Court TV Shows Reality?

My husband tolerates my love of reality shows, but he really shakes his head when he catches me watching tv judge shows. I've been watching "The People's Court" since the days of Judge Wapner. He was followed by Ed Koch and Jerry Shiendlin, but the current judge, Marilyn Milian, is my favorite. Not just of the judges on that show, but of all the tv judges I've watched.

I also watch "Judge Judy" regularly even though I usually find her abbrasive and prone to decide her view of a case before actually facing the parties in the case. Sometimes she listens and changes her mind. Sometime she's funny, so I keep watching.

Few court shows can change hands, since who else can play Judge Mills Lane, but Judge Lane? "Divorce Court" is one of those shows. I loved Judge Mablean Ephriam and hated it when she left the show, but Judge Lynn Toler has turned out to be fun to watch. It's another regular part of my day.

Judge Cristina Pérez of "Christina's Court" is another favorite. She has a heart and has never yelled at anyone in her courtroom. She has also had a few low level celebrities on her shows, and doesn't seem embarrassed to fawn over them, even if her judgement is fair in the end.

Sometimes I watch "Judge Mathis" or "Judge Joe Brown", but they each annoy me one way or another. The male judge I like best is Judge Alex E. Ferrer. His "Judge Alex" is a pleasant show often sprinkled with humor that doesn't belittle the people who appear before him.

I've probably watched every court show at least once. They seem real. Someone my husband works with was on "Judge Maria Lopez" so I watched a whole season of the show, but I could never warm up to the judge. How they get so many people to go on tv and humiliate themselves I will nver know, but sometimes the emotions are so strong that I have to think they are true.

Even if they aren't, it's way to spend my day feeling that there are people in the world who are more screwed up than I am.

When the Driving Gets Tough

I must have been hallucinating last week, because I could swear the promo said they would be lumberjacking this week. The map showingtheir route did show Seattle, but then they went on down to Salinas, CA. I was happy to get away from the cold weather, but I was surprised to see their job for the week. Monster trucking?

I'd always thought of such things as more hobbies the careers, but I suppose all that equipment does get very expensive. I've also never been a fan of daredevils, which is what the men and women who usually drive monster trucks must be. Our contestants last night, though, showed a lot of courage.

Though Ben was chosen as the best of the week, all three remaining women did well. It was all men who made the bottom 4. I was sure Eric would be going home this time, but he did pretty well in the final contest that decided who would be eliminated. Bryce is another who is frequently in the bottom group, but he really stepped it up this time, showing real guts. Or craziness. Chris barely squeaked past, but his one point better score resulted in Rick being sent home.

The show is really growing on me, and it's going to start being difficult to see contestants leave now that I feel I'm getting to know then. I'm still sure Eric's not making it to the end, but when he does leave, I'll probably feel sad about it.

What is Reality TV?

I started out trying to categorize all the different sorts of reality programs, but then I found myself trying to determine the definition of reality tv. Do game shows count? Are sporting events reality tv?

It got me off on a tangent, which included wondering what the first reality show was. Game shows have always been real in a way. Ordinary people, often with celebrity assistance. Once in a while, a contestant is so successful, he or she becomes a celebrity. Recently, we saw Ken Jennings rise to fame with his success on "Jeopardy". Back in 1969, on the original version of "Jeopardy", Jay Wolpert earned similar renown and went on to work in the game show business, including working on "The Price is Right" as a producer and creating "Double Dare".

Game shows have fostered romance, as well. Most famously, the meeting and marriage of Betty White and "Password" host Allen Ludden. And celebrity couples have exposed their relationships as early as the early 70s with "Tattletales".

What about makeover shows? Let's look back at "Queen for a Day" that ran for 8 years beginning in 1956. Well, it wasn't really a makeover program, but the guests told their stories and the audience voted on which of the contestant would win her wish. Usually, it was an appliance of some sort.

Starting back in the 50s, we had two shows that are grandparents of things like "Fear Factor" and "Dog Eat Dog". One was "Truth or Consequences", hosted for many years by Bob Barker" and "Beat the Clock".

Yes, I'm old enough to remember all these shows. There was also a show I really liked where professional athletes competed in various sporting events, but I can't for the life of me remember it. So, it isn't that reality shows are new. It's there there are so very many now. I can't keep up with them all, and probably wouldn't want to. What I realize, though, is that I have always been a fan of reality tv.

Can't Win 'Em All

This is the first chance I've had to really analyze a couple of shows. "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" and "Gone Country 2" don't really have much in common. They are reality shows on cable networks. Tabitha's show goes to a new salon each week trying to fix it and get it back on track. The CMT show could be called Celebrity something because it focuses on celebrities trying their hand at writing and singing a country song.

"Gone Country 2" is a competition. There's a prize for the winner. "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" doesn't really have a prize but the salon being featured each week gets a makeover. It's partly like "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" with a dash of "Nanny 911." It's not just the look of the place that needs to be fixed, but the relationships.

Usually Tabatha succeeds in making changes in the way the salon runs, not just on how it looks. This past week, she tried her best, but the changes in management style were temporary at best. It was obvious from the outset that the salon owner really didn't want to change the way things ran. She just wanted her salon updated. It's unfortunate, because Tabatha had inspired the stylists. I hope they all had the wisdom to find new employers.

