Reality Rocks

  • During the recent "American Idol" and "Voice" seasons, my esteemed Yahoo! Entertainment colleague Matt Whitfield and I took our heated TV debates online in our "Day After" webisode chat series...and now we're BACK, and feister than ever, and we are ready to agree to disagree about our latest television obsession, "The X Factor."

    And ooh boy, do we ever disagree! While I'm giving Simon Cowell's much-hyped new show the benefit of the doubt--I enjoyed last night's premiere, spotted a few promising singers, and am looking forward to seeing more--Matt is soooo not feeling it. Today, as we discuss the "X Factor" premiere, he's all too eager to cite damning ratings statistics, and he even comes close to decapitating my treasured Simon Cowell bobblehead doll!

    So, whose side are you on? Do you think Simon has made the biggest career blunder in TV history, or do you think "The X Factor" can still be a hit? Watch us hash out the pros and cons above, and come back tomorrow and in the coming weeks

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  • The airwaves are currently clogged with TV talent competitions, but before you let reality fatigue set in, make room on your DVR for one more talent show, this one with a twist: The Hub TV Network's "Majors & Minors," which premieres this Friday, September 23. Sure, other shows like "America's Got Talent" and "The X Factor" have opened up their competitions to the underage set, and even "American Idol" lowered its age limit this year, but "Majors & Minors" is all about the kids. And in an entertainment era that fetishizes extreme youth, with pop stars who are practically preschool-aged, it seems like this show could be a hit with that key tween demographic.   

    "Majors & Minors," developed and executive-produced by smash songwriter Evan Bogart (Beyonce, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna), will follow a dozen talented tykes and teens (ages 10-16) competing for a recording contract with Boardwalk/RCA. Along the way, they'll mentored by an impressive

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  • Everyone knows Simon Cowell has one of the most massive egos in show business. Obviously it'd take some serious self-confidence to quit a hugely successful TV show like "American Idol" (and a $36 million "Idol" paycheck to boot) to launch a new show like "The X Factor." Perhaps you've heard of it? Of course you have. No new show of the fall season, other than maybe "Whitney," has been as megahyped and throat-crammed as Simon's new talent competition, so as "The X Factor" at long last premiered Wednesday night, no expense was spared and no hyperbole was avoided. From the repeat mentions of the "largest prize in TV history" (a $5 million Sony contract); the fleets of "X"-branded Mack trucks; the slo-mo scenes of Simon cruising in a pointy black sports car with "X Factor" vanity plates; the Michael Bay-worthy aerial shots of the "sea of humanity" at the audition sites; the dramatic soundtrack swells underlying every emotional apex; and the live auditions held inside arenas packed to the

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  • Lindsay Pearce was hardly my favorite contestant on "The Glee Project," the Oxygen Network's televised talent search for new "Glee" cast members, so I wasn't too thrilled when it was announced that, despite her losing, she would still receive a two-episode story arc on "Glee's" third season.

    But then I saw Lindsay perform on Season 3's "Glee" premiere Tuesday night. And I changed my mind about her. This little lady's a star, and a born Gleek.

    I have to say, Lindsay out-Berry'd the one and only Rachel Berry here. Ryan Murphy created the perfect role for perfectionist Lindsay--Harmony, the ex-Gerber Baby who's been acting "since I was a fetus"--and I am hoping that on Lindsay's second episode, Hamony and Rachel will engage in a sing-off to end all sing-offs. I'm not sure Lea Michele would actually emerge unscathed...

    Lea Michele, be afraid. Be very afraid. You may have met your match.

    [top photo courtesy of Oxygen]

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  • As the networks launch the 2011 fall season this week, I look at all the programming grids and, as excited as I am about The X Factor and The Sing-Off, I can't help but feel a little deflated. Because there are some reality shows that were gone far too soon, and I keep waiting by my cable box, hoping they will someday return to the airwaves. I'm still waiting...

    Here are the top 10 reality shows I really, really wish would come back already. Hopefully some intrepid network exec is reading this and will take note.

    1) Bands On The Run
    I don't care what anyone says. Forget about American Idol, Survivor, Project Runway, or any other reality TV program that's managed to garner critical acclaim and/or change the face of television. Bands On The Run was the BEST. REALITY. SHOW. EVER. It was so fascinating that when a marathon of it aired on VH1 one weekend in 2001, I stayed home for an entire Saturday with a stack of VHS tapes (this was the pre-DVR era, kids), popping in one tape after

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  • Following the surprise success of "The Voice" this year, NBC decided to expand its other vocal competition, the voices-only "Sing-Off" (which used to be just a two-week lark, a bit of fluffy Christmastime filler squeezed in between "Rudolph" and "Frosty" specials), into a full-fledged, fall-season series this year. And NBC really upped the ante, opening up the competition to a whopping 16 a cappella groups, hyping the show almost as much as it has the inescapable "Whitney," and adding a new judge, sweet songstress Sara Bareilles. (I was very happy to see Sara replace flaky former judge Nicole Scherzinger, who recently departed to go ruin "The X Factor," but host Nick Lachey may have been exaggerating just a little when he ravingly called Sara "one of the biggest recording artists in the business." Calm down, Nick.) "I feel like in the first two seasons we introduced a cappella music to America, and they loved it, and now we see people coming out of the woodwork and pushing it into the

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  • Television producer Nigel Lythgoe might have been a two-time loser at the Emmys Sunday night (his shows, "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance," both frustratingly lost the Outstanding Reality Competition award to repeat Emmy-winner "The Amazing Race"), but he was winning on the red carpet, when he bumrushed Ryan Seacrest's E! interview with former "Idol" judge Paula Abdul...and hilarious live-TV chaos and awkward entendres ensued.

    While Nigel and Ryan could, understandably, barely manage to get the dreaded words "The X Factor" past their lips during the segment, Paula stayed on message, smilingly promoting her new show with Nigel's nemesis, Simon Cowell (while Ryan actually called her out for "BS").

    "How many times do you hit Simon in the first hour?" Ryan asked Paula about "The X Factor's" Wednesday premiere, at which Nigel point retorted, "Not enough!"

    The interview then degenerated into a series of icky in-jokes, starting when Nigel referred to a moment in "The X

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Pagination

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News for You

  • NYPD investigating actress Bynes allegations

    NEW YORK (AP) — Internal Affairs officers on Saturday were looking into allegations made by actress Amanda Bynes that New York Police Department officers sexually assaulted her when she was charged with heaving a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.

  • A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

    CANNES, France (AP) — Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Latest 'Bachelorette' won't say if she's engaged

    NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.

  • Actress Bynes accused of bong toss out NYC window

    NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

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