Two hoarders, Shirley and Bailey, tried to take in as many stray cats in the neighborhood as possible. In taking in around 76(!) cats, they overlooked one important thing: feeding them.
A&E purchased the reality show The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty which will feature appearances by the late Michael Jackson's three kids, Prince, Paris, and Blanket. Thankfully, at least one Jackson thinks this is a bad idea.
Michael Jackson's death has obviously helped thrust his record sales, memorabilia and hangers-on into the celebrity stratosphere. No group, however, benefited more than his family, who are all of a sudden relatively relevant again. The ultimate sign: a reality show...
Usually our distress over new TV and movie concepts is fueled by the brutal recycling of ideas. Today, though? We'd take Godfather 4 over what's coming down the reality-TV pipe.
"We Mean Business" is a new reality show that debuted on cable channel A&E over the weekend. Though "reality show" is somewhat of a misnomer. As the clip above makes clear, it's really just one long infomercial for its biggest sponsor, Dell. It stars former “Apprentice” winner Bill Rancic, who these days serve as celebrity non-chef Rachael Ray's "financial buddy"! Rancic is accompanied by a stereotypically flamboyant interior designer and a sexy-librarian-looking computer whiz. The implication: Dell is funding the fantasy that business problems can be fixed with glib advice from a self-appointed business expert, some new computers, and better-designed offices. If that were true, wouldn't we see more successful startups out of San Francisco?
· We've never really been giant fans of A&E's borderline exploitative documentary series about the throes of addiction, Intervention. While it's great that the show helps families and addicts attempt to deal with their significant problems, we always end up feeling icky on the rare occasions that we see the show. This week's episode, about a woman hooked on huffing computer duster, was no exception. [Videogum] · Former NYT film critic Elvis Mitchell was recently stopped crossing the U.S. border with $12,000 in cash hidden in a shoebox, along with a stash of 15 Cuban cigars. His explanation? He's afraid of banks. That might make sense if he was driving his own vehicle, but he was actually riding in a taxi at the time. [NY Post] · While the Two Coreys had no trouble cashing a paycheck to appear in Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, Kiefer Sutherland decided to take a pass. "Lost Boys was a massive part of my life, it still is. You can’t crap on that." Smart move. [/Film] · In the biggest wedding news since Jay-Z and Beyonce tied the knot earlier this year, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi are reportedly tying the knot this weekend in California. Should be De-Lovely! [US Magazine] · Greg Johnson, one of our favorite up-and-coming comedians, just ran across the United States. Naked. [Buzzfeed]
Intervention is the realest reality show on television. The A&E series is the starkest imaginable look at drug addiction and alcoholism that you'll find anywhere outside of, well, real life. I'm constantly amazed that the show not only finds addicts willing to be filmed smoking, snorting, and drinking their way to the depths of despair, but also that these same addicts keep on being surprised when the intervention is sprung on them. Too many drugs, not enough time watching TV. And it's heroic work; the show's creator, Sam Mettler, told the Washington Post that the heroin smoke in one subject's bedroom was so thick that Mettler eventually fell down on the bed and "could not stop shaking and drooling." Bear Grylls' job is a cinch in comparison! Keep on inspiring us all to be less fucked up, Intervention. Below, the first installment of the "Caylee" episode that turned Mettler into a temporary junkie:
Back in March, it was reported that Ghost, Dirty Dancing, and Roadhouse heartthrob Patrick Swayze had just five weeks to live before succumbing to pancreatic cancer. Well, screw that, says Swayze. His doctors have cleared him to return to work and the A&E Network's just ordered up a new season of his FBI drama The Beast. "A&E has ordered 13 hourlong episodes to go into production this summer in Chicago, with a tentative premiere set for early 2009."
"Exactly how many women have there been in Gene Simmons' life?" That's the teaser in an ad for the old KISS frontman's reality show, Family Jewels. The new season of the show debuts March 11 on A&E, and the promo campaign for it is in full effect. Which has some people asking: Was that sex tape all a big publicity stunt?
We realize what many of you might need on this gloomier-than-normal Monday is some cheering up. Whether or not this clip from A&E's The Two Coreys provides that really depends on how you feel about artfully staged confrontations between two lovable 1980s heartthrobs who are forced to cohabitate, for various economic and drama-heightening reasons. For us, nothing washes away the darkness buried beneath every successful actor's shiny facade than watching two fallen stars fake-fighting over the woman who came between them. (If you're still not feeling the sunshine, take a moment to consider just how far Corey H. has come since the episode in which he learns he's been shut out of the Lost Boys direct-to-video sequel. The kid is back!)
A tipster reports:
