You might not agree with what I've written here (about Survivor, or Project Runway...), but that's great
Dear newsletter friends,
I’ve been writing about the reality TV I watch for more than 20 years now, since the summer of 1999, when I recapped The Real World: Hawaii for Student.Com. I love the conversation that comes from publishing my thoughts about a TV show to the world.
In the early days, those came via e-mail. A year later, when reality blurred launched, it was before comments and social media, but via blogs and AIM messages, I heard from people who were reading what I was writing. Some people have been with me since those early days, and others are just joining in, and I’ve loved the conversations, discussions, and debates we’ve had all these years.
I’m still baffled, though, by the response I sometimes get to my reviews, recaps, or other writing. It takes various forms, but here are some examples, in my own words: Calm down! Why are you writing about the show if you hate it so much? Why do you have to point out [insert thing here]? This recap is just your opinion! Horrible review! You suck!
I write reality TV criticism to share my perspective with the world. My writing can be informed by my work as a journalist and my 25 years of watching reality TV, but it’s also ultimately just my take on what I watched, or read, or reported on. It is indeed my opinion!
I share it to join in the conversation. When I get feedback that challenges my thinking, I love that! That’s why I read other critics and recappers, especially those who have different takes than I do.
Versions of Stop watching! or Calm down! doesn’t feel like conversation to me. It’s so easy for me to get defensive to that kind of feedback because it feels like an attack. And it feels like an attack launched because that person and I happen to not agree.
Sometimes, after I’ve watched a TV show or movie, I find myself Googling to find confirmation of what I thought about that thing. If I love something, I want to revel in someone else praising it; if I’m angry at an episode or movie or scene, I want to see if other people are trashing it, too.
So I get the impulse! It’s fun to connect with others who agree with us. And that makes me realize that I really do appreciate the responses above, the ones that make me get defensive, because they ultimately remind me that what I’m here for is the conversation. That’s one of the many reasons I love reality TV.
You can take all of that as a disclaimer for my Survivor: Island of the Idols recap, in which I expressed how very, very annoyed I was at so much of this episode. Though I liked a lot of it, too, especially that awesome tribe-teeter-totter challenge, and basically every thing Vince said. But ooh, was I was frustrated!
Speaking of Survivor: In last week’s recap, I shared that Jeff Probst was annoyed by spoilers in promos, and encouraged fans to complain to CBS.
Well, that’s been resolved! And also Probst shared why he’s using flash-forwards at the start of new episodes this season.
On to other shows: I recapped last night’s premiere of Temptation Island, which was pretty similar to last season’s premiere.
While A Very Brady Renovation ended last week, two bonus episodes are premiering this week and next as HGTV tries to bleed the show’s success dry. I reviewed the show and wrote about nostalgia and how A Very Brady Renovation made the impossible plausible.
If you need to be utterly charmed, may I suggest watching the three videos of dances here? They’re from a UK show that’s coming to the Fox, Flirty Dancing, on which two people meet for the first time while performing a big, choreographed production number.
More details about Flirty Dancing are here—including what Fox plans to change about the original.
The Bachelor, Project Runway, and other news, plus a recommendation
I’ll be writing more about this after more episodes are released, but I’m already hooked on the final season of Startup, a podcast that goes behind the scenes of the podcast company Gimlet as it’s being acquired by Spotify.
Highly recommended, as is Startup’s first season, which rivals the best reality shows for real-life drama. I wrote about it when I recommended five outstanding real-life podcasts, and again when it was adapted into an ABC sitcom.
Some news:
Project Runway season 18 changes seem to me like they’re moving Bravo’s show back toward the Lifetime version. Also: Here’s the Project Runway 18 cast
Bachelor star Peter Weber ‘split his face open’ but Chris Harrison assures us he’s still ‘handsome’
Nick Jonas was on Songland this summer, and that landed him a permanent Voice coach chair
Among the many, many shows that premiered this week was Kids Say the Darndest Things, which is hosted by Tiffany Haddish.
I had a lot of questions about the show, as did other TV critics, like about how much of this is pre-planned or even scripted. Here are those questions, plus the producers’ and Haddish’s answers.
Speaking of premieres, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK started in the UK last week, and will debut on Logo tonight. We’re planning a watch party in my house, and I’m looking forward to seeing if the show is the same or different now that it’s being produced for a different network in a different country.
That’s everything for this week. Thanks for reading this and my other writing—especially if we don’t always agree!—and for inviting me into your inbox. Have a terrific weekend, and see you back here next week!
best,
Andy
🌄 This is Reality in Focus issue 165, first sent 11 October 2019, and it is here to make friends.
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📷 Photo of fall leaves and a lake in New Jersey by Khürt Williams