Big BrotherReality TV: Ten
Big Brother
Reality TV: Ten strangers, three months and one network that has taken the reality TV craze one step too far. CBS'much hyped Euro import"Big Brother"debuted Wednesday night with all of the style and drama of a Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol commercial.
E! reviving'Simple Life'
Reality TV: Cabler will pay around $700,000 per episode — E! Entertainment TV is keeping alive former Fox reality show"The Simple Life,"greenlighting 10 new episodes for late spring.
Cabler slates originals
Reality TV: Psychic Edward, Gucci join WE slate — WE: Women's Entertainment has greenlit six original series, including the return of psychic John Edward and docu soaps following Gucci heir Gemma Gucci and the married life of"Last Comic Standing"alumni Kerri Louise and Tom Cotter.
Bands on the Run
Reality TV: If video did indeed kill the radio star, then made-for-reality TV bands have their weapons drawn for the gussied-up video stars who fill what's left of musicvideo in music television. VH1 updates"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"for a trio of scruffy rock bands, adds an element of the entrepreneur contest at the heart of"Risky Business"and then gets it all on tape for"Bands on the Run."It's"Survivor Rock'n'Roll"for these bands of dubious distinction competing for fans'dollars and VH1 fame.
Ricochet bounces to Shed
Reality TV: Brit prod'n company sold for $51 mil — Ricochet, the British production company behind the hit ABC and Channel 4 show"Supernanny,"has agreed to a£30 million ($51.4 million) sale to Shed Prods., which makes"Footballers'Wives"for ITV.
S. Africa worships'Idol'
Reality TV: Kortje wins music competish — Karin Kortje, a former apple packer from the small town of Grabouw in the apple-growing region of the Western Cape, became South Africa's third Idol Sunday night in an emotional finale to the most successful"Idols"season yet for paycaster M-Net.
Temptation Island
Reality TV: A knock-off of"Survivor,"Fox's"Temptation Island"is merely a lightweight libido experiment. The network behind"Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire"continues to churn out copies, and this one is nothing but a trip into the shallow thought processes of unstable dudes and dudettes.