Apparently, reality TV couple Spencer and Heidi Pratt – who got their start on MTV’s The Hills and are now a part of this summer’s I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here – have run afoul of one of NBC’s reality programming head honchos with their latest attention-getting antics.

“They are everything that’s wrong with America,” executive vice president of alternative programming for NBC and Universal Media Studios, Paul Telegdy, said in a statement to Access Hollywood. “They are insincere, lazy, entitled and they claim the devil has possessed them.”

Apparently the couple not only demanded the royal treatment, but threatened to quit more than once and basically acted like a couple of spoiled brats.

I’d like to ask Mr. Telegdy: what did he expect? Reality shows take everyday people and turn them into minor celebrities overnight. It’s not like they had to work for years honing their craft while they waited tables and went on endless auditions, hoping and praying for their big break. (Of course, if one or both of your parents is Hollywood royalty, you skip that part and move right on to the big time.) The only “work” involved in reality stardom is standing in line to audition, hoping to get picked; although sometimes people with unusual life circumstances are approached by producers who hope to exploit their lives for ratings that translate into dollar signs (think Nadya Suleman, lovingly referred to by society as the “Octomom”). (more…)

I was going to let this one go.  I like the story, I was a fan, and it made me smile and yeah, (sniff) warmed my heart, too.  But after a week-long worldwide hoopla, and finally this morning hearing Mike Gallagher gush about this story on his radio show, (plus the fact that I’ve been mysteriously stricken this year with a terminal case of Can’t-Shut-Up Syndrome)…

…I must weigh in.

(Hey you think living with me is fun?  Ask my family – I’m insufferable.)

Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation with her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent.   A rather frumpy and homely middle-aged woman by today’s beauty standards, she presented an unlikely candidate for singing stardom last week in front of the Celebrity judges, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan.  But as she began to sing, everyone was snapped into shock, so unanticipated was her fine singing voice.  The ovation and accolades that followed went straight to YouTube and set Boyle on the road to viral cyberspace superstardom. (more…)

What do a Hall of Fame football coach and broadcaster, an overnight British vocal sensation, and several hundred thousand American taxpayers have in common?  Quite a bit, as it turned out last week.  Not because any of them had anything to do with each other specifically.  Rather, it is what each of them represents individually and the disdain they draw from their misdirected critics.

After 30 years in the TV broadcast booth, John Madden announced his retirement from professionally commenting on a game he once professionally coached.  Even a casual or non-fan can review Madden’s resume and appreciate his accomplishments and lifetime commitment to the game of football.  He was a high school and college stand-out player.   Though his professional career as a player was cut short due to injury, Madden spent nearly 20 years as a college and professional coach before spending the next three decades on all four major television networks.  If you’re doing the math, that’s over 50 years of football for the 73 year old.  He won a Super Bowl and never had a losing season as a head coach.  Not to mention the endorsement deals and the multi-million dollar football video game franchise bearing his name. (more…)