Celebrity Apprentice; Vinny Pastore, Don’t Stop…

January 31, 2008 11:30:53 by DA Southern

In the recap of last week’s episode, we saw softball star Jennie Finch become the fourth celebrity fired by Donald Trump when the women lost the Broadway ticket booth challenge. The win showcased another victory of the dominant men’s team, even with the squabbling between Piers and Vinny, and the inability of the women to work as a team and to master a victory in the challenge. This week, the women desperately looked to relinquish the men’s stranglehold and to finally be the ones watching as the men squirmed in front of “The Donald” to keep their hopes alive to be the last celebrity standing.

As the remaining candidates watched the boardroom, the consensus was that Carol should go and Jennie should stay with Omarosa taking a very firm stance for Carol being fired. However, when Carol showed back up, Omarosa was the first to hug her saying, “Oh well, everybody has to go in this process, just as long as it’s not me.” Nice!

Vinny Pastore was talking to his ex-wife, Nancy Berke, at a typical cafe straight out of the Sopranos. Berke was married to a friend of Vinny’s who passed away from pancreatic cancer and ran a charity in his honor. Vinny presented her with a check for $50,000 that he won during the last challenge.

The celebrities strutted to meet Donald for the next challenge at Macy’s department store and Trump told the teams that the men were going to go on without Tito as he was off fighting someone. Trump told the girls that this was a last chance before they would have to have aid given to them, which had Omarosa scowling at the men, and Trump wanted Carol Alt to be the team leader and the men picked Piers Morgan as theirs.

Trump let the Crocs executives tell the teams that they would be producing an awareness campaign for Crocs and to make an in-store campaign to collect old Crocs for impoverished children.

The ladies of Empresario, lead by Alt, immediately started to brainstorm and wanted to center on hope. Carol was insistent on rallying the ladies because she knew that she would have to take a bullet if she failed. The men were extremely confident as they entered their team area and Piers jump-started his team into action. Trace Adkins had a slogan immediately with, “Wear Them, Share Them” and Steven saw the girls lurking outside their room. Piers decided to stage a fight with Vinny to have him be a spy for the team. Vinny went to the girls and told them he wanted to work for them, and they voted and accepted him into the fold, making Vinny a rat. Yes, art does indeed imitate life.

Vinny jumped right into working with the girls and got them to consider their branding awareness. They came up with, “Souls United, Share the Love” and Vinny was very busy taking notes as an informer. The girls loved Vinnie’s input, and though he contributed to the team.

Hydra was struggling with the nuts and bolts of their concept and seemed to be snipping with each other as the time was getting critical for the presentation basics to be put together. Steven Baldwin was on his phone when Vinnie passed info to him, and he refused to pick it up saying that he would not be a part of cheating and watched as Lennox Lewis finally picked it up.

Vinny started to have real misgivings about being a rat for the men, and as he drove with Marilu Henner, he told her what had transpired with Piers. Henner was shocked as she heard his story and didn’t quite know how to handle it all, or if he was even telling the truth.

Ivanka Trump made a stop to visit the men to check their progress and Piers told her about the Vinny escapade, which she didn’t seem to mind. Ivanka even had trouble with Empresario not seeing through the ruse. Trace and Lennox were off to the manufacturer of the concept design as Donald Jr. made a stop to check up on the women’s progress. He was shocked to see Vinny with the women and Vinny assured him that he was now officially on the girls’ team and wanted to see Piers lose. Over at Hydra, we saw them struggling on a massive level with their project and Trace and Lennox were having second thoughts about the Vinny situation.

Empresario was shooting Carol Alt for their display and ad campaign as we see Carol in her supermodel element during the photo shoot. Piers and Steven showed up and could not help themselves by telling them that they knew what their campaign was all about. Carol then figured that Vinny was a rat and was chastised by Steven for being so juvenile and setting Vinny up for a fall.

