Question: My question has to do with the Emmys and reality TV: After two seasons of either awful (Family Edition) or dull Amazing Races, and the conclusion of one of the best Survivors in recent memory (how great was it to see four really likable and honorable people pull off a come-from-behind win and just be happy for one another?), can the reality-TV granddaddy finally pull off a win? Or do the Emmy voters not even watch those programs and just continue to award Amazing Race out of inertia and habit?
Answer: Sorry, I'll have to disagree with you on that one. The last Race may have had an anticlimactic finish, but watching the teams race through new locales in the Far East this season was a lot more thrilling than watching tribes squabble on what looked like the exact same tropical beach as those from the last few years. (That said, I enjoyed the way the last Survivor ended as well.) This category is one of the few cases where I don't mind repeat wins year after year. Especially after
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Vanessa Marcil, Matt Dallas and Rob Lowe
As the old year gives way to the new, TV Guide resolved to get the scoop on some celebrities' New Year's resolutions — and here is what we found out.
Rob Lowe, Brothers & Sisters"I always make one resolution, and I haven't come up with it yet [as of early December]. Last year's was to be more aware of how I speak to people, whether it's my kids, my wife or coworkers. It's always a self-betterment thing, something that I can do to change myself in a good way, and that I will actually be able to do on a long-term basis."
Jack Coleman, Heroes"I'm going to work on being more disciplined, because now there are a lot more demands on my time. And on getting everything done t
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Anti-climax, party of two? Your finale is ready. So here's what I've decided: This season's winners, male models/recovering addicts Tyler and James are, truth be told, a scientific experiment from the cunning mind of one Bertram Van Munster. Using the latest in state-of-the-art cloning technology, BVM clearly took all the best attributes that made last season's champs, hippies B.J. and Tyler, such an Amazing team, and mixed them up test-tube style with a liberal helping of frat-boy chromosomes from Eric and Jeremy. (Or if you believe what you've seen on the Internet, it's quite possible that those two pairs procreated entirely without the help of a mad scientist.) The end result? A photogenic team comprised of two good-natured and good-looking guys who were able to parlay their athletic prowess and minimal melodrama into a million bucks. Way to go, fellas — I hereby dub you Team Foregone Conclusion.What was awesome in this non-two-hour finale: — 'Bama getting to the Eiff...
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Question: Are Rob and Amber really included in the upcoming all-star edition of The Amazing Race? I get why CBS would do this, but haven't they gone to that well too many times? They have each been on Survivor twice, then again on The Amazing Race and on a CBS special about their wedding. To make matters worse, they had an unfair advantage during their time on The Amazing Race because people recognized and helped them on many legs of the competition. How is that fair to the far less recognizable racers? Seriously, enough is enough for these D-List "celebs"! I'm not going to tune in just to root against them. In fact, I've decided to skip the next season altogether, at least until they are Philiminated!
Answer: I have yet to see an official cast list for the all-star running of the Race, but everyone here who follows such rumors seems to think that this is probably true. And I see no reason to doubt it, seeing how CBS' reality franchises have fed on each other before. They're not enough
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Well there you go — I'm guessing none of us imagined that would be our lineup for the final three. Tyler and James? Sure. Rob and Kimberly? Why not? 'Bama over the Beauty Queens? Wow. I thought there was a fantastic hint of foreshadowing just outside the garden maze, when one of the blondes (I think it was Kandice) finally acknowledged Lyn and Karlyn's brains-over-brawn strategy as having actual merit: "They're calmer — it's pretty smart, actually." That was one of several phrases in this leg that I had to go back and listen to more than once, because I couldn't believe my ears. A couple of the others included the typically petulant Karlyn coming clean and apologizing to Lyn for her bad temper (are you listening, Rob?) and Rob (seriously, Dude, listen up) actually using the words "Way to go, way to cry" to berate Kimberly mid- breakdown after she received one too many tomatoes to the face. It's frustrating to see that sort of behavior rewarded with a first-place finish a...
