much about Orange County-style parenting.Parenthood supplies a strange and fascinating dimension of The Real Housewives of Orange County, which increasingly feels like Mildred Pierce: the habit of indulging children materially, instead of making them go to the library or disciplining them, backfires with a spectacular regularity. Later:The women have very little idea of how most of their children

  February 16, 2009

• Top Chef Judges Do Madison Avenue

  It started with Tom Colicchio hawking Diet Coke during the Superbowl.    That opened the door to Padma Lakshmi doing naughty Paris Hilton-like things to a Western Bacon Cheeseburger.   I admit it: I like the sandwich, and yes, I avidly follow every season of Top Chef. But this? I don't know. It just seems. Hmm. Wrong. But also. So very very right!  Comments have been made about how the Top Chef judges are selling out. And it would seem that way, at first. But then how can you rea

  April 2, 2009

• Top Chef Masters Contestants Announced; O.C. Chefs Shut Out

  Bravo TVThe food blogosphere is on FIRE (pun intended) right now over the announcement of Top Chef Masters, airing on June 10th. Think of it as Top Chef meets Iron Chef America meets WWE Smackdown. If there's such a thing as a foodie-gasm, this is the thing to inspire it. The judges will be celebrities, including Zooey Deschanel, NPH, and, here's a headscratcher, Jeff Lewis (WTF?), along with past Top Chef-testants, and the usual three judges. But blaringly absent from the roster of contesta

  April 8, 2009

• KIIS-FM's Jingle Ball 2008

  December 4, 2008

• Raving Genius

  November 6, 2008

• Funny Factor

  October 9, 2008

• NBC's Last Comic Standing Live Tour at The Grove

  October 2, 2008

• Fancy Footwork

  September 25, 2008

• Hot Soup

  September 18, 2008

• Electric Boogaloo

  June 12, 2008

• Smile Like You Mean It

  January 10, 2008

• [Aural Reports] Sweet Seoul Music

  Korean immigrant Bella oughta be starring in her own High School Musical

  February 7, 2008

• Six Steps to Rock & Roll Godhood

  FEEDBACK: Goth-Metal Clown Fifi Larue’s Advice Can Help You Attain It

  November 15, 2007

• Dave Martins 7 Favorite Things

  Top Chef finalist

  September 20, 2007

• Railroad Accident

  Bobby Brown crawls out of the wreckage and waits for help to arrive

  February 8, 2007

• No Deal

  Robbie Miller thinks inside the box

  July 26, 2007

• A Royal Flush

  OnDVD: Marie Antoinette
  

  February 15, 2007

• Denim, Diamonds and Dudes

  September 21, 2006

• Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand

  June 15, 2006

• Trendzilla

  June 8, 2006

• The Real Housewives of Orange County

  January 5, 2006

• Idle Worship

  February 12, 2004

• The People Love Loud

  September 11, 2003

• Smirk at This!

  July 31, 2003

• Big Brother Award

  November 25, 1999

• Taylor Hicks is Signing at the Wal-Mart in Orange. Apparently.

  As music editor, I'm trained to be on the lookout for HOT SCOOPS wherever they may be. Like a couple days ago when I was at the Wal-Mart at the Village at Orange, and made this enticing discovery: that American Idol season five winner Taylor Hicks will be signing CDs at that store this Thursday, May 7, at 4 p.m. So, there you go. If you have nothing going on during a work day at 4 in the afternoon, and have been hoping to get a CD signed by Taylor Hicks, and can make it to the Wal-Mart in Orange

  May 5, 2009

• [Sound Guy] Local Bands Invade Your TV Set

  April 30, 2009

• La Habra Octomom Nadya Suleman Is Ready to Rocto Your World

  May 14, 2009

• We've Got a Price on Villa Rockledge

  Turns out we were waaaay off in our guestimate as to the asking price for Villa Rockledge in Laguna Beach. Like, $26,250,000 waaaay off. Here's the price according to Unique Homes: The World of Luxury Real Estate:$26,500,000Laguna Beach, CARockledge By The Sea. Boasing 190 feet of oceanfront with secluded beach access. Enjoy panaromic coastal views, Catalina sunsets and crashing waves. Privacy, security and seclusion are offered in this desired location. David SchaarPrudential California Realty9

  June 18, 2009

• Slideshow: Kelly Clarkson at the Pacific Amphitheater

   Ah, yes, the only American Idol winner that ever mattered--not to mention the only one we don't hate--Kelly Clarkson visited the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa last night. It was beautiful, it was crowded, there was plenty of kettle corn and beer strewn about... and photographer Chris Victorio was there, naturally. Click here to see more photos from the night. 

