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Well, it was just a matter of time before someone found a way to make a profit off reality tv.

New York school teaches wannabe reality stars how to be better versions of themselves. Here’s a part of the article:

If spring is a time of renewal then let’s go ahead and call summer a time of reality — reality television, that is. Reality shows have become such a dominant force in our culture that almost anyone can become a celebrity by convincing a producer or two that they’re worth watching. Even though the idea is to be “real,” it turns out you can learn how to be an arguably better version of yourself and increase your odds of getting cast on a reality show. How? By going to school.

Even though I’d rather perform surgery on myself than go on TV, I took part in a one-day workshop at the New York Reality TV School so that you could all benefit from my … embarrassment. Admittedly, I was curious to see what the other students would be like. You have to be pretty serious about reality TV to shell out $139 and give up a Saturday, right? Like the woman I chatted with before class who told me she’d like to be on “America’s Next Top Model.” She was about 5 feet 5 inches tall, so I’m not sure it’s in the cards for her.

Read the rest of the article here:
http://entertainment.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=321337

There is a new reality show that started June 25th that is causing quite a stir. It’s called The Baby Borrowers. You can read all about it here:
Baby Borrowers

“The Baby Borrowers” is an intriguing new social experiment based on the hit British program that asks five diverse teenage couples — ages 18-20 — to fast-track to adulthood by setting up a home, getting a job and becoming caring parents first to babies, toddlers, pre-teens and their pets, teenagers and senior citizens — all over the course of three weeks.

As the social experiment begins, the five young volunteer couples are asked to literally grow up overnight when they are each given a home in a quiet cul-de-sac outside Boise, Idaho and attend pre-natal classes as each “mother” wears a simulated “empathy” belly to prepare them for the arrival of their “baby.”

When a real baby (all aged six-11 months old) appears at their door — courtesy of five pairs of real volunteer parents (some of whom were teen parents themselves) who entrust their infants to one of the couples — the nervous, fumbling teens are in for three long, arduous days that make chilling out a distant memory. They must stick to rigid routines, handle the feeding chores, diaper duty and crying jags that might be shared by baby and teens — all the while under 24-hour supervision by nannies and the real parents who are stationed next door, watching via monitor, and able to step in at any time. Plus, one teen from each of the couples must start a job, ranging from working in a local vet’s office to a lumberyard, leaving the other alone as caregiver for the day.

After three surprising, intense days, each teen couple will bid bye-bye to the baby and receive a toddler as their fast-forward adult life progresses. They will have to cope with typical “terrible twos” behavior, including pouty tantrums, potty training and other messes. Three days later, the weary couples must face the reality of parenting several sassy pre-teens/”tweeners” at once — each with a family pet in tow, adding to their responsibilities.

Seventy-two hours later, the teenagers arrive, thereby perhaps providing them with a mirror image of their own recent relationships with their parents. To complete the cycle of life, the experiment ends with as couples are graced with the opportunity to care for a senior citizen, including some with health issues, who represent what might be in store for them in the distant future.

Here’s a 2 minute recap of episode one.

Catch the Encore Presentation Wed, July 2nd 8/7c on NBC, followed by Part 2

07/02/2008 (09:00PM - 10:00PM) (Wednesday) : FACED WITH THE REALITIES OF CARING FOR BABIES, KELSEY AND ALICEA MAKE SURPRISING REQUESTS TO THEIR BOYFRIENDS – After sleepless nights and busy days feeding, changing and playing with their infants, both Kensington, New Hampshire’s Kelsey and Houston’s Alicea make unexpected requests to their boyfriends — they want to go to work. The pressure of maintaining a job, house and family is starting to build, but the teens get a surprise from home that make some teens happy and others not so thrilled. As the teens say goodbye to their infants, the parents are anxious to be reunited with their kids and give the teens their first evaluation as “parents.”

Tomorrow is a brand new episode of Step It Up and Dance. This week, the challenge is latin dancing… Cody, after winning two challenges, has to beat Miguel out in his preferred genre. Can he do it? Mochi, after being sent to the hospital for previously hurting her knee, is asked to perform a dance that requires deep lunges. Will this injury be enough to send her home?

Don’t you love the supermodel pose in the middle?

Bravo’s new creative dance competition series “Step It Up & Dance” will showcase what it takes to make it big in the cutthroat dance industry as the 12 finalists compete in weekly challenges in a variety of dance styles to get the final “call back” and the chance to become the ultimate dancer, winning $100,000. Celebrated actress and dancer Elizabeth Berkley will host the series and Emmy Award nominee and Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (”Hairspray,” Legally Blonde”) will mentor the dancers. In addition, world-renowned director and choreographer Vincent Paterson (Madonna’s “Blond Ambition” Tour, Michael Jackson’s “Bad” Tour, and choreographer Nancy O’Meara (”Hannah Montana,” “High School Musical Tour”), will serve as judges for the competition.

Here’s a preview clip of the show:

You know I love dancing reality TV shows. I’m just sad that it’s on Bravo. Is Hulu streaming video for bravo?

I’m sad to say that Yau-Man has been voted off Survivor. Yau-Man will forever be my favorite character on Survivor. When he found the immunity idol the first time he was on Survivor I couldn’t stop smiling. It was by far the best moment of Survivor history.

Well, I can see why people would vote off Yau-Man, but I hoped that he would stick around a little longer. Oh well, it’s still pretty entertaining having some of the favorites on the show.

Now on to Celebrity Apprentice. I really hope that Amorosa gets kicked off the show tonight.

I must admit that I’ve been completely captivated with Celebrity Apprentice. Piers is such a great person for that show. Today when they switched the teams I was torn though. I was completely torn that Trace Adkins was no longer with Piers. I want them both to make it to the end.

I also think that it’s a complete cop out that Trump didn’t fire someone. I wonder if the writer’s strike played into it since NBC needed more shows and Celebrity Apprentice has been some good entertainment. However, Trump could have easily stepped up to the plate and kicked Baldwin off for past performance. Don’t give me this crap about not having reason to kick anyone off.

Who will be kicked off next week? Should be interesting.

Ok, so this show is ok, but they are missing the point of good reality TV. It’s not about Bruno and Carrie Ann. That was a good way to promote the show and get people to watch initially. However, the best reality TV is when you fall in love with the contestants. In the end we could care less if Bruno or Carrie Ann wins. They are celebrities now and so if they win or lose we don’t care. We do love to watch an underdog or someone extremely talented come out of nowhere and be successful. That’s reality TV in a nutshell.

I know that Nigel Lythgothe (sp?) from American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance has realized this since he’s said as much. It’s unfortunate that whoever is producing Dance Wars hasn’t figured it out.

And for the record, I hope that the blonde girl on Bruno’s team wins.

Update: Ok, I had to check her name is Kelsey
Update 2: I had to find a last name. Her name is Kelsey Bourg. What kind of name is that? Not that she had a choice, but it sounds like something out of star trek.
Update 3: Here’s a video of Team Bruno from Dance Wars. Very nice (even if they can’t name the contestants right):