With my heart racing from Lost, I turned over to my weekly nap-inducing show for the finale. I managed — surprisingly — to stay awake for the whole thing this time. There was a Tug o' War, plenty of silly games and Team Underdog took home the 10 grand by beating the overconfident Team Miz. I was happy for them until superannoying Adam Mesh started comparing their victory to the '86 Mets and the Miracle on Ice. Dude, this is a competition among reality-show stars, it isn't the Olympics or the World Series. Get a grip. Not only that, but he annoyed his whole team — you'd think with that great big forehead he'd have a bit more brain power to think before he speaks. Oh, that was so mean. Sorry. I'm going to blame it on the crazy pregnancy hormones and hope that Mr. Mesh doesn't come after me. The scariest thing about tonight's episode was that the announcer kept saying this was the "first ever" battle of the network reality stars, and he said it l
read more
I fell asleep again; tonight it was the soothing rhythms of the kayaks that lulled me into a nice slumber. Seriously, it has to be this show. I watch at least four hours of TV a night, and I don't usually have this problem. Even after this I managed to wake myself up and watch several more shows. You'd think that all these people would make it slightly more enthralling, but it doesn't seem like it. I think Road Rules Theo's comment about Ryan Starr's social skills kind of sums it up perfectly: "I've had a better conversation with a waffle." Well, I've had a lot more fun eating than watching this "competition.".The only remotely entertaining event was the Super High Jump, which was a leap off a diving board over a bar and into the pool. This looked very silly, but of course Mike the Miz and Co. took it way too seriously. At least there's only one more week of this, although I may miss the quality nap time.
read more
Another week, another off-putting comment from Coral. The big-mouthed gal put her foot in her mouth when she assessed her team's chances at winning inner-tube water polo: "We have three African Americans on our team. There is no way we're taking this home. It's over for us. Look around you; all you see is dark skin." Her defeatist attitude was proved right, but ironically, Team Chip was the big winner, thanks to their captain's excellent defense. He was a bit more PC in his judgment of the challenge: "They don't have that [game] in the 'hood. But all you've got to do is put a big body in the middle." But for every mild-mannered player like Chip, you've got a loudmouth like Nikki McKibbin — who was reeling from being ousted from Chip's team earlier (good riddance!) — bragging that her newly formed underdog team had the mechanical bull-riding competition in the bag since in her home state of Texas the bulls are in every bar. It was a delight to see her fall
read more
Nikki McKibbin
Tonight at 9 pm/ET, in the fourth of Battle of the Network Reality Stars' six episodes, a big twist (followed by a bigger one) will shift the playing field for the remaining contenders. We already know that The Love Boat's Ted Lange will be stopping by, and that a new team will be added into the mix. So what are we talking about here, putting piranhas in the dunk tank? Better yet, a surprise visit from The Fall Guy's Heather Thomas in the dunk tank? Andrew Cohen, Bravo's vice president of production and programming, gave TVGuide.com an exclusive preview of what's to come.
TVGuide.com: What have you got cooking tonight?
Andrew Cohen: Well, it's Episode 4, and the big news is that the episode starts with a bang, as each team has to send two players packing. I'm not going to tell you everybody who gets kiboshed, b
read more
Speaking of A-list celebrities: William Katt of The Greatest American Hero fame will make a cameo appearance as a touch-football referee on the Aug. 31 edition of Bravo's Battle of the Network Reality Stars. To be fair, I hear he came thisclose to getting Charlize's Arrested Development gig.
read more
Brian Worth
He didn't win the tug-of-war for beauty pageant queen Larissa Meek's heart, but Average Joe: Hawaii runner-up Brian Worth hopes to fare better with an actual rope on Bravo's Battle of the Network Reality Stars (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET). Can the Beantown bean counter drop people into the dunk tank as easily as he drops his R's? TVGuide.com spoke with Worth about Joe, rubbing Larissa's face in it and living up to Gabe Kaplan's legacy.
TVGuide.com: One of those online petition sites is lobbying for you to get your own Average Joe: Adam Returns-type spin-offs.
Brian Worth: I saw that! I have Googled my name a few times
read more
Is Bravo now reality-TV central? They've got Kathy Griffin's series, Battle of the Network Reality Stars and Being Bobby Brown. Normally home to B-listers who are real actors or some kind of actual celebrity, Bravo has become the landing place for reality-TV "stars." It's got pint-size but adorable Charla from The Amazing Race; Bachelor's Andrew Firestone; Trash — I mean Trishelle; insane-o Jonny Fairplay and Omarosa. None of them has a good handle on the game. As a poker player, I was almost in tears when Charla threw away a straight she didn't know she had. Omarosa was oblivious to the fact that she had a flush and Jonny just bet at pretty much any hand. Are these people trying to kill one of my favorite addictive shows? Anyway, Mr. Fairplay lived up to his cruel reputation by calling Charla a Lilliputian and Omarosa "Omagrossa." But at least he was self-derogatory, too, saying that
read more
Charla Faddoul
On The Amazing Race 5, Charla Faddoul (along with her cousin Mirna Hindoyian) proved that just because she's small doesn't mean she's not a force to be reckoned with. At 4 feet tall (due to a form of dwarfism), she carried a 55-lb. side of beef half a mile and survived a run-in with an electric fence. Now she's back on Battle of the Network Reality Stars (premiering tonight at 9 pm/ET), Bravo's newly revamped version of the '70s series. TVGuide.com gave Charla a ring to talk about her stellar jousting skills and the never-say-die attitude she displayed while facing Swan winner Rachel Love-Fraser.TVGuide.com: What are you doing these days? Charla Faddoul: I m
read more
Survivor's
Richard Hatch
Reality stars: You love them. You hate Omarosa. At least according to a poll TV Guide conducted with Bravo, home of Battle of the Network Reality Stars (premiering Aug. 17 at 9pm/ET), which has 32 of your favorites duking it out on — and off — the playing field. "The show is an opportunity for reality stars to be themselves and not hold anything back," says Bravo's Cori Abraham. "It's not a show that's gunning for people to cry." But thankfully, they do. Here are some highlights from the poll (results rounded up to the nearest whole number).
Who is the most-hated reality star of all time? Omarosa (The Apprentice) 50% Richard Hatch (Survivor: Borneo) 23% Puck (
read more
