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• My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (aka American Dad-iators)

  Since the dawn of man children have pitted their fathers against each other in imaginary cage matches of strength, speed, agility and intelligence. “My father can kill a wooly mammoth with his bare hands.” “Yeah we’ll my father’s cranial capacity is like 1200 cubic centimeters.” “No Way!” “Yes Way!” Now with the help of the Maharishi of Reality TV Mark Burnett, who brought us such appointment television as Pirate Master and Commando Nanny, NBC is doing what tar pit and school yard disputes could never do and that is match fathers against each other in an actual competition that will finally settle the debate of whose dad is better.  Read More... Posted Feb 05 2008, 04:00 PM by makeitadouble with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: dads, fathers, reality t.v., american gladiators, american dad-iators

• Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer

  Like cockroaches and Cher, reality television will always survive. Writers' strike? Reality TV laughs at your writers' strike. Ready for the latest twist?   Read More... Posted Jan 30 2008, 10:00 AM by Adrienne Martini with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: reality t.v., dance, cockroaches, Cher, Lifetime

• "Today" Show to Air Segment About Two-Dad Family

  It seems that little Angelica isn't the only child of divorced gay parents who is getting airtime this January.  In the coming weeks the "Today" show plans to run a segment about the life of eleven year-old Henry Terry, who has two dads.  The segment isn't just your run-of-the-mill heavily edited and mildly inspirational feature.  It is one of three installments of "Through Innocent Eyes," in which children are given video cameras and asked to document their family life.  And Henry has lots to document.  His family consists of two dads and four sons living in two different states (Henry lives with his dad and one of his brothers in Marietta, GA). Despite being warned that his family wouldn't fit into the "gay family prototype" (I'd love to hear what exactly this prototype consists of) Henry's dad, Ted Persky, responded to an NBC request for a gay/lesbian family's participation and his story immediately peaked the interest of the show's producers.    So then, hats off to NBC. Hats off to Henry and his family, who were willing to let the world peek inside their complex and hectic life.  But before those hats go flying, I have to share a quote from the shows producer that has me just the teeny tiniest bit irked: Read More... Posted Jan 07 2008, 03:05 PM by Erin White with | with no comments Filed under: reality t.v., gay parenting, theToday show

• New Reality Show Taints Mother-Daughter Activities Everywhere Forever

  Forget sack races and girls outings and mommy-and-me music classes: The CW network has just killed the sweet, innocent joy in every mom-and-girl activity by taking the most grotesque thing ever and televising it. Tonight is the premiere of Crowned. Mom and daughter teams live in a house, hiss at the other family units, and compete in--ta da!--a mother-daughter beauty pageant. Because beauty pageants and stage moms and women who fairly panic about losing their looks aren't nearly sad enough on their own: We have to see a combination, and then some. As Jessica said, "I just can't wait for the stretch mark montage where the moms cry about how their 'badges of honor' have all been worth it now that their daughters are anorexic and compulsive exercisers with tiaras and sceptors and then the daughters cry about how they hope they never get stretch marks like their moms even though their moms are like, otherwise, totally awesomely cool people." Sure enough. In case you were wondering what the critics think of the show... Read More... Posted Dec 12 2007, 07:08 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: beauty contests, reality t.v., mothers and daughters, jezebel, LA Times, cw network, crowned

• Coming Attraction: 'Alpha Moms' TV Show

  Celebrity Baby Blog is reporting that a major TV studio is recruiting 'alpha moms' to audition for a soon-to-begin-filming TV show. No details on what the show will be about, but based on the the desired characteristics of auditioning moms, it will be classic reality TV: chock full of sterotypes, clashing personalities and generalizations. Read More... Posted Aug 29 2007, 10:53 AM by Alisyn with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Motherhood, moms, reality t.v., t.v., celebrity baby blog, alpha moms, weeds

• UK Show Puts Wee Waltzers in the Spotlight

  Soccer moms, watch out. Pretty soon, the ballroom dance parents will be beating you out for supreme yelly status, screaming from the sidelines as their kids quick-step, waltz and mambo their way to ribbons, trophies and into the finals: "Pivot! Twirl! Extended toe! No spaghetti arms!" And even better, all this will all be captured on a new TV show. OK, not really. We all know ballroom performers and audiences (and I assume, parents) are far more dignified to yell and scream, especially if they are in the UK and especially if they are being featured on the new British show Baby Ballroom: The Championship.  The new television show will seek out the UK's top 14 ballroom dancing couples under the age of 12, and will the seven best  who advance into the finals. Baby Ballroom will also feature celebs from the ballroom biz that who've crossed over to big and small screen fame, including judge Pierre Dulaine, the inspiration behind the Antonio Banderas film Take the Lead. Honestly, after reading quotes from some of the hardcore competitive kids -- like this one from 10-year old Welsh dancer Elena about her nine-year old counterpart Lloyd: “I love to dance. It makes me really happy. I can’t wait for my dance lessons every week and dancing with Lloyd is great fun." -- I hope this fun-sounding, kid-spotlighting, family show makes it across the pond soon. Posted Jul 31 2007, 06:01 PM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with no comments Filed under: kids, tv, reality t.v., dancing, baby ballroom: the championship

