Author: Shane

Kid Nation Under Fire

A month before it goes on the air, and CBS’ newest reality show, Kid Nation, is already the subject of controversy over the issue of child labor laws and child endangerment.

The LA Times reports Janis Miles, the mother of a 12-year-old girl who was burned in the face while cooking, filed a complaint in June in Georgia, where she lives. She has asked for an investigation into “abusive acts to minors and possible violations of child labor laws.” Her complaint was forwarded to Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, who on July 20 posted an item on his department blog revealing Miles’ claims and stating he had found no criminal wrongdoing related to the production.
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“These kids were in good hands and under good care with procedures and safety structures that arguably rival or surpass any school or camp in the country,” the CBS statement read.
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The children did receive $5,000 stipends, and they competed for $20,000 gold stars in each episode.

(CBS legal counsel) Anschell, however, said the stipend and rewards are not considered wages for work because, “It’s a stipend for participating in the show. It’s not tied to specific output or tasks.”

Anyone who considered allowing their kids to do this had to know what they were getting themselves into. Despite the potential for money/fame, it’s not summer camp, and just as if they were at home, accidents may happen, which in this case they did to a handful of the kids (with nobody being seriously injured). That being said, as much as this show is billed as being about kids surviving on their own, these kids have more adult supervision than anyone they know.

I’m finding it hard to believe that CBS would intentionally break laws like this just for the sake of producing this show. At the end of the day, this is similar to the race tribes on Survivor, which I thought worked out fine but was blown out of proportion before anyone really knew what was happening. CBS is ultimately just getting massive amounts of free publicity, which should only help to enhance the ratings.

What do you think? Has CBS gone too far, or is this much ado about nothing?

Big Brother 8 Episode 21

It’s one crazy Tuesday here at dingoRUE, with the On The Lot winner and America’s Got Talent 2 winner, but it’s also Big Brother night, so I’m obviously going to do a live blog of that as usual. In episode 20, Danielle nominated Amber and Jameka for eviction but revealed that her actual target is Jen. Will the nominations remain the same, or will the veto change them?

Jameka doesn’t buy Danielle’s explanation that she’s nominating them because they’re nice to people, nor should she. Jameka is in reality just a placeholder, one who can’t participate in the next three HOH competitions. Jen feels somewhat safe but doesn’t believe the nominations are the true targets.

Whether there’s anything there or not, CBS wants Eric and Jess to be in love. Zach, on the other hand, just wants to mess with Eric’s mind and run interference.

Amber says she had a vision sent from God that she will win the POV, save herself, and get to the final two with Jameka. Amber also says she’s not going to cry any more (while crying). I’m not touching this with a ten foot pole.

Eric gets his task from America. He first has to figure out what the hell a woobie is. America rightfully tells him to give his childhood woobie to Jessica. He gives it to her in bed and hops in there with her.

Zach and Danielle start talking about all the people they hate, which is everybody, and both settle on Jen at the end of the conversation.

It’s time for the veto. The winner and the second place finisher will win a trip outside the house.
Danielle picks Dick (houseguest’s choice).
Amber picks Jessica at random.
Jameka picks Zach at random.
Eric is the host.

The competition is taken from a survey. The furthest away from the actual answer is eliminated. There are also motorcycles involved for some reason.

What % think Kail would make a good politician? Actual 19%. Dick was the furthest away with 78% and is eliminated.
What % think life in the Big Brother house is easy? Actual 14%. Zach is eliminated with 62%.
What % think Dustin is a better boyfriend than Joe? Actual 47%. Jessica is eliminated with 67%.
What % would rather have a beer with Nick than Mike? Actual 70%. Jameka is eliminated with 87%.
What % said Zach was the sexiest bunny of all? Actual 35%. Amber is eliminated, and Danielle wins the power of veto, giving her the chance to change the nominations if she wants.

Danielle and Amber are thinking along the same lines. Danielle asks for a one week deal of not being put up. Without Danielle saying a word beyond that, though, Amber is a dumbass and begins promising everything, including a vote against Jameka if needed, safety for the entire time she’s in the house, and yet again swears on her daughter’s life. Jameka warned her not to give up too much, and Amber said she wouldn’t, but so much for that.

As originally planned, Danielle has removed Amber from the block. In her place, Jen is nominated. I don’t like Jen’s odds of survival here. Dick and Amber will vote against her, which means her fate is in Zach’s hands, someone who never liked her (but is at least a wildcard), and then from there she has to get America on her side to swing Eric and Jessica, which might not be that easy because despite Jen being seemingly more popular than Jameka, America may just do whatever Dick wants.