Vinny told Marilu to keep playing the game and worked with Marilu to get the task done. Omarosa was now incensed and called Vinny to give him a chance to right the situation and said, “Vinny…You’re Fired!” Vinny tried to plead his case to Marilu but she didn’t really want him on the team, which had Vinny feeling abandoned and now wanted Piers gone.

On the day of the Crocs display and campaign, the ladies display was quite remarkable with a huge Crocs receptacle and the guys receptacle box was rather boring, but seemed to have an impressive campaign. Piers and Vinny had an incredible war of words and Piers actually asked him to leave the challenge.

Donald Trump met with Vinny and Vinny laid out the scenario to Trump and told him to hash it out in the board room. The ladies were first to show the Crocs executives, and it was very awe-inspiring, and you could see it in the executives’ eyes. The guys then presented and it, too, was very remarkable, but more sterile than the ladies. It all came down to what the executives wanted, and they were more impressed with the softness of the women’s approach.

The Board Room was not a pretty scene as the whole Vinny affair played out before Donald Trump. Vinny and Piers continued to spar and as Vinny spilled the whole affair, he truly became the odd man out. Vinny finally asked to resign from the show and Trump was not excited about him quitting. As the words continued to fly, Vinny then rescinded his resignation, which Trump was not inclined to do. Trump then got down to announcing that the women won the challenge and sent them out so he could deal with the men. After the women left, Trump tried to ferret out the real intentions of the men’s actions and decided to not allow Vinny to rescind the resignation. Donald told Vinny that he was not fired, but shook his hand to allow him to leave with dignity.

As Vinny Pastore left, we were treated to the music of the band, Journey, that was used in the final episode of that show and as Vinny left the building, several shady looking characters were seen outside the building as Vinny left and the music reached a crescendo and abruptly ended with, “Don’t Stop…” as the screen went black, paying homage to the Sopranos final episode.

Reality TV Magazine is your source for Celebrity Apprentice news. For other great Reality TV news, please feel free to check out SirLinksALot: Celebrity Apprentice.

Photo Courtesy of NBC

Topics: Celebrity Apprentice | 1 Comment »

Make Me A Supermodel: Body Art

January 31, 2008 10:08:38 by Lisa_Stauber

The supermodels-in-training are back this week, and it’s time to find out who America does not want to see on the catwalk. The safe models are all back at the pad, and most seem to want Holly gone. They know competition when they see it, and it would be better to have Holly out now. Jacki snipes at Ben because he is friends with Aryn, and but he doesn’t take her flak. “Ooh, testy now!” she spits back at him.

Sorry, Aryn, we cannot make you a Supermodel! At least she is returning to a supportive boyfriend. Too bad we won’t find out if she sticks with him!

Holly and Jay are safe for this week, but their homecoming is marred by the divisive talk and hypocritical attitudes. “There’s so much fakeness in this house,” Ben says.

This is going to be a challenging week for the shy, modest ones (hello, Holly!). It’s Body Art time, and the models have a series of assignments to use their body as, well, art.

The Training Assignment is revealing, to say the least. First up: Nude Modeling.

The models will have to pose naked for ten minutes, holding their pose and keeping movements to a minimum.

Holly’s so nervous she can’t even talk. She has good concentration, though, and holds her pose. Frankie is in his element, shucking his bathrobe before he even gets to the platform. Shannon and Ben fly through their time. Jay has some trouble holding a pose, and Casey has a very difficult time. “He was shaking,” the art instructor notes.

Stephanie and Perry are stand outs. “The highlights of the evening,” the instructor says.

The next challenge is the Photo Assignment. The models will pose as a group, but fitting together as a portrait. The girls and guys will split up, but each group gets to pick one member of the opposite sex as a foil for the picture.

The men discuss briefly, and unanimously choose Shannon. One of the girls suggests Frankie, but Holly instantly dismisses him. “No, no, not Frankie.” Holly, are you still having hard feelings because he accused you of drinking on the job? Well, how about Perry, instead?

There is a caveat. Photographer Russ Flatt can dismiss any model from the shoot at any time, and take the group shot without them.

