Wrapping Up 2012's Design Star, Food Network Star, Bachelorette, Duets and Love In the Wild. Insights into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

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Goodness so many competitive reality shows came to a conclusion all at once I could hardly keep up. Rather than leave everything up in the air with no conclusions, I decided to post a conclusion post for mid-summer 2012 competitive reality shows as diverse as HGTV's "Design Star", NBC's "Love in the Wild", ABC's "The Bachelorette", Food Network's "Next Food Network Star", and ABC's newest musical competitive reality show-"Duets".

Duets

Duets was an intriguing new offering in the musical competitive reality show genre. Four musical stars found four amateur protégés and over the course of the contest, the four protégés performed duets with the various performers.

At some point the American public had a chance to vote and their pick, when the smoke cleared, was a very find young man named J Rome, a really dumb name as I see it.

Which is not to say that J Rome was void of talent. I chose him as the winner right from the start and he won handily.

Below, posts on this Blog about the Duets series as it was ongoing.

Duets 2012-New Singing Reality Competition Show. How Does It Compare to the Many Others of the Genre?

Duets 2012 Goes To America for the Vote
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Bachelorette Emily

ABC's Bachelorette series had former Bachelor Brad Womack's choice, Emily, as the Bachelorette.

There were many handsome men after Emily's hand. Eventually Emily settled on Jef, with only one F, incredible hair, and a Mormon from a very devout family.

I watched the "After the Final Rose" show as Emily and Jef appeared on TV for the first time as a recognized couple.

I seriously have my doubts.

First, I don't think Emily is looking to settle down with much of anybody. But even if so, a youngish, naïve, religious fellow seems like the last guy she'd choose.

Emily is quite beautiful, let's make no mistake. She's also used to a good life. It's not clear what sort of working career Jef had.

When they greeted each other at the Final Rose show, they didn't look any more comfortable with each other as they should have what with the show then long over. They both claimed to be planning for Jef to move into SEPARATE living arrangements in Emily's current state.

Everything about that coupling is just weird.

Below all posts on this Blog about Bachelorette Emily:

The Bachelorette 2012-Emily Dumps Brad, Seeks New Partner

Bachelorette 2012 Emily Maynard Used to the Finer Things In Life

The Bachelorette 2012-Four Left. Winner Obvious, One's a Wild Man

The Bachelorette 2012-Four Left. Winner Obvious, One's a Wild Man

Bachelorette Emily 2012-Let the Home Town Dates Begin

Bachelorette Emily-Will It Be Jef, Arie or .....Nobody?
Bachelorette Emily -Who Will She Choose?

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Love in the Wild
NBC's Love in the Wild is a fairly new competitive romance reality show. It combines Survivor with Big Brother and a touch of Bachelor Pad.

Ken and Yanina were the two young lovers who fought spiders and snakes, jumped off of bridges and leaped into gorges, all part of the various challenges that finally ended with these two paired with each other and, despite all odds, still LIKING each other.

They seem like a compatible pair. We'll be keeping ear close to ground to see where this romance goes.

Below all posts on this Blog about Love in the Wild 2012

Jenny McCarthy, 7 Men and 7 Women Seek Love in the Wild for 2012

Love in the Wild 2012-Bring in More Men, Bring in More Women. It Gets Complicated
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Next Food Network Star
Food Network's "Next Food Network Star" was a great series.

Justin, he of the magnificent hair, was named the next Food Network Star.

He was my choice, both for his cooking skills, his personality, and his on-screen presence.

We will be posting a review of Justin's Food Network show, just as soon as we watch it.

Below all the posts on this Blog about Next Food Network Star 2012:

Food Network Star 2012 Begins; Let's Take a Look At How It Begins

Food Network Star 2012-Giada Still Gorgeous, Flay Still Nasty, Alton Still Snobby. The contenders are great.

Food Network Star 2012 "Dish". Current Contender Fan Fave, Meanest Mentor, More Gossip.

Next Food Network Star 2012-Next Food Network Star 2012-Is This Oprah Winfrey or a Cooking Contest?
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Design Star
HGTV's "Design Star" is one of my favorite competitive reality shows. The 2012 series of this show was no disappointment.

Contender Danielle won the coveted title and it would so happen that I watched Danielle's new show, titled "Shopping the Room".

