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.
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.
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.
Survivor
Reality TV: Who wants to be a millionaire? Sixteen people who abandoned their jobs, families and remote controls to spend 39 days on a South China Sea island — that's who. CBS'much-hyped"Survivor"doesn't have a phone-a-friend option and $200 questions about cereal aren't applicable. Instead, this"Real World"-meets-"Lord of the Flies"gamer offers up snakes, rats, cash and more personality conflicts than your average workplace.
Adler's new reality at Par
Reality TV:'Survivor'producer new veep of laffer development — Paramount Network TV is going off the script in its attempt to find new sitcom hits, tapping"Survivor"producer Kate Adler to serve as VP of comedy development. Adler worked on the Guatemala and Palau editions of Mark Burnett's reality hit.
The Mole
Reality TV: The race is on. Not the race to identify the fink in ABC's new reality series"The Mole,"but rather the network-wide scramble to create a new"Survivor"– that is, other than"Survivor 2."The Alphabet net thinks it has a winner with this action mystery series, mainly because"The Mole"is a big hit in Europe. But then again, so are plastic sandals for men.