Winning is sometimes a part of "Gone Country 2". This past week they had two challenges. One was to pair up and raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Lorenzo Lamas and Jermaine Jackson won this one. They were probably the most recognizable of the contestants. Chris Kirkpatrick and Mikalah Gordon worked very hard to raise money, and developed a little chemistry. Sean Young and Sebastian Bach made a half-hearted effort at best. The prize for this contest was a massage. Jermaine wasn't interested in getting a massage, but Lorenzo enjoyed his.

The second competition was a demolition derby. Everyone was terrified to have Sean get behind the wheel. They had stratagized to all try to get her out first, but she was bolder than all of them put together. Jermaine ended up being the last man driving, but Sean finished her off. If there was a prize, I'm not sure what it is, but wining gave Sean a big boost of confidence. Will it be enough to get her through the few remaining weeks?

Whatever Modeling Takes

I think this week's episode of "Ameica's Next Top Model" confused the girls a little. Benny Ninja came in to teach the girls how to do unusual poses. He brought with him a model who was also a contortionist and the girls saw some very extreme poses. From that, many seemed to get the idea that for the challenge, they needed to bring that sort of crazy positioning.

The challenge was to pose to show of the client's jewelry and handbags. At least half the girls tried to incorporate having a leg in the air into their shot. Some with handbags dangling fro their bare feet. Others found some really strange positions. Sheena, proud of her flexibility displayed more originality the many of the girls, but she ended up having the handbag right in front of her crotch which did not go over well.

I'm a little disturbed this time by the mean-spiritedness of a couple of the models. Several have been unkind to Isis and another was accused last week of racism. On the other hand, some of the girls have been really supportive of Isis. One was even kind enough to talk to her while she gave herself and injection, to distract her.

The week's big photo shoot involved climbing a ladder to a hot air balloon. I don't know if they ever really intended to have the girls actually go up to the balloon. The girls were told that because of the wind they would climb a ladder and the balloon would be put in later. The girls overcame any fears they had and did a good job. I thought all of the pictures were pretty good. The two girls who ended up on the bottom probably did so more for their appearance before the judges that for their photo shoot.

Isis came in not looking like a model. She had on very casual, sloppy clothes and I don't think her hair looked that good, either. Nikeysha had too issues. One was that she was too thin, but the real flaw that sent her home was her poor attitude towards critques.

I think these girls are starting to learn that modeling isn't just about looking pretty in front of a camera. Next week, the ever popular makeover episode. This is when we really find out who is committed to doing whatever it takes to be a model.

Down to Ten

Last night, we learned the top ten "America's Got Talent" contestants.

The Wright Kids, Queen Emily, Neal E. Boyd, Paul Salos and Jessica Price came from Tuesday night's competition. From Wednesday's came Kaitlyn Maher, Donald Braswell, Nuttin But Stingz, Eli Matson and Joseph Hall. I suppose that the judges were right choosing Hall over baton master, Jonathan Burkin, because he might not be able to provide enough variety for an hour and a half show. However, does Las Vegas really need another Elvis impersonator?

Almost all the acts are singers. Does that give Nuttin But Stringz an edge? They are very engaging and unique, so I wouldn't mind that at all. I did like Kaitlyn's performance this week, but I still think she and the Wright Kids are too young for Vegas.

Cutting the group down to five next week is going to be brutal. Last night, they had Queen Emily and Neal out on stage together. They have been bringing contestants out in pairs all through the show, announcing who was staying and who was going. Even the judges were shocked at the idea that one of the two frontrunners were going to go home. Surprise! They were both staying. Just shows how difficult it will be next time.

Double Down

Usually, on Bravo's current dynamic duo, "Project Runway" and "Top Design", only one competitor is sent home. Last night, both programs eliminated two people. Just learning that two would be going sent the contestants into shock. It was just so unexpected.

That wasn't the only surprise for the fashion designers on "Project Runway". Their challenge this week was to make an avant garde outfit inspired by a zodiac sign. It was actually an interesting project, but the surprise twist was that the eight eliminated designers were brought back to team with the remaining competitors. They chose between the two zodiac signs of the team members then began brain-storming ways to represent that sign in their designs.

Jerell, who was teamed with Jennifer, won. They created a delightfully unique outfit to represent Sagittarius. A further twist was that contestants from previous seasons were the judges for this challenge. I liked almost all of the outfits, but Blayne's was horrid. His being sent home was no surprise. In fact, I was surprised he'd made it this long. It was a stunner when Terri was also sent home. I had liked her and her work. I like Kenley, too, but I felt like her creation was much more hideous than Terri's. Joe's dress was beautiful, but it was a tango dress. That didn't seem as avant garde to me as some of the others.

All in all, it was a fun double reunion. The former "Project Runway" designers are keeping busy with reality tv. Several of them will be on a future episode of "Top Design", next week's, I believe. They should make interesting clients for the interior designers.

The ones that are left, at least. Teamwork was a factor "Top Design", as well. The designers were paired up and charged with decorating fallout shelters. What an intriguing challenge! I was amazed by what many of them accomplished. Though Eddie and Andrea won, several of the teams did fantastic jobs.

The bottom two teams deserved to be there. In both cases, they divided the bunker up. Ondine and Preston took a male/female approach, each putting together and area that suited how they would want to spend their time if they lived in the bomb shelter. Ondine was planning to write a novel. Jennifer and Robert couldn't agree on anything, so they just divided the room up. There was no cohesiveness in the design and their inability to work together was a big factor in them being the ones sent home.

I look forward to seeing the two shows collide next week. Bravo has some great shows. I'm going to hate it when "Project Runway" move to another network next year.