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Tag: Reality TV (1-10 of 182)

Jan 22 2013 08:35 PM ET

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Watch 'Real Husbands of Hollywood' tonight: Reality-TV squabbling was never this good

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Reality TV, Television, TV Review, TV Tonight

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Image Credit: BET

May I make a brief recommendation that you watch tonight’s second episode of Real Husbands of Hollywood? This new fake reality, semi-scripted, all-funny, feels-true show debuted to big ratings on BET last week. It deserved its large audience. Led by Kevin Hart, Real Husbands spoofs Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise while getting at some truth — namely, that this reality-TV genre is a ridiculous sham that only needed (a) a slight push to make the ridiculousness hilarious, and (b) it’s time men were made to look as foolish as women do on the Bravo shows. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 3 2013 11:20 PM ET

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'Buckwild' premiere review: Loud, crude, and kind of lovable?

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Reality TV, season premiere, Television, TV Review

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Image Credit: MTV

Buckwild premiered on Thursday night, preceded by the usual this-is-the-end-of-civilization condemnation/hype that greets any well-promoted MTV reality series featuring youthful humans. But after watching the two back-to-back initial episodes, I’d say MTV’s main problem is that these West Virginia kids may be a little too likable to get all huffy and self-righteous about. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 20 2012 06:12 PM ET

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The legacy of 'Jersey Shore': How will cultural history judge Snooki and her spawn?

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Jersey Shore, Reality TV, Television, TV Review

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Image Credit: MTV

Jersey Shore signs off tonight, ending six seasons of drunken foolishness, its place in pop culture semi-secure. It is one of the most successful, and most controversial, pieces of programming MTV has ever devised (and that’s saying something, when you’re also the birthplace of A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila, the crappiest piece of junk ever to deploy a Roman numeral). But what is Jersey Shore‘s lasting significance, its enduring impact? READ FULL STORY »

Dec 10 2012 12:19 AM ET

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'The Amazing Race' finale review: When the wrong team wins

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Reality TV, Season finales, Television, TV Review

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Image Credit: CBS

Quick reaction to the season finale of The Amazing Race on Sunday night: Dang!

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE AMAZING RACE. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 24 2012 02:04 PM ET

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Britney Spears as an 'X-Factor' judge: Doing it the way Elvis might have?

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Reality TV, Television, The X Factor

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Image Credit: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Watching Britney Spears address the country’s critics at the Television Critics Association’s press tour In Los Angeles, I was struck once again by how much she reminds me of an unlikely forebear: Elvis Presley. Spears, speaking alongside Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, and LA Reid, looked nervous and self-conscious, fidgeting with a ring on her finger, allowing a Southern drawl to become more pronounced in her voice, and trying to avoid any answer that could be construed as being negative or controversial about the show she was joining as a judge. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 12 2012 10:06 PM ET

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'Big Brother 14' premiere review: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Big Brother, Reality TV, season premiere, Television, TV Review

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Image Credit: Lisette M. Azar

Like a scab one cannot resist picking, Big Brother is an irritant I cannot resist looking at, for at least a few episodes, every summer. In the past, I’ve been hooked for whole seasons. More recently, I’ve found the house fetid, even toxic, and evicted myself quickly. Based on Thursday night’s premiere, I’m appalled to say I may have to watch at least one more time. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 10 2012 11:03 PM ET

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'NY Med' premiere review: Doctors and nurses with saint-like patience and skill for impossible patients

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Documentaries, Reality TV, Television, TV Review

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Image Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABC

If you’ve seen any of the other ABC medical documentaries overseen by producer Terence Wrong (Boston Med in 2010; Hopkins in 2008), you know that NY Med is excellent summer viewing… as long as you don’t mind spurting blood and close-ups of tumors along with your true tales of heroic life-saving and saint-like patience with impossible patients. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 18 2012 11:11 PM ET

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'The Glass House' premiere review: 'The show they didn't want you to see' was the show you didn't need to watch

by Ken Tucker

Tags: Big Brother, Controversy, Reality TV, Television, TV Review

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Image Credit: Nicole Wilder/ABC

The announcer for The Glass House, which premiered on ABC Monday night after The Bachelorette, said this was “the show they didn’t want you to see!” That was intended to be a reference to CBS’ attempts to prevent ABC from airing what it views as a Big Brother rip-off, but after watching the show, I think “they” might actually have been “all humans with brains and a conscience.” READ FULL STORY »

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