Oh, if you’re like me, you can’t wait for the non-stop drama of the Big Brother house! The houseguests usually only take a few hours before they start getting on each other’s nerves and the alliances start to form. Then, something like this happens…

Here’s a clip of BB10’s Keesha & April talking alliances, nominations and differences of opinions in the house. I can’t wait…

Be sure to sign up for the live feeds now so you’ll be ready!

I just have to tell you about the insanely chaotic reality show called I Survived a Japanese Game Show. It’s back for its second season on ABC and reality TV lovers should take the time to watch. It’s hilarious!!!

The show takes 10 Americans to Japan to be a part of the game show Majide. But Japanese games shows are nothing like American game shows. There’s no buzzing in with an answer and a calm audience giving them “golf claps.”

Instead, the audience comes armed with drums, tambourines and horns and makes a ton of noise. The contestants are put into ridiculous outfits (a rabbit outfit, multi-colored spandex body suits and Spider outfits all in just the first episode!) Then, they have to perform insane challenges such as Human Torpedoes in order to decide the winning team for the week.

The winning team gets to do something fabulous, like spend a day at Mount Fuji and enjoy a wonderful meal, watching the sunset over the spectacular mountain.

The losing team gets punished with a very disagreeable task. In the first episode, they had to don yellow overalls and go clean the subway. YIKES!

When someone is eliminated from the show, they don’t just walk awkwardly off the stage. A dozen tuxedo-clad, sunglasses-wearing people run onto the stage and hoist them into the air and carry them out of the studio.

What I find the funniest is that the contestants (who all presumably watched the show last summer) say in their diary sessions that they can’t believe what they got themselves into. Weren’t they paying attention…?

I love this show. It’s nothing serious at all, except to the highly competitive people in stupid-looking outfits that are all trying to win the competition. It’s one of those shows where you can sit back, relax and just laugh your way through an hour of television. Do yourself a huge favor and tune into I Survived a Japanese Game Show!

[Photo: Reality Exploits DO NOT repost without permission]

I get lots of emails and questions about how to get cast on a reality show. First of all, I want to make sure you all know that I am not in any way involved in the casting process for any of the shows. I just report the casting calls.

But I still hear from reality fans all the time that tell me they tried out for their favorite show 5, 10 or more times and have never really been in the running. I also hear about reality stars that are cast when they are just walking in the mall or down the street. What’s up with that? I have my theory…bear with me.

[Photo: Reality Exploits DO NOT repost without permission]

Being a HUGE reality show fan, I have come to notice the obvious thing about the cast of every reality show that has ever been successful. Think of the casts of the various seasons of your favorite reality shows and you’ll see that it holds true.

Every season, there is a very predictable mix of characters on the show. With almost no variation, these are the members of a reality show’s cast:

• There are at least one or two real jerks. You know them, they’re the people with no internal filter on what comes out of their mouth and they don’t care who they hurt to get the final prize.
• There’s always a whining cry-baby. I won’t name any names, but be honest; didn’t at least one former reality cast member pop into your head just now?
• There are always one or two “older” cast members
• Sometimes there’s the real brainiac in the cast…that can either endear them to the others, or it can alienate them.
• We usually see one or two gay cast members and some of various ethnicities. After all, it’s important that the cast represent their full audience demographics.
• A couple of what I call “Quirky” people. These are people that completely stand out in a crowd. You know them, they are either members of a heavy metal rock band, they twirl fire for a living, or they wear only tie-dye and work to help inner city youths. It has to be something that makes them very interesting and unique.
• Then, the rest of the cast consists of young, hot-looking people.

[Photo: Reality Exploits DO NOT repost without permission]

No matter what the reality show (with the exception of the dating ones) this is the breakdown of the cast. We almost never see your average-looking, Midwestern, person-on-the-street type in the cast because frankly, that just isn’t interesting to watch on TV. We can all either look in the mirror, look around us at the grocery store or look anywhere else and see people like that. It’s just not good television.

So here’s my thought. If you look at the list above, and you aren’t in any of the categories, the chances of your being cast on a reality show are next to nil. I’m sorry to say it, but that’s the way it goes. People have to find something to watch that’s more interesting than their poker buddies or their Bridge club. Who would watch that?

So here’s my advice to you. If you don’t fit any of the unchangeable categories (like age, ethnicity, etc.) figure out your own “Hook.” It’s your particular thing that will make you more interesting and unique on the show. If you have a strange hobby or an unusual personality trait, be sure to highlight it. And make sure the casting people see it. You only have a few seconds to stand out from the rest of the herd in a casting call or on a DVD, so make it count.

[Photo: Reality Exploits DO NOT repost without permission]

And having met and hung out with tons of reality stars over time, I can tell you that none of them are “wall flowers.” They all have big personalities and are outgoing and easy to talk to. They enjoy being in the limelight too. So if that’s you, be sure to play that up too.

Other than that, it’s a numbers game. We have all heard about the people who were going about their daily lives and were approached by casting people for reality shows. Yes, you guessed it. Those are the young hotties. They have to get their quota of those for the cast and often they don’t get enough of them through the regular avenues.

So there you have it. Figure out your own “hook”, be outgoing and self confident and work to make the biggest impression in the first few seconds. I don’t know if you will be cast on a show or not, but this will surely increase your odds.

There’s a well known quote, and I am at a loss for who originally said it, but it goes like this:

So be sure that you come, ready to play your own role in the drama/conflict.

What would happen if you put a dozen beautiful, yet vacuous, narcissistic and just plain mean women together and give them a mission to learn to be good people? That’s the premise for this reality series on Oxygen network and the series is called Pretty Wicked.

The host is a beautiful reality series veteran herself, so she knows what she’s talking about. Caridee English, who won the 7th season of America’s Next Top Model is the show’s host and the judges include a psychotherapist (since most of these women really need one!)

I have watched the first two episodes and it’s an interesting study in how hard it is for people to change. In the premiere, none of the women showed any visible depth or redeeming value. Slowly, but surely, many of them seem to be coming around. Here’s a short clip of what’s up in tonight’s episode:

If you want to watch the process of changing a group of women into better people, be sure to watch Pretty Wicked on Oxygen tonight at 10/9c.

[Photos: © 2009 CBS Broadcasting]

Survivor: Tocantins is airing tonight, instead of Thursday this week. And to give us an idea of what’s in store in tonight’s episode, Jeff Probst talks about the tribe members this season. He thinks this is one of the best seasons so far because of some of the characters.

I am really enjoying this season, but there ahve been many memorable characters, in my mind. Remember Shane Powers, Bruce Kanegai & Bob Dawg in Survivor: Panama? And what about Nate Gonazales, Ozzy Lusth, Jonathan Penner & Cao Boi from Survivor: Cook Islands? Or what about Yao-Man Chan, Rupert Boneham or the infamous Dreamz & Jonny Fairplay? I think Coach & Tyson are memorable characters this season, but they don’t outshine the ones before them, simply add to the list. But that’s just my opinion…

Here’s the preview clip:

By chance, I heard about the new reality series on the LOGO Network called RuPaul’s Drag Race. So, of course, being a true reality TV fan, I had to see what was up with it. The show premiered yesterday and I had so much fun watching it.

As the name implies, RuPaul is the main feature of the series that is a cross between Make Me a Supermodel & Project Runway. In fact, one of the permanent judges for the series is one of my favorite designers from Project Runway, season 2’s Santino Rice.

There are 9 drag queens competing to be the new Queen of Drag. They’re all delightful and beautiful and of course they have to go through all kinds of convoluted, humilating challenges before one is eliminated each week.

First, they each had to do a photo shoot with two scantilly clad hot men (no, it was not difficult for me to watch them at all…) During the shoot, water was sprayed on them in full drag outfits and makeup. Some of them had a better sense of humor about it than others.

Then they were presented with racks of clothes from the second-hand store and piles of “crap” from the dollar store and told to make a costume for themselves that showed their real personality. Most did a fabulous job - and a couple of them were not so fabulous. RuPaul told the worst two to “Lip Synch For Your Lives!” before one was eliminated.

OK, I admit that this may or may not be your cup of tea. But if you have an open mind and a healthy sense of humor, you should check it out. It’s a fun-loving show and I truly enjoyed the first episode. In fact, I’ll probably watch it all season. Congrats to the LOGO Network for a great new reality show!

In fact, I hope this post finds you happy about today’s inauguration of President Barack Obama.

