Rating a New Round of Reality
Now is not the time to be a reality-TV snob. The reality of the TV business is that this genre is here to stay — and it may come in especially handy during the writers' strike. Like every form of TV, reality is capable of exhilarating highs: This fall, I'd include
Dancing with the Stars (with its most appealing cast to date),
Survivor (with its exotic China backdrop) and the recently returned Emmy champ
The Amazing Race. Naturally, there are also innumerable lows (most celeb-reality). Here's a quick look at some recent contenders that have caught my interest — or disinterest, as the case may be.
Project Runway
Reality check: Finally, cable's hit design show is back, still the best and most flamboyantly entertaining of TV's skill-based competitions. The personalities pop as colorfully as the outrageous costumes they create. "Life is too short to have on a bad outfit," says one of the contestants, which aren't bad words to live by as everyone races the clock to complete each week's challenge. On Project Runway, style is substance. My score: 9
Beauty and the Geek
Reality check: Adding a female geek (the demure Nicole) and a male beauty (the annoyingly cocky Sam) this season threatened to upset the balance of one of TV's most reliably charming reality competitions. Sure enough, Sam soon hooked up with another beauty. But she has since been booted, the geeks have had their makeovers (always a transcendent moment), and the games are back to being great fun again. My score: 8
Phenomenon
Reality check: All that's missing from this tacky display of parlor tricks and tastelessly death-defying stunts is Geraldo Rivera as the host. This search for the next top mentalist (with the comically intense Uri Geller and the unaccountably smug Criss Angel as judges) comes with Jackass-like warnings not to try these stunts at home. I'd add an advisory against watching. If you want real magic, tune in to Pushing Daisies instead. My score: 2
The Next Great American Band
Reality check: This non-starter is a weak American Idol clone: a snotty judge with an accent (Ian "Dicko" Dickson, from Australia), spotty covers of legendary songs (Bob Dylan the first victim) and an audience that squeals at everything from bluegrass to 13-year-old shirtless heavy-metal wannabes. There is some real talent here, but it's harder to make an emotional connection to a band than to solo performers. My score: 5
Kid Nation
Reality check: So much controversy before anyone saw this "Survivor Jr." set in a fake ghost town, but so little buzz since. There's good reason for that. Kid Nation is about as exciting as watching home movies from a civics-minded summer camp. Far from letting kids build a model society, the producers manipulate everything they do. I find myself cheering when kids, fed up with all of the mock drama and yearning for home, consider leaving. My score: 4
