The story you’ve been waiting for: A story about how a pirate-themed bar got ruined by a reality TV host (who attempted to turn it into a “Corporate Bar,” whatever that is), with the changes so disliked by everyone involved that the owner of the bar changed his mind at the last second (despite $250,000 in renovations), and brought the pirates back. Among the anecdotes: A bit about a one-eyed employee who found the perfect match, job-wise, before this reality TV bozo came along. “Piratz Tavern” kept the pirates. “Bar Rescue” got the boot.
I understand that a lot goes into putting these shows together, but there has to be a better way to deal with actual reality when it creeps into our reality programs.Tucson Weekly’s Dan Gibson • Offering up a good point on last night’s news that a reality show contestant, Wesley Durden, committed suicide, but the TLC show, “Next Great Baker,” hid it from the audience until he had been eliminated from the program. “They did throw a card up at the end,” Gibson points out, “but this still seems like a series of bad decisions to me and wildly insensitive to the guy’s family and friends, but maybe we’re still all supposed to be upset that the same network runs a show about Muslims or something.” And that, friends, is a great point. Here’s a network that’s getting criticized for the wrong thing: Instead of getting wrongly criticized for airing reality shows about Muslims, they should be getting rightly criticized for their intense focus on ratings in the face of the ethical treatment of the people it puts on its shows. source (via • follow)
Nancy’s grace slipped tonight. Poor taste, sorry. On tonight’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars,” Nancy Grace had a slight wardrobe malfunction. Faster than you can say “Casey Anthony trial,” producers had to cut to a “static shot of the audience” to prevent potential FCC freakouts. After the performance, Judge Bruno Tonioli quipped: “It was a bit top-heavy at times, my darling. And I got an eyeful! I couldn’t miss that. But it really is great to see you taking over the dance floor and performing.” Sleep tight, America! source
Everything about Newt Gingrich—the operatic temperament, the multiple divorces, the six-figure credit line at Tiffany’s, the ego, the solipsism, the sheer haplessness and capacity for self-delusion—it all summons up the ‘Real House Wives of Beverly Hills.’TNR’s Johnathan Cohn • It may sound like a pithy, superficial comparison, but Cohn backs up his argument effectively: “They’re all aging, camera-hungry divas who used to be something that they can’t seem to let go of…they remain the stars of their own universe, blind to the indifference of the world around them…They’re always causing scenes, having fights, and then apologizing to their “frenemies” but not really meaning it.” Sounds spot-on to us. We’d add one more: Like Gingrich, the Housewives are highly entertaining to watch, but ultimately irrelevant in the 2012 presidential election. source (via • follow)
jeffmiller said: over 100,000 people are watching charlie sheen on ustream right now; we live in a weird country
» We say: We’d like to note that we took our readers’ advice and are avoiding it for now. If he does something beyond actively press-baiting, we’ll cover it.
It has come to this: Ted Williams, he of the radio voice, will apparently be starring in a reality TV show, a development that seems retrospectively inevitable. Williams now has more employment and opportunity than he possibly could have expected as a homeless man, and that’s a very good thing. We just hope this doesn’t hurt his efforts in overcoming his addictions, which he recently entered and left rehab for, in the face of even more exposure, pressure, and money. Because, cliche though it is, that is what’s most important. source
We’re suckers. And there’s always one or two that grab your heart.United Animal Nations emergency services manager Janell Matthies • Expressing her appreciation for the 1,000 bundles of joy recently found in a Los Angeles home. Yes, that’s right, she’s talking about rats – rats found, by the way, during a shoot for the A&E show “Hoarders.” They were recently taken to a San Jose animal shelter largely because they had the room to take them all in. We like Matthies’ ability to see the bright side here, but let’s emphasize that some hoarder dude created an environment disgusting enough to foster that many rats. And yes, since they’re at an animal shelter … they’re up for adoption. No, you first. source (via • follow)
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