[Photo: Kevin Mazur/Courtesy of HBO via image.net ]

This is an image of then President-Elect Barack Obama speaking during the HBO program entitled We Are One. The entire event was filmed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. It’s a truly inspiring program. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check your HBO listings for air times in your area.

No matter your political party affiliation, I hope that the promise of new ideas, fresh attitudes and a new sense of urgency in our leaders is inspiring to you. My hope is that the spirit of change is a good one for us all.

It was so appropriate that yesterday was the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., since the change he started back in the 1960s was a big part of why President Obama even could become president today. Now, instead of looking back, we can all begin to look forward to a brighter future. I’m more proud of America today than I ever have been.

[Photo: newscom.com]

OK, I’ll be the first to admit that this is not reality TV related at all. But now and then I throw in a touch of actual reality, just for good measure. This time, it’s some great news about a true hero.

Yesterday, I first became aware of the US Air plane that “crashed” into the Hudson River from a friend on Twitter. It seems that during his commute, he was on one of the ferries in the Hudson River and it had just turned to go help the survivors from the plane. Needless to say, I became riveted to Twitter for a while as the first-hand news came in. (Incidentally, CNN and others didn’t begin to report the plane in the river for another 20 or so minutes…Twitter is fabulous!)

Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III [Photo: newscom.com]

As it became clear the 155 people on board the plane had all survived and had been rescued by a number of nearby ferries, the coast guard and others, it was also clear that the pilot, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, was a true hero. He acted in seconds in a way that not only kept the plane’s structure intact during the emergency water landing, but made it possible for all on board to make it out alive. And with the water in the Hudson as cold as it was yesterday, just getting out of the plane wasn’t enough to be able to survive, it was also necessary for the passengers and crew to get away from the water and out of the cold as quickly as possible.

What strikes me as amazing in the wake of all this is the fact that Sullenberger seems to be keeping a low profile, as if to convey the message that he simply acted in the line of duty. He hasn’t yet, to my knowledge started to “cash in” on his moment of fame. That shows even more of his character as a real hero.

Here’s a quick programming note, tonight on Dateline (NBC) Ann Curry will anchor a special episode about the US Air incident. I’m hoping she talks to the pilot, but that’s just me.

But Sullenberger’s heroism and amazingly fast actions have not gone unnoticed at all. I just got word that a New York millionaire, Michael Savage, has offered to take the pilot with him as his guest to Tuesday’s Presidential Inauguration. Here’s the press blurb that was sent to me by Savage’s press people:

New York Millionaire Michael Savage of Tax Club is offering to take the hero pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 to the Presidential Inauguration as his guest. As a frequent flyer of US Airways, Mr. Savage would like to express his gratitude for the pilot’s heroism in saving the 155 passengers and crewmembers. The upcoming inauguration is a part of history, and there are hundreds of parties and events in which the pilot would be treated as a rock star for his dedication to the health, safety, and welfare of others.

I hope he accepts the offer and goes to see history made. And I hope he is also honored in some meaningful way during the festivities. Right now, the US can use a hero to be proud of. We need all the positive news we can get. And this man truly deserves all the thanks and praise we can give.

Those are just my two cents. I hope you don’t mind my soapbox.

Tonight, we ring in the new year and say goodbye to 2008. And this is my wish for a safe, happy and prosperous New Year, for you and your loved ones!

[Image; stock xchng]

Billy Garcia, best known from his time on Survivor: Cook Islands, is a friend of mine and sent me this exclusive account of his time filming the reality horror film, Reality Horror Night. He’s a terrific guy and his article is a fun read. You can find out more about Billy on his MySpace site & about Reality Horror Night on the official site. [Photo: Reality Exploits, DO NOT re-use without permission]

Reality Horror Night is a movie conceived by Executive Producer Sean Pomper and Produced by Sean along with Karen Katz, Neal Bellin, Gregg Luckman & Seth Zuckerman. The basic premise is something I think we’ve all thought about but never voiced aloud.

What if a bunch of reality stars played a game where the eliminated player gets killed for real?

Come on. Admit it. Every reality tv fan at one time or another wondered about that very thing. Well, thanks to Sean Pomper we get so see that manifest itself on the big screen!

[Photo: Reality Horror Night - DO NOT re-use without permission]

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