The costumes are a glamorous flapper style. Shannon really stands out – the era suits her. Something about the men’s shoot isn’t quite right, but the pics are gorgeous as soon as Russ shoos Jay and Casey out of the frame. All of the girls manage to stay in the picture, but, according to Russ, “Katy had a problem focusing.”

On to the next assignment, where the models will use their bodies to become a living sculpture and work together to create a work of art. Artists stand ready to paint them from head to toe in black, gray, and rhinestones. Stephanie is chosen as the leading lady, the centerpiece of the work, after walking in impossibly high heels. Again, Katy seemed unfocused, and Ben looked uncomfortable.

The boys have a chat, bonding together as they compliment each other. “We’re like a fraternity,” one says, and another adds, “Except better looking.”

The final challenge is the catwalk. The models are instructed to use the fashion as sculpture, and strike artful poses on the runway. Stephanie, an art major, is in her element and really wows the judges. Holly’s pose is exquisite, and Shannon, of course, is at the top. “She could do Paris couture right now,” judge Jennifer Starr says.

Frankie, God’s gift to women, is assigned a man-dress on the runway but he totally works it. “I think I made it masculine,” he says and the judges have no complaints. They notice that Katy is distracted again, not quite posing correctly at the end. “Here we are again, week four!” Judge Niki Taylor complains.

The models are brought out, and the top three are Holly, Stephanie, and Shannon. Stephanie is the winner; Jacki, Frankie, and Ronnie are also safe. A big surprise this week is that the judges’ favorite, Jacki, placed squarely in the middle. She didn’t stand out at all this week in any of the challenges.

The bottom four are Ben, Katy, Casey and Jay.

Ben… is safe for tonight! It’s Katy’s third time coming up for the vote. Does she have what it takes? Now it’s time for us to choose who we want to be a supermodel. Go to www.bravotv.com and vote for the contestant you want to stay.

Reality TV Magazine is your source for Make Me A Supermodel News. For other great Reality TV News, please feel free to check out SirLinksALot: Make Me A Supermodel.

Photo courtesy Bravo TV

Topics: Make Me A Supermodel | 1 Comment »

DeAnna Pappas To Be The Fourth Bachelorette

January 31, 2008 06:26:40 by Joe Reality

The last season of The Bachelor ended in controversy when Brad Womack elected to give his final rose to no one.  Twenty-six year old DeAnna Pappas was one of the final two women to meet with Brad’s rejection.  While DeAnna might have faced disappointment over not winning Brad’s heart, she will soon have another shot at finding love.

ABC has announced that DeAnna Pappas will be the star of the fourth season of The Bachelorette.  DeAnna will get to make her choice from among twenty-five bachelors when the series returns to ABC this Summer.

DeAnna had brown eyes and brunette hair.  She is employed as a real estate agent in Newnan, Georgia.  DeAnna also goes by DeDe, and she is originally from Campbellsville, Kentucky.  DeAnna is of Greek ancestry, and she has traveled all over Europe.  On The Bachelor, DeAnna stood out for her assertiveness and independence.  DeAnna’s interests include white water rafting and camping with her friends.

ABC is also now taking applications for eligible men who are interested in becoming one of the twenty-five bachelors vying for DeAnna’s heart.  Interested and eligible men can learn more about the application process by going to www.thebachelor.tv.

Photo Credit: ABC

Topics: The Bachelorette | No Comments »

American Idol Miami Auditions Lead To Hollywood For Two Best Friends

January 30, 2008 08:39:44 by Joe Reality

On the sixth audition episode, American Idol 7 visited Miami.  Ryan Seacrest introduced the city, complete with a Miami Vice background theme.  A background segment on eighteen year old Shannon McGough covered her work in her parent’s meat market and her ability to belch.  A number of previous singing awards seemed to indicate that Shannon could be a contender, but the judges were not impressed.  Simon Cowell said he had a late night and Shannon’s singing made him feel a lot worse, and Randy Jackson said that Shannon might be tone deaf. 

