Wednesday, July 19, 2006

So bad it makes Jerry Springer look good

It pains me to admit this. It really, really does. But I have to say it. The new American reality TV show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos is really, truly, embarrassingly awful.

This, of course, has nothing to do with George. As the host of The One, George is great. He’s doing a bang-up job. But is he really enjoying the gig or just acting like he does?

I caught the show’s premiere last night but I had stop watching after 20 minutes because I felt so terrible for George. Surely this isn’t what he thought he was signing up for. He must feel misled. I mean, George has always railed against manufactured pop stars and reality TV shows like American Idol. So did he sell out or was he led down the garden path?

The One is an unoriginal, uninspired, cheap knock-off of American Idol. It pretty much follows the same tired formula, but with a “twist.” A bunch of moderately talented wannabe musicians compete in front of a panel of judges for a chance to score a recording contract and a turn in the spotlight. The twist is that the contestants on The One live together and are on camera 24/7.

The whole thing looks like it was slapped together and pushed out the door in less than two weeks. It is really, really, really bad. Even worse, it’s boring. And this is coming from someone who actually likes reality TV. You know a reality show has got to be pretty bad when even I can’t stand it!

The most embarrassing part was watching George urge the viewers to call in or text message their vote just like Ben Mulroney does. I kept thinking, “Oh, George. Why, why, why?”

I suppose you’ve got to respect the guy for going out there, taking a risk and trying something new (I’m trying hard to be positive here). It’s just too bad the show turned out to be such a train wreck.

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