Letters to the President
8 pm/ET HBO2
When a nation plays it as close to the vest as Iran, it's hard to know what goes on behind its borders, but a trio of documentaries seek to give at least a glimpse of what makes the country tick. The first is Letters to the President, a look at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's correspondence with the populace. It's followed by The Queen and I on June 17 (8 pm/ET), a chronicle of a former revolutionary's relationship with the Shah's widow, and Be Like Others: Transsexuals in Iran on June 24 (8 pm/ET).
Read on for previews of Top Chef Masters, American Masters, Real World/Road Rules Challenge and Mythbusters.
read more
Have you missed some of the action on this season of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Gauntlet III? That doesn't mean you have to miss out on the show's finale (tonight at 10 pm/ET, MTV). We’ve got everything you need to get caught up.
Does it matter if I haven't watched The Real World since Eric Nies was on it? No. Just because you don't know the players doesn't mean you can't enjoy the game. Cast members are recruited from previous Real Worlds, Road Rules (yes, it's still on!) and Challenges. Divided into two teams — this season it's Veterans vs. Rookies — they compete in crazy competitions, like running across a beam high above water while the opposite team tries to knock them off with 25-pound medicine balls. The losing team sends two players to the Gauntlet, a mental or physical contest, with only the winner remaining in the game.
read more
Question: I have been hearing a lot of things about the possibility of Hannah (Sarah Drew) leaving Everwood. What's the real story?
Answer: (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT) It's true: Hannah will decide to leave town after receiving tragic news in the Nov. 10 episode, but that doesn't mean we've seen the last of Sarah Drew on Everwood. I can't stress that enough. I also can't stress enough how freakin' unbelievable this show has been this season!
read more
If you can't stand reality shows then this one is probably akin to one of Dante's circles of Hell. But for unscripted-TV fans this is the equivalent of giving a junkie crack. The show combines reality "stars" from nearly every show, like Joe Schmo, The Amazing Race, Survivor and even The Swan. While it's missing the charm of the original '70s series — less hair flipping makes a big difference — it still includes all the silly games like the dunk tank and the obstacle course. Just good old-fashioned fun. And I think that the cast members of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge, like Mike the Miz and Coral, have an advantage because they've been doing contests like this for years on MTV. But the real problem with this show is the fact that teams have to vote to evict one of their players each week. Because fan favorites like Charla and Chip's wife, Kim, are nice compared to the brute force of so
read more
Here's a sign that reality-TV pioneer MTV knows what it's doing in the genre: Their undeniably addictive Real World/Road Rules Challenge is currently casting for its 12th season, but this time, as a nod to longtime fans of the obstacle course-laden competition, the show is giving "fresh meat" the chance to go up against the RW/RR veterans we've grown to love and hate. Are you what MTV is looking for? TVGuide.com picked the brain of Bunim-Murray Productions' senior casting producer Sasha Alpert, who's been sifting through extroverted 18-to-24-year-olds for the past nine years.
TVGuide.com: Which are some of the casts that you are proud of helping to choose?
Sasha Alpert: The first one I ever cast was [Real World:] Boston, so that was near and dear. There is a chemistry t
read more