  July 24, 2009

• OC Reality TV Produces (At Least) 6 Who've Drawn Police Calls [UPDATED]

  Too much reality for Orange County law enforcement (clockwise from top left): Ryan Alexander Jenkins, Josh Waring, Renzo Gamboa, Dennis Rodman, Jason Wahler and Matt Keough.​ UPDATED TO REFLECT MURDER CHARGE, CRIMINAL BATTERY COMPLAINT AGAINST JENKINS. If anyone in Orange County with a Hispanic surname, baggy jeans and a tattoo can be branded "gang affiliated" and therefore subjected to a life as a suspect in any goddamn local crime, then why the hell can't scofflaws tied to reality TV

  August 20, 2009

• Octupdate: Life Imitates Art Imitating Life

  Perhaps you saw the May 14 edition of OC Weekly--excuse me--OctoWeekly--wherein all manner of reality-show mayhem is imagined for Nadya Suleman, the La Habra resident and mother of the world's longest-surviving octuplets.Our lampoonage came hot on the heels of lilliputian Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred filing suit against Suleman for inking a deal for a reality-TV show. Allred ostensibly sought to protect the infants from media exploitation and Allred's crack-like addiction to the same.Howev

  June 1, 2009

• Octomom Cleans Up the Floor With Kate Gosselin

  Mom fight! Mom fight!​In last Wednesday's Fox TV "special" Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage, Nadya Suleman takes potshots at Jon & Kate Plus 8's Jon-less, down-on-her-luck Kate Gosselin."It's so staged," Octomom said of tabloid pictures of Gosselin in a bikini on the beach. "She's doing it to get people to take pictures of her. ... I feel like it's cheating [to get a tummy-tuck]. It's her choice. If she has enough money to fix herself, let her. I have a better shape, though. I'm sorr

  August 25, 2009

• Taste Of Newport, featuring David Cook

  September 17, 2009

• Taste of Newport Begins Today

  ​A reminder that among other events going on this week, (ahem, OC Restaurant Week), the 21st Annual Taste of Newport is happening today, tomorrow, and Sunday in Fashion Island.

  September 18, 2009

• Top 5 Reasons Why I Like "Top Chef Masters" More Than "Top Chef"

  Bravo TV1. They don't live together. The first shots of the show isn't of the cheftestants waking up from bed in their undies, yawning, and brushing their teeth. Another plus of not having them shoved into the same living quarters: No possibility of head shaving incidents, hidden-camera kanoodling, and other Real World-type histrionics. The least interesting part of regular Top Chef happens when they go home. 2. No sobbing, farewell confessional. There is none of the played-out, teary-ey

  July 13, 2009

• Top Chef Masters To Return For Second Season

  Bravo TVIt was Restaurant Wars last week in Top Chef: Las Vegas, and finally this season, things got interesting. Now I've never been a fan of Top Chef when the show focuses on the extracurricular antics of the cheftestants -- the head shaving incidents of Season 2 and the hidden-camera canoodling of Season 5 come to mind -- but when there's tempers flare during the heat of competition, like what transpired between Robin and Michael Voltaggio on this episode, now that's entertainment!  A

  October 27, 2009

• Top Chef: Just Desserts...ANOTHER Top Chef Spin-Off

  ​ Hot off the announcement that Top Chef Masters is going to be getting a second season, Bravo is developing ANOTHER spin-off. What is it? Take the original Top Chef recipe, add a pinch of Ace of Cakes, maybe a few telegenic hotties that look like Jennifer Aniston and BAM! (with apologies to Emeril), you get Top Chef: Just Desserts, which is a delicious pun, I admit. The new show, of course, will feature pastry chefs, and is now holding auditions. Desserts, as you know, has never been th

  October 28, 2009