Tuesday, January 13, 2004

REALITY WORTH GROKKING: We've got two solid reality competitions on right now worth your time -- both set in NYC, both based around demonstrating one's suitability for a selected profession, both of which selected their female competitors based on their looks, both of which encompass a heavy amount of competitor genuflection in the direction of the host.

And if you know me, you already know that I love America's Next Top Model, now in its second season. The pilot re-airs Weds at 9pm. (What -- "America's Top Model After That" was taken? "America's Next Next Top Model?" "Seriously, Dude, Where's America's Next Top Model?")

Miss Tyra is an A-plus level host -- still as "professional, demanding, classy, funny and not very difficult to look at" as in season one. We've got a good mix of competitors, all of whom, ironically, seem much less like self-conscious camera whores than what you're used to seeing on reality shows, but rather are driven, opinionated women who just tell you what they think, and not what they think will get them more airtime.

The show makes you care about the craft of modeling, and forces you to take it seriously. The weekly challenges are real things that models have to do, and it's all a lot of fun.

Oh, yeah -- and judge Janice Dickinson remains a super King Kamehameha bee-yotch of the highest degree.

As for The Apprentice, it's chock full of Trumpy goodness. It combines the best team-strategery-gameplaying from Survivor with the shit-you-have-to-do-it-in-the-real-world-with-real-people unpredictable thrills of The Amazing Race.

It's a hoot. While its success will somewhat depend on well-thought team challenges and America's favorite short fingered vulgarian's continued ability to play to (and with) the cameras, the structure is good, the personalities are there and I'm excited.

The Apprentice airs this week on Thursday from 8:30p-9:30p, then next week on Wednesday, and from there, who the fuck knows.

In the meantime, AI3 and Survivor All-Star are just around the corner . . .

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