Showing posts with label Reality shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reality shows. Show all posts

Thursday, March 15, 2012

"Nothing Personal" on the I.D. Channel

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


I've mentioned before that I tend to watch reality TV as opposed to regular programs. Not "reality" like "Survivor", "The Amazing Race", etc. More "reality" in the sense of "true crime" shows: "Forensic Files", "Scorned", and the like.

One show I'd never seen before yesterday is "Nothing Personal", on the I.D. channel. The thing that caught my attention about the show was the commercial for the latest episode. It was promoted as being about a washed up "rock star" who wanted to be rid of his wife. Sounded intriguing, so I watched.

The program started out in Cottonwood, California, where a murder had taken place. Part way through, it switched to Portland, Oregon, a city I've known all my life.

My interest was peaked more by this fact, as I'm always curious about the local area and what's going on; or in this case, had gone on.

As it turns out, the episode was about a man, Todd Garton, who had been in a band called "Detente Touch", in Portland, from the mid to late 80's. I'd never heard of the band, but was interested in hearing what had happened, and how Garton had ended up in California.

I'm watching the show, and various people are recounting the past, about the band and other things surrounding the Portland area. Suddenly I see a face I recognize. I've never actually talked to this person more than a couple of minutes, but still, I recognize her immediately. It was Carol Batchelor, who used to be an air personality for KUPL.

Turns out, Batchelor was the lead singer for Detente Touch, so she knew Todd Garton, and the woman who was to become his wife, also named CAROL. Beyond the band however, Batchelor had no other connections with Garton.

I'm sure this type of thing happens all the time, where someone recognizes another person, etc. It's the first time it's ever happened to me though, and it took my by surprise.

Though what happened is in no way shape or form, cool; I did think it was a bit cool to have recognized someone on a national TV show. The circumstances were definitely sad though.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

THE 12 MONTHS & SHOWS OF REALITY CHRISTMAS

Wednesday on "Simon in the Morning", they had a segment asking listeners what type of reality show would they be best at.  For the life of me, I couldn't think of anything for myself, except maybe "Useless Trivia 24/7". 

What I did think of though was something I wrote a few years ago.  I don't remember how I got the idea, however, since I still have it, I've decided to share it on my blog.  I know it's been awhile ago, since some of the shows aren't on the air any more. 

With that said, I now present, "The 12 Months & Shows of Reality Christmas".

(Names of shows below represent what each Christmas show is patterned after; actual names will differ.)

(Shows run concurrently, starting the day after Thanksgiving and ending on Thanksgiving Day of the next year.)

   1.      Manhunt—To find the perfect Santa Claus.

    2.      The Bachelor—The new Santa picks his perfect Mrs. Claus.

    3.      Pimp My Ride—To customize Santa’s sleigh.

     4.      Extreme Makeover—To make the new Mr. & Mrs. Claus even more
                                            believable.

     5.      The Apprentice—The new Santa chooses which teams of elves-{hundreds,
                              but only show key elves}-continue on and which gets fired.

6.   Fear Factor—Elves must prove their abilities in various ways.

7.      The Amazing Race—All elves from the winning teams must split into new
                                            teams, then race to the North Pole.  At each pit stop Santa
                                            will eliminate a team of elves.

      8.      Survivor—All elves not eliminated will have to prove their survival skills at the
                           North Pole, or be eliminated.

9.      Big Brother—All remaining elves, along with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, have to prove
                                      they can survive together when snowed in at the North Pole.  Will
                                     also have to learn how to care for reindeer, make toys, etc.  More
                                     eliminations.

    10.  What Not To Wear—All final winning elves, along with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, get
                                               a complete fashion makeover.

       11.  Monster House—Santa  & Mrs. Claus, along with the elves, get their living
                                            space made over into the ultimate Christmas themed home.

          12. The Ulitmate Reality--All winners from the previous 11 shows
                                                      appear together in the Macy's Thanksgiving
                                                       Day parade.

                                            
Bonus Show—Unlucky #13

   13.  Cops--Santa and the elves are arrested for passing out black market toys to little children. It's a federal offense crossing state and international lines.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Claus is taken in to custody for putting a little too much "joy" in her brownies.