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Because you want it, at least according to the Nielsen ratings: today we have a reality show roundup.
By SHARON FINK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2003
THE SPOILER: Bachelorette fans who love the thrill of the cattle call can stop reading now and move on to the next item.
For the rest of you, we have the name of the prime cut that Trista chose, according to New York's Daily News: Charlie, 28, an account executive from Hermosa Beach, Calif. Also, Trista, 29, is pregnant, though the Daily News did not specify the father.
To the surprise of no one, a Bachelorette spokeswoman says that none of this is true.
JOE BILLIONAIRE: The next Bachelor begins March 26, and ABC says that the male is "the son of one of America's most affluent and prominent families," tvguide.com reports. We assume he is legitimately rich, because though ABC is not above "borrowing" shows from the USA Network (see Monk), it still wouldn't stoop to stealing an idea from Fox.
I'M A TV VIEWER . . . GET ME OUT OF HERE! ABC also is not above "borrowing" ideas from CBS, and a judge says that's okay. So the network can go ahead with its planned celebrity version of Survivor now that a CBS lawsuit claiming that ABC was copying its show has been rejected.
U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska ruled Monday that she saw substantial differences between Survivor and the celebrity version, called I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, which ABC wants to run next month.
In the celeb show, an idea first done in Britain in September, eight people desperate for publicity are put in a remote location for 15 days, given tasks or trials to perform, and are allowed to eat better food if they do well. In the British version, the winner was determined by viewer voting.
Among other things, according to the Associated Press, the judge said that Survivor is serious and the celebrity version is basically a joke.
AND THE PUNCH LINE IS: ABC didn't waste time in announcing its lineup of sycophants: model Tyson Beckford; "Downtown" Julie Brown; 1976 Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner; Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' Robin Leach; Melissa Rivers, daughter of Joan and equally annoying E! network commentator; Alana Stewart, Hollywood gadabout and ex-wife of George Hamilton and Rod Stewart; and Howard Stern's sidekick Stuttering John. An eighth cast member will be announced later. Our suggestion: model Rachel Hunter, who would give the show dueling models and dueling Rod Stewart ex-wives. All will be sent to the Australian Outback for the show, scheduled to air over 15 consecutive nights next month, tvguide.com says.
IN THE PIPELINE: CBS has decided not to hold a grudge against ABC and rip off The Bachelor instead. A show called Cupid, planned for summer, will have a single woman travel around the country to audition men who want to go out with her. Ten finalists will be flown to Hollywood, where they will date the woman, New York's Daily News says. Her friends will comment on the goings-on in front of viewers and a studio audience. . . . The WB is reviving The Gong Show, Variety reports. . . . The managers for boxer Mike Tyson are interested in a proposed limited-run series in which a regular male would go through an intensive training program so he could attempt to go a few rounds with the former heavyweight champion.