After Shannon, twenty-five year old Robbie Carrico from Melbourne, Florida was introduced as a former boy band member turned rocker.  Robbie faired better with the judges and made it through to Hollywood.

Next up was twenty-seven year old Ghaleb Emachah from Miami, Florida.  Simon Cowell said he would like Ghaleb if he were drunk, but sober it didn’t work for him.  However, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul were more receptive and put Ghaleb through to Hollywood. 

Two of the most likable contestants in Miami were best friends Corliss Smith and Brittany Wescott.  Twenty year old Corliss Smith from Jacksonville, Florida sang to Randy Jackson, while twenty year old Brittany Wescott from Jacksonville, Florida sang to Simon Cowell.  All three judges were in agreement that Corliss and Brittany should both go to Hollywood. 

Also joining the two best friends in Hollywood were single mom Suzanne Toon, nineteen year old Ramiele Malubay, twenty year old Syesha Mercado, twenty-nine year old Natashia Blach, and twenty-eight year old Ilsy Lorena Pinot.

Not making it to Hollywood were twenty-six year old Ben Hausbach, twenty-seven year old Carroy Bethea, twenty-four year old Grant Rhea, twenty-eight year old Fabienne Hyppolite, nineteen year old Richard Valles, and former top twenty American Juniors contestant Julie Dubela.

The last contestant proved to be one of the most bizarre.  Twenty year old Brandon Black came bursting into the audition room with some type of comic routine.  However, Simon Cowell said, “You weren’t funny.”  Brandon Black first sang “I’ll Make Love To You” and followed it with the original song called “I Am The Next American Idol.”  Simon Cowell said the audition was verging on desperation.  When Branson refused to stop his routine, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell got up and walked out.

In all, seventeen contestants received their golden tickets to Hollywood in Miami.

Photo Credit: Reality TV Magazine

Topics: American Idol | 4 Comments »

Wife Swap: A Burlesque Mamma and a Lumberjack Lady Switch Places

January 30, 2008 08:37:10 by DA Southern

So, you know the drill. Two rather dull wives swap families and live peacefully in hopeful expectation of the two weeks they will be enjoying in their new environment. Well, this week is very different.

You take one Washington State mom, Sarina McDonald, who is a Real Estate agent by day and a burlesque dancer by night and swap her with an upstate New York wife, Andrea Robarge, who, with her husband Wally, is a lumberjack, and you get one zany episode of fun.

Burlesque dancer Sarina doesn’t feel the need to hide her passion from her sons, Will and Tyler, and feels that since she supported husband Dan’s musical dreams, decides it’s now her turn to build her career. Lumberjack wife Andrea, on the other hand, doesn’t consider herself a girly girl and loves the sound of chainsaws and wood chopping. Andrea is even part of the USA timber drill team and participates in chainsaw competitions with her sons and her professional lumberjack husband, Wally.

Our first visit was to upstate New York to see the raw living style of the Robarge family and how Andrea essentially waits on her family hand and foot. She even waits until they are all done eating before eating herself and spends countless hours picking up after the men in the house making them completely helpless without her. The one area that she struggles with is her relationship with her son Matt who tends to come down on the artistic side alienating him from his dad and Andrea.

In Washington State we see Sarina as she readies herself for her burlesque act, leaving Dan to fend for the family and having Grandma over to assist. The kids are completely independent and fend for themselves in lieu of an absentee mom. Sarina explains that she was once morbidly obese, and that she had the surgery and since then has “rediscovered” her body and her sexuality and shared it willingly with her kids, for better or worse.

Day of the Swap: Andrea heads to Washington to become a burlesque queen and to live by the McDonald family rules for the first week. That basically means not being a slave to her family but being completely into herself. Sarina headed to New York to become a lumberjack for the first week and to completely care for the Robarge men.

The ladies both read the manual for the first week and learned the rules. Sarina was concerned that there was no mention of sex or sexuality in front of the kids and Andrea was concerned about being, well, a girl, by doing burlesque and