A few years ago when the first “Real Housewives” show on Bravo surfaced quicker than pictures of Anthony Wiener in his BVDs,  the locale of the show was Orange County California, which, although is a serene and aesthetically beautiful area south of Los  Angeles, it just didn’t entice me as a New Yorker to follow all of these blonde, botoxed women. Fast forward a couple of years later and New Jersey was the selected state, specifically Northern New Jersey, which is quite different culturally than South Jersey.  Having spent an enormous amount of time in Northern New Jersey and being related to housewives of that area, I was curious to see where the line between fact and a good plot line would be drawn. After the first two seasons, what I found was the equivalent of eating a box of Entenmann’s chocolate frosted donuts 10:00 at night: it tastes good abut you feel completely toxic the next day.

There seems to be a cast type of the main characters for all of these “Housewives” shows: the not-so-bright but good hearted one, the bossy one, the one your a little jealous of, the lost one, and of course, the villain. On the New Jersey saga, the one who I thought was a little bit lost was Dina Manzo because it was hard to tell what she was searching for in life and was constantly seeking peace with teas, gems, and a spiritualist who became her BFF. Dina could not take the bad energy of the villain so she left mid-season, as did the villain Danielle Staub, who is now seeking treatment in stripper rehab after a three day gyration binge at Scores… I wish I was kidding.

As I awaited the new season of “RHONJ,” I was eager to see the prior Jerseyites who are Caroline–the bossy one, Jacqueline–the one I’m a little jealous of because no matter how many degrees are on my wall, my lifestyle is nowhere near what her’s is, and Teresa–the not so bright one, as evidenced by her malapropisms, but appears to be sweet and happy no matter what the circumstances are. (more…)

Lindsay Lohan is an adult, responsible for her own actions, but take a glimpse into the nauseating world she inhabits; one of manipulation where the producers and photographers manipulate her with fawning compliments to get their pound of flesh, and Lohan manipulates them not only to hear those compliments but to lord her superiority over everyone. Lohan’s 11 hours late, which brought the cost of this photo shoot up an extra hundred thousand dollars. Here’s the result:

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In a year when a “balloon boy” became a media sensation, it is bizarre that some networks are thinking about giving more credibility to reality show contestant wannabes. The Salahis, the other high-profile ”celebrity” couple that seemed  more interested in gaining publicity and fame than following the law, are getting even more attention because of the party they crashed several weeks ago at the White House. The network Bravo has seemingly furthered their careers by polling people about giving the party crashers their own show. These are the uninvited guests who, after invading the White House party, want to invade your living room.

The Washington Post recently reported on the Bravo poll that gave the Salahis the spotlight once again. The article noted that Bravo ”decided to poll viewers for their thoughts on Michaele and Tareq Salahi. This included asking whether you’d think less of Bravo if it gave the Salahis their own reality series.” The Post article noted that “the poll, which was being conducted by Research Results — a company that says it’s affiliated with NBC Universal” asked repondents if  “it would be in poor taste to give them [the Salahis] their own reality show. ” The answer to that question seems obvious.  The Salahis got publicity for breaking into a White House party. If that activity helps to earn them a reality show, that will only lead to future White House incursions by publicity-hungry celebrity wannabes. (more…)

We’re about midway through the current season of Top Chef, and in case you’ve missed it, here’s all you need to know:  There are four clear favorites and two potential dark horses.  Everyone else is dead weight, as far as I’m concerned.

The leaders of the pack:

-Jennifer Carroll.  Very strong and consistent.  By far the most talented of the female contestants.

-Kevin Gillespie (aka Red Santa).  Seems like a genuinely nice guy with terrific culinary instincts.

-Bryan and Michael Voltaggio. These brothers seem to trade wins every other week.  Bryan is more conservative, straightforward, and thoughtful.  Michael is somewhat of a punk, but an excellent chef in his own right.  Bravo is a bit too enamored with this brother-vs-brother storyline, but the fact that they could both make it to the finals on their own merits breathes life into the drama–which the show’s producers have nearly beaten to death. (more…)

Big news for Top Chef enthusiasts: Bravo’s spin-off series featuring celebrity chefs competing for charity debuts Wednesday night at 10pm ET.  I still have a bad taste in my mouth from last season, largely due to Hosea’s undeserving triumph, so I’m eager to see if the cooking franchise will redeem itself.

Here’s the skinny on Top Chef Masters, courtesy of the LA Times:

The cooking competition spinoff — this one featuring “world-renowned chefs” — has recruited a star-studded lineup of guest judges.

They include Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Morgan Spurlock, “Lost” writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, “Flipping Out’s” Jeff Lewis, and all of the previous “Top Chef” winners. Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons will also appear. (more…)