Reality In Review: Week Of November 11, 2007

Too busy to keep up with reality TV news because you were demolishing houses, spreading ashes, or making popcorn last week? It's OK, I'm here to help you out. So what was the biggest news coming out of the reality television world this week? Let me think. (Don't pay attention to the smoke coming out of head. It really doesn't hurt as much as you would think.) Unfortunately for us in the U.S., there wasn't really any huge news. In Africa however, there was and continues to be big juicy reality TV news.

Big Brother Africa 2 finished its season and Richard Bezuidenhout was the final housemate to exit the Big Brother house. Richard, the winner of $100,000 U.S. dollars, was the center of a huge controversy (to put it mildly) just a couple of short weeks ago. The drama around him continues to unfold. Richard's wife, Ricki, called him a pig while watching the show's finale with Richard's family. Of course, that was due to Richard's sexcapades in the house and his admittance that he'd fallen in love with Tatiana who was the show's runner-up. Daddy didn't like her calling him a name so in return, Richard's father told her to leave because his son could do better than her. By the way, he later forbid his son to reconcile with his wife. In typical scorned wife fashion though, she left saying she would see them in court where she would demand half of her husband's winnings. This has primetime "movie of the week" written all over it. Could somebody get on that? Oh, wait.

The writers' strike continues back here in the good ol' US of A so the mainstream and cable networks were in high gear casting for everything under the sun related to reality television. Most notably, Big Brother casting began with gusto this weekend in Los Angeles, New York City, and Columbia, South Carolina. Allison Grodner told the Daily News that this next season of BB won't have an America's Player but that, "We want it to be special, because we've never done something like this before. I promise you it will be different from any other 'Big Brother' you've ever seen." Oh my goodness. That means another stupid twist!

Kitchen Nightmares and The Amazing Race are also currently taking applications. My fellow reality television fans, we are going to have one helluva spring. What do we have to look forward to? Grab some medication or light a relaxation candle before you read this list because you're going to need it. American Idol, Big Brother 9, Survivor All-Stars 2, Dancing With the Stars, The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition, Hell's Kitchen, and The Biggest Loser are the biggest returning shows. Add in all of the new shows currently casting or in production right now, and reality television is set to take over the world! Bwahahaha!

Ahem, now that I've composed myself let's see who said what this week. Kate and Pat, eliminated from The Amazing Race, yucked it up over at Reality TV World. They seem like a pair of really sweet ladies and I like them even more considering they disagreed with Jameka's (from Big Brother) view of Christianity in the sense of the game. Frosti, the latest castaway to get the boot on Survivor, was thrilled when he learned that the rules were bent to allow him to compete this season. He didn't get a chance to say who he wanted to win but he did get the chance to skirt around the question of whether or not Courtney and himself have stayed in touch. The latest girl to exit Tyra's runway, Ambreal, thought that Jay wasn't fair when it came to her and wants to see Jenah win the big contract. Josh and Shay, from Beauty and the Geek, had a great time on the show and she's going to drag him to her family reunion. Cameron said that his time on Dancing With the Stars was an incredible experience and thinks he was dressed much more conservatively than Maksim.

Time's running out so let's wrap this baby up! Wayne Newton will not be dancing in the DWTS finale. Lauren insists that The Hills is real. Kitchen Nightmares is beyond fake. Paige Davis is returning to Trading Spaces and Jamie Oliver is coming back to the Food Network. Adrianne Curry and Christopher Knight are in a race against time. Heidi Montag is currently reading The Bible.

FOX's MadTV celebrated its 300th episode. A Top Chef holiday special has been announced. The cast of Crowned: The Mother Of All Pageants has been revealed. ABC completely disclosed the list of superstars for its Clash of the Choirs. Viewers will be voting in Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel. Casting has begun for the NBC family-friendly show My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad. The Learning Channel is currently accepting applications for Ten Years Younger. And finally, Project Runway made its triumphant return to the small screen.

Be sure to catch me next week where I'll once again get you caught up on all that concerns the wonderful genre of television called reality. Until then, try to figure out how many nose jobs Tyra Banks has had done. Later gators!