It's a home decorating show. I'm not at all sure I get the concept of "shopping" a room, or how it's anything new on the home decorating scene.

Mostly Danielle, like every interior designer before her, meets with the individual or couple whose home she is re-designing. She then goes on a shopping trip and finds items to base the room/home's decoration on.

It doesn't really work that way. Danielle has to work with carpenters and other contractors to tear out walls, add furniture/appliances….like most home interior designs go.

Danielle then decorates the reconfigured interior, supposedly all based around an item that she found while out shopping.

It's as good a method as any, but it's nothing new or even all that original.

Danielle has a pleasant and calm personality and carries off her tasks well. We'll be keeping an eye on her to see how well her show moves along on HGTV.


Below all posts on this Blog about Design Star 2012:

12 Interior Designers Begin the Competition for HGTV's Design Star 2012


Click here to go to this Blog's main menu and see what other TV series we're covering.

Love in the Wild 2012-Bring in More Men, Bring in More Women. It Gets Complicated

Goodness I'm having a helluva time keeping up with these folks on "Love in the Wild".

It does seem only fair that NBC have some sort of love type show. ABC has The Bachelor(ette) and also The Bachelor Pad. CBS has "Big Brother", okay, not exactly a love type of show but it's happened.

So NBC comes up with the concept that forget silly one-on-one and group dates as featured on "The Bachelor(ette) and comes up with a way for couples to meet that will have them undergoing huge challenges. If love was to ever bloom, surely it would be under the pressure of a challenge met, conquered and won.

Or will it?

The series began with seven men and seven women. Seems logical enough.

Out of nowhere, seven more male contenders are brought in. Trios, two guys and one girl, would now complete the task at hand.

This trio concept did tend to put the kobosh on any budding romances, as one might imagine.

The show gives better sleeping quarters for the winners of the challenge and it goes downhill from there. The very last contenders in the challenge sleep in some kind of awful lean-to type of thing guaranteed to be uncomfortable and annoy. The winners sleep in something called the oasis, a very luxurious suite if one can imagine.

As to how the couples actually "sleep" in their quarters, well there are quick scenes of the duos in bed together and in this past week's episode there was an outright charge that certain couples had "been intimate". What else could that mean?

On the episode following the introduction of the new male contenders, suddenly comes six new female contenders!

Indeed now there were trios of two girls and one guy and by this time I don't know who had been with who or who was with who now.



For at the couple's ceremony it was mass confusion as the guy had a chance to pick either his "old" partner from the prior week (and remember that SHE picked HIM over another guy the prior week) or he could pick the "new" partner.

And some of these guys did drop their partners from the prior week and hey, if I was the new gal in town I'd be darn leery of a fellow who could drop me so fast which is what "he" did to the girl who'd chosen him just the week prior.

Some would say, correctly, that there's only been three episode by this point, hardly time for any great love affair to blossom.

They do all their socializing on "Love in the Wild" around the swimming pool. At this point the couples can separate and talk with others of the opposite sex. Appraisals are done, I'm sure, hearts are changed. The disenchanted contenders find a replacement and hope that they will have a chance at the couple's ceremony.

The couple's ceremony is where the drama comes to a climax. The challenge's first place winners each get to keep their partners of the moment or either can pick another partner from the gathered couples. Should they choose another partner those so chosen can NOT refuse.

After that the couples do this sort of choosing but only have the "unmatched" group or a member of another team who came in lower than them. The one so chosen this way does NOT have to accept the offer of joining up with those looking to switch their current partners.

It's a scenario replete with lots of hurt feelings and drama and it is one of the more intriguing parts of the show.

For now, Michelle of the big boobs seems to be making it well with Ben.

Jesse and Ali seem to be at odds.

The rest of the teams are at various stages in a relationship but nobody's yet proposed marriage to anybody.

Ali and Jesse came in first so they got to switch partners. To everyone's surprise, Ali chose Ben and Ben, per the rules, could not refuse. Ben was very happy with Michelle.

Ben and Michelle Once Such a Budding Love Now Apart

Jesse chose Michelle as a partner.

Ryan and Jenna chose to stay together. They seem to really like each other.

Yanina chose to stay with Ken and they too seem happy together.

For now the couples are:

Jesse/ Michelle
Ben/ Ali
Ryan/ Jenna
Chase/ Summer
Ken /Yanina

Below the first post on this Blog on this topic.

