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Previously in Test Pattern:
They See Dead People
Stunning visuals and genuinely creepy plot make "The Others" more than just "Sixth Sense: The Series."
Ally's Kid Cousin
Miss McBeal and "Malcolm in the Middle" may not be blood relatives, but they live in the same part of Dreamland.
The Realer World
"True Life", MTV's first genuine documentary series, is downright freaky.
'Quiz Show' Redux
NBC's revamped "Twenty One" is even stupider than the scandal that sank the original.
Year of the Television
A year end countdown of the top ten, uh, seven things we learned from TV. Plus: How many new game shows are there?
You'll Shoot Your Eye Out
A wonderful life? Whatever. Blasting capitalism with a hail of satiric BBs, "A Christmas Story" is the greatest holiday movie ever made.
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Television is an incessantly incestuous medium. Remember the slate of
"Friends" clones that popped up shortly after the NBC hit surfaced? They disappeared faster than Mike O'Malley, but for a minute, they were thick on the ground. Over the past two years, the big three networks have found themselves struggling to play catch-up to the WB, which — after years of treading water as a joke of
a network — flattered, attracted, and entertained the teen and
twenty-something audience with shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
and "Dawson's Creek." Now, with teen angst is running so rampant,
we'll be smothered by all the "Dawson"-wannabes if the hormone levels
don't drop off soon. Most recently, all the networks quickly
photocopied ABC's surprisingly successful "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire." Some are bringing back long-dead game shows (NBC will be
the home of "Twenty-One," the scandalous inspiration for the movie
"Quiz Show"; CBS might relaunch the "$64,000 Question"), while others
are creating new games (like Fox's "Greed").
Considering all of the imitation that goes on, it's surprising that
it's taken eight years for the networks to start
copying MTV's ground-breaking reality TV show "The Real World." MTV certainly capitalized on the show: besides the spin-off
"Road Rules" (which was born out of the cross-country trip "RW"-ers Tammy, Jon, and
Dom took at the beginning of the LA season), they copied the any-person-as-star format with shows like "FANatic" and other specials.
But the other networks have been notably silent in the reality television arena. Until now.
Just as "The Real World" is ready to springboard into syndication, a
number of networks are now trying to copy its success. But, thankfully,
the networks are pumping some much-needed adrenaline into the formula.
(This season's "Real World" took place in Hawaii, and even with a
drunken lesbian and cocky fratboy, it's been pretty dull — just ask
any Real World fanatic.) Instead of stocking Ikea-furnished mansions
with lifeless college kids from southern California, the new shows are using fresh concepts to re-spark the kerosene.
Take, for example, CBS' "Survivor." 16 strangers are stranded on an island for seven weeks, and their lives are taped. Even with the lack
of
modern conveniences — which they have to win through contests and
games of skill — it still sounds pretty familiar, except that now there's $1 million at stake. Every few
days, the group gets together and votes by secret ballot, expelling the
most unpopular or hated person. When only two remain, the most recently
booted cast members will vote to determine who wins the pot. "Survivor"
completely abandons the pretense that life — like TV — is anything but a big popularity contest.
But don't fret: to discourage budding George W. Bushes, the rules explicitly prohibit
"candidates for public office" from applying. And while there will likely be plenty of drama, it probably won't come from a psychopath who will
throw someone's favorite stuffed animal into the ocean and then slap her in the face — applicants have to pass "physical and psychological"
exams. But beyond those requirements, anyone over 21 can apply;
to start, make a three minute video telling the producers all about
yourself (sound familiar?).
Not to be outdone, the inventors of that
short-video-as-gateway-to-our-taped-universe, Mary Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray, producers and
creators of "The Real World," are developing a program for a broadcast network. Along with Trans Continental Records (the group behind 'N Sync, The Backstreet Boys, and LFO), they're producing an ABC show that will chronicle the lives of would-be teen idols. Tentatively called "O-Town," after the nickname of the show's Orlando location, the show will show how a boy band is formed, from auditions to screaming fans.
In other words, Murray and Ellis have stopped pretending that their young stars are doing the show for the "experience"; "O-Town"'s budding Nicks and Justins will be in it for the fame, and even if their band sucks, its members will still have their prime-time popularity to fall back on.