The special trip out of the house is a promotion as usual. Danielle and Amber will appear on Power of 10.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live blog of Big Brother 8 episode 22, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

America’s Got Talent Season 2 Winner

Because it’s not available to watch online (hint, hint, NBC), I haven’t been able to watch all of this season of America’s Got Talent, but I have watched it each week for the first hour. We’re now down to the final four heading into tonight, all of whom utilize singing to some extent in their acts.

Julienne Irwin is a good, young singer. Emphasis on the word young. In a couple years, she has the potential to be great, but she’s not quite there yet. Antoinette “Butterscotch” Clinton strikes me as a jack of all trades but master of none. From what I understand, she’s a great beatboxer, but I always get so distracted by the fact that she tries to beatbox and sing at the same damn time, with each muffling out the other. Cas Haley is a singer/guitarist who primarily does blues and reggae, and definitely the producers have played up the family aspect with him as well, as he’s a stay at home dad and seems just like a nice guy. I have not been as impressed with him lately as I was initially, but he’s certainly a very talented musician. Terry Fator combines singing and ventriloquism. With impersonations of everyone from Garth Brooks to Tony Bennett and a good singing voice to go along with the ventriloquism, this guy kicks ass. Who will be the America’s Got Talent season 2 winner? We’ll find out after a couple hours of filler.

Butterscotch performs with Sean Kingston. Julienne sings with Taylor Swift. Terry does a James Taylor song with Kermit The Frog. Cas performs Red Red Wine with UB40.

Julienne Irwin is the first person eliminated. Butterscotch is next. So it’s down to either Cas or Terry.

And the winner of America’s Got Talent season 2 is… Terry Fator. Well deserved.

Following very strong ratings this year, Fox has already announced that there will be a season 3. Hopefully next year they stretch it out a bit more, as they cut people way too fast.

On The Lot Winner

The combination of Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett sounded like a great one. I kept watching (mostly online), but most people didn’t. Still, this ended up being an enjoyable show, regardless of the low turnout.

After the final four showdown in On The Lot Episode 14, I was hoping for a final three battle, but last week we were instead treated to just a recap show, with each director showing his favorite two films. We also learned that Sam Friedlander was the final person to be eliminated, leaving us with a final three of: Will Bigham, Jason Epperson, and Adam Stein. Stick arround for a live blog to find out who the On The Lot winner is.

In the finale, we get to watch the movies that the final three liked the most from the other directors. Adam picks Zach‘s Die Hardly Working. Will chooses Hilary’s Under The Gun, the sperm bank robbery movie. Jason’s pick is Mateen’s Catch, with the undercover cop from action week.

Adam is the first person to be eliminated from the final three. So the final two comes down to Jason and Will, which was to be expected.

And the On The Lot winner is… Will Bigham. The prize is a million dollar movie deal with Dreamworks. The show concludes with Will meeting Steven Spielberg for the first time.

While it was an interesting experiment that was fun to watch, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing any more of this show. The past two weeks, it’s dipped down to the 2 million viewer range, following fairly weak ratings throughout the summer. If it does return, though, can we get rid of Adrianna Costa?

Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears On Apprentice?

What do you get when you combine Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears? I’m sure everyone has their own answers to that apparent setup for a joke, and Donald Trump is no exception. The Donald told the New York Post that he’s looking to get them for the upcoming Celebrity Apprentice.

“We’re negotiating with Britney right now. Can you imagine her doing it?” Trump told Page Six. “We’re not sure what will happen. She’s a [bleep]ing mess. And that little reality show she had did nothing. But she likes the idea of being on television and I think she’d be great.” Hilton, he adds, “wants to be on, and we’re thinking about it, but I don’t know if we’re going to do it.”

And Lohan? “Another [bleep]ing mess. We haven’t asked her yet, but I’m going to call her this week. It would a positive thing for her to do . . . for all of them,” he says.

Those already willing to humiliate themselves by working with Donald Trump include Omarosa (again), Pete Rose, Tony Hawk, Jeff Gordon, George Foreman, and Carmen Electra.

Update: According to a Trump spokesperson, none of the people listed above have actually agreed to participate, even if all have probably been contacted. Sounds like Trump’s trying to make a bigger deal of himself than necessary (big surprise).

Veronica Mars Joins Heroes Season 2

With the recent cancellation of Veronica Mars by The CW, Kristen Bell is available, and NBC didn’t waste any time grabbing her.

Bell will join a rapidly growing Heroes cast in a recurring role as a mysterious woman who could be on any side. In addition to her role on Heroes, Kristen will be the narrator on The CW’s new show, Gossip Girl.

This news follows closely on the heels of the announcement that Janel Parrish from Bratz will be joining the cast as the head cheerleader at Claire’s new school, as well as last week’s announcement that Nichelle Nichols will be the grandmother of a new hero played by Dana Davis.