Jenny McCarthy, 7 Men and 7 Women Seek Love in the Wild for 2012

"Love in the Wild" airs on Tuesdays, NBC, at 9 pm.

Click here to go to this Blog's main menu and see what other TV series we're covering.

Jenny McCarthy, 7 Men and 7 Women Seek Love in the Wild for 2012

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So while Bachelorette Emily is picking and choosing from a bevy of handsome dudes, NBC begins its romance/finding true love show "Love in the Wild". It's a combination Bachelor Pad and Survivor and it's a bit of a hoot. Not sure if I'll follow it all that closely but judging by the first episode it might be worth watching.

This is only the second year for this show and there's been a few changes. The hostess with the biggest boobs in an exotic setting Jenny McCarthy is the show's hostess.

The series has an interesting method of coupling contenders up. The premiere episode had an especially intriguing method.

Seven females were introduced. Seven males were introduced. The females chose their male partners for the first challenge. Then, to everyone's surprise, seven more males entered the scene. The females again had to pick a male partner. The result was seven females each partnered with two males.

Then comes the challenge and there are many facets to the challenge. In this challenge the goal was to find three conch shells. In order to do so, supplies were dropped out of a helicopter into the ever-present beautiful blue ocean.

The challenge begins and one member of the trio must swim out and retrieve the packet of supplies.

Each packet of supplies included directions and items to aid in the challenge. Much of the show has the viewers watching the trios fulfill the items in the challenge. One part of the challenge had the female of the team dropping down into a snake pit.

Right there I'm stopped in shock. Now what they were showing on TV was a whole bunch of vicious snakes, many of them upright, weaving and showing mouths and scary fangs.

So okay, what's the catch here? Have all the snakes had their poison sacks removed? Or are all the snakes non-poisonous and just look nasty?

Come on, surely….SURELY they wouldn't have the contenders drop into a pit filled with poisonous snakes?

Well yeah, that's what was shown on the camera. Those females were lowered into the pit by her two male partners and she had to dig in the sand, sand covered with a bunch of nasty, threatening snakes mind you, for a conch shell.

The rules had the winning team would stay in luxurious accommodations. The second, third and fourth stayed in nice accommodations. Fifth and sixth place would be staying in "rugged" conditions. Jenny says she could not even describe the accommodations for the trio coming in last place.

And indeed the trios who came in the first four places stayed in perfectly nice cabins or in the case of the winner, a grand luxury suite. Contender Summer and her two male partners came in first place.


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Fifth and six place stayed in small tents. It was a tight fit and certainly would be considered rugged. The loser, contender Ali, has to sleep in some kind of lean-to type of thing that was horrible, as was the intent.

The contenders then spend time mingling and getting to know each other. They gather and converse at the show's poolside and viewers get to see the flirtations, the various attractions. In solo camera vignettes, the contenders would reveal their sentiments about other opposite-sex contenders and their own partners during the challenge.

As with most of these romance shows, there is always a finale, a culmination that would have various contenders picking, choosing and/ore rejecting each other.

This episode had the female of each trio choose one of her two team mates to keep and to reject the other. The rejected fellow had to go and stand in the "unmatched" section. Summer, the winner, was the only one who could choose any fellow in the room. She did not have to choose a partner for the next challenge from her own trio.

It begins to be like a game of ring around the rosey as men are rejected, sent to the reject pool, chosen by another female contender.

In the end seven male-female teams emerged, ready for the next challenge and getting to know each other under extreme conditions that, as the theory goes, reveals personal flaws quicker and clearer than a more mundane date would.

In the first episode with seven firm female and male contenders then established, things got serious.
The couples now were:
Ali/Chase
Summer/Tim
Cina/Jason
Shauna/Ryan
Tara/Jesse
Jenny and Ben
Yanina/Ken

The challenge was kind of fun to watch, as they all are. There was jumping into lagoons from extremely high cliffs, catching birds with a makeshift net, and reading maps in the pouring rain.

First place-Ali.
Last place-Jenny.

At the couples ceremony two were sent home.

We'll be watching this series and posting regular updates so check in.

Love in the Wild can be viewed on NBC on Tuesday nights at 9pm.

Click here to go to this Blog's main menu and see what other TV series we're covering.