Fox has jumped on its skateboard and grabbed ahold of the bandwagon, too, with a new series Variety calls "a nonfiction version of 'My So-Called
Life.'" There's a twist here, too: instead of packing people into an artificial environment — a SoHo loft, a deserted island — Fox sent Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler into a suburban Chicago high school to follow a group of teens for a year. The kids get
digital camcorders to record parts that Cutler isn't there to capture, and the edited (of course) final version will air on Fox next summer.
The Associated Press has reported that some of the teens have not-surprisingly changed their minds about the show after a few weeks of filming, wanting either to be added to the cast or left alone. But unlike "The Real World," they can't just abandon the set, so the continuing erosion of the line between filmed TV show and real life will probably lend itself well to drama, if not distress.
What else is on?
Hair-raising TV recommendations for the coming week.
[These picks are old. For the freshest of the fresh, click here.]
Wednesday, Oct. 27
The short-haired blonde — not Jen —
that gave James Van Der Beek his first, er, taste of adulthood becomes the center of attention on Dawson's Creek when Dawson does some digging to find out more about her...South Park debuts an all-new Halloween episode tonight. Special guests Korn drop by (as the Scooby Doo gang) to give Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny a hand — and premiere their new single. (An older South Park Halloween show, "Pink Eye," airs Sunday)...Then the frizzy-haired comedian who played George's father on "Seinfeld" and fathered actor Ben Stiller gets slammed at The N.Y. Friars Club Roast Of Jerry Stiller.
Thursday, Oct. 28
The WB lets down its hair with its own
awards show, the Radio Music Awards. From Las Vegas,
the event will feature David Bowie, Kid Rock, 'NSync, and more...Gay sex-advice columnist Dan Savage — who, with his partner, recently adopted
an heir of his own and wrote a book about the process — shows up on Politically Incorrect with Mariel Hemingway and two more guests TBA.
Friday, Oct. 29
Get ready for Halloween with our favorite
bald-headed cartoon character, as he goes in search of Halloween's icon in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. That's
followed by everyone's favorite sardonic furball in Garfield's Halloween Adventure... NBC replays the pilot
episode of Freaks and Geeks which offers a healthy dose of 80s hair and clothes as it captures high school life. It's "The Wonder Years" plus 20.
Saturday, Oct. 30
The film adaptation of John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, comes to TV, starring Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and arrest resister Matthew McConaughey...Saturday Night Live promises hair-raising laughs with its Halloween special, which we're assuming is a clip show. We'll let them take the break after last week's hilarious episode starring Norm Macdonald.
Sunday, Oct. 31
If you're despondent that Felicity hacked off her flowing mane, catch this repeat from last season, where a full-haired Keri Russell tries to
rekindle her friendship with Noel following their transgressions. That comes to a halt when Ben's roommate causes problems with a documentary about
college life....After a few too many episodes of the always-great
The Practice focusing on Elvis-wannabe Bobby (Dylan McDermott with longer sideburns and thicker hair than he had last season), we get an older
repeat, guest-starring Emmy winner John Larroquette, who's accused of
being involved in a deadly love triangle...Instead of dyeing your hair purple and harassing the neighbors this Halloween, stay in and learn that one of the scariest things on the planet is actually The Violent Planet itself. The Discovery Sunday series is three shows in one — "Deluge", "Tempest" and "Inferno"...And it wouldn't be October 31st without another Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode. This year's guest voices include Lucy Lawless, Tom Arnold & Dick Clark...
Monday, Nov. 1
The hairbreadth that's supposed to separate
Detective Stabler's professional and personal life on Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit is still not obvious, and the show is full of awkward, choppy transitions. Still, it's a good alternative for those who can't stand the antics of hair-pin-thin Ally... Speaking of Ally, her new slightly curly hair gets kinky when she and Ling — who's known for her erotic hair massages — share a passionate kiss on Ally McBeal.
Tuesday, Nov. 2
The "Buffy" spinoff Angel focuses on the living situations of Cordelia (whose abode is infested by roaches) and Doyle (whose new apartment is infested by ghosts). Doyle fans, start your VCRs, because Glenn Quinn's character is history in just a few weeks.