• L.A. Mom Proves Money's No Object When You've Got a Young Daughter & An Appointment at "Sunset Tan"

  Before you watch this, ask yourself: how much would you pay for a quick, healthy-looking, pseudo-sun-kissed tan from L.A.'s most successful tanning salon?  Now take that number and multiply it by a thousand... You're still nowhere near what the nut you're about to roll your eyes at recently paid to have her unwilling, grade school-aged daughter (what is she, 8?  9?) spray-tanned for her class picture.  E!'sl new reality show, Sunset Tan, caught the twosome on tape, and honestly, it made me feel a little sick.  When they spray painted her little neck, I had to turn away.  When the mother told the airbrush operator to "pay special attention to her cheekbones!!" I had to turn it off.   It's not just the thought of paying $1300 (that's one thousand, three hundred dollars) to have a child spray-painted the color of a human Orange Julius that has me reeling -  I can't even deal with the fact that a grown woman allowed - no, encouraged! - her own daughter to emulate the looks of a coked-out, tore-up mess like LiLo.  It's enough to boggle the mind... it's... it's so... L.A. "You want to look like Lindsay Lohan, don't you?...." Oh, the horror.  The horror.  Jump here to see it for yourself.     Posted Jun 12 2007, 10:10 AM by Alisyn with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: parents behaving badly, reality t.v., l.a., fake tan, lindsay lohan, sunset tan, e!

• Reality Show Really Screws Up Family's Home

  I was recently thinking to myself, I wonder how long it will be before a horror story about a home remodeling dream come true reality show comes to light. Here it is. According to the article, Hollywood scouts for the short lived Fox network show, "Renovate My Family" approached the Rosier family at a Chicago boat show offering to revamp their home making it more user friendly for their son Steven who is wheelchair bound after a snowboarding accident in 2003. The family says the asked for a new attached garage to make it easier to navigate the wheelchair in the cold and icy winters. The production company, according to the Rosiers, encouraged the family to dream even bigger urging them to sign a contract without a lawyer's review. When they finally saw the house the reveal was not what producers had hoped, the family was devastated by the renovation which was not at all what they'd hoped for. After living in the home they discovered several other alleged problems like a washing machine installed without a drain (?) and their handmade by Mr Rosier oak cupboards were replaced with press board laminate. Gasp! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! With all the shoddy rapidly slapped together new construction I've seen in "Urban Sprawland" (the outlying suburbs of Detroit) and the frenetic pace of reality television, I am not entirely surprised. The Rosier family settled their suit out of court with confidential terms. Posted May 16 2007, 12:03 PM by Melissa Summers with | with no comments Filed under: television, families, reality t.v.

• Rumor: K-Fed Pitches Single Dad Reality Show

  Rumor has it that Kevin Federline is pitching his idea for a new reality show focusing on his new life as a single dad.  In addition to his kids with Britney (Sean P., 18 mos., and Jayden, 6 mos.), he is also dad to Kori, 5, and Kaleb, 2, with ex Shar Jackson. I know I'm all pro-K-Fed now, and I think he's probably just trying to make the best of the hand he's been dealt in life - when you have lemons... - but this strikes me as distasteful, if it is, indeed, true.  I've never been on board with this whole "reality" TV business - in fact, I can't believe it's lasted as long as it has - and find it particularly troubling when people drag their kids into it (Wife Swap, Super Nanny, Nanny 911, etc.).  In this case, I think any further exploitation of Sean and Jayden would be tantamount to child abuse; as it is, those boys can't even go to the park without paparazzi trailing them - now their own dad wants to invite them in for coffeecake, too?  Please. I would hope that Britney's lawyers would put the kibosh on any deal Kevin tries to make with a TV network - but truthfully, I wouldn't be surprised if they had masterminded the idea in the first place.    Posted Mar 14 2007, 11:01 AM by Alisyn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: celebrity, Kevin Federline, reality t.v., celebrity parents

• The Bachelorette's Trista & Ryan Are Back - With Baby News

  Reality TV's original "it" couple (eat your heart out Tori and Dean!), Trista and Ryan Sutter (The Bachelorette) announced that they are expecting their first baby in August.  The Colorado based couple - he's a firefighter, she's a "purse designer" - were married in a nationally televised ceremony in 2002, but have since fallen off the pop culture radar.  They do not plan to find out the sex of their baby. Congratulations to the expectant couple!  Posted Feb 21 2007, 11:40 AM by Alisyn with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: celebrity, pregnant, reality t.v., ryan sutter, trista sutter