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I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been experiencing a vague dissatisfaction with this season of the Race more or less since the teams first set out from Seattle. Here in episode 11, I think I've finally put my finger on it. More often than not, it seems like there's a potential for awesomeness that's never fully realized. The "marked for elimination" penalty after non-Philimination legs, the new "intersection" back in Madagascar, even the good old reliable "yield" — they've all held the promise for fireworks of the first degree, and yet each one fizzles out just when the going gets good. This week, I thought the entire race had truly been turned on its head, as the 'Bama moms jumped out to an early lead thanks to their solid navigational skills… only to wind up at the back of the pack (again) after an operating-hours-bottleneck at the roadblock. Then to add insult to injury, they powered through the rest of the tasks after finding themselves yielded by the beau...
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All right, before we start drawing any grand conclusions about nice guys finishing last, let's get one thing straight — the Cho brothers didn't lose because they were too nice, or too polite, or even too attached to the other teams. They lost because of incapacitating geographical ineptitude. Seriously, fellas, how many times can you stop and ask for directions between points A and B? I've been rooting for Team 'Win all the way, but after suffering through that interminable exercise in how not to navigate, I can't be that heartbroken to see them go. Nor can I blame 'Bama for getting frustrated and cutting ties — although Karlyn could have helped herself out in the viewer-support department with a little less complaining about the Chos and a little more, oh, I don't know, reading of a map? You can't choose to follow another team and then snipe about the way they're leading. Well, I guess you can, but it won't win you any respect from us recliner racers. Aside from the disap...
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Remember last week, when I said Rob and Kimberly seemed to be mellowing out just a bit? Yeah, I take that back: That dude's just plain scary. Did you see him Evel Knievel-ing that bicycle down into the mine, hootin' and hollerin' and looking like Jack Nicholson in The Shining? All rage and no play makes Rob a complete tool. (That's right, Peter — you've been officially dethroned.) And here's another little tip for you, Mr. Faux-hawk: When you're a bigger drama queen than your girlfriend, you have a problem. Know what else is a problem? The entire mining industry of Finland. Are you seriously telling me that miners ride bicycles more than a mile into the earth and haul limestone back up one massive chunk at a time? What? Someone get David on the phone; I need a mining expert to verify this big load of hooey. Speaking of which, how painful is it that Kentucky got the boot just one leg before the big mining challenge? I'd have paid good money to hear David's reaction to the Lance ...
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All right, I'm not sure if this was some clever editing work or simply a testament to the intrinsic calming qualities of cow lips, but it seems like Rob and Kimberly may be mellowing out just a bit. Granted, "mellow" for those two still seems like a regular rage-fest to little ol' nonconfrontational me. But, it's a step in the right direction nonetheless. Kudos to Kimberly in particular for powering through that ick-tastic fast-forward, and a big fat boo to the sound and video editors for making us watch her heave-ho in slo-mo. (And did anybody else find her description of the Malagasy delicacy hilarious? "It was disgusting — the hair was still there, there was fat on it, there were teeth there still." Apparently "fat" falls somewhere between "hair" and "teeth" on the unappetizing scale.) All gastrointestinal distress aside, the real lesson learned here is that, despite its name, the fast-forward isn't necessarily the fastest option — the intersected Tyler/James/Rob/Kimber...
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Question: I'm a 45-year-old mother concerned about today's programming. It seems all there is to watch is blood, murder and sex. Whatever happened to funny family shows? You cannot sit down as a family and watch TV anymore. I'm not sure whom the networks are trying to appeal to, but do they realize that there are still generations of families with kids watching TV at 8 pm? This is a sad state of affairs when I can't even let my 15-year-old sit down with me to watch TV. We're reduced to Nick at Nite! When there is a good show, the networks cancel it. Look at the history: American Dreams, Yes, Dear, all replaced with sex: Two and a Half Men, the CSIs, Grey's Anatomy. And how many nights can they shove Dancing with the Stars down our throats? I'm just disgusted that when I sit down to relax, there's nothing to watch anymore.
Answer: Unfortunately, I can't give you much hope. These days, the networks' idea of "family" programming takes the form of the more benign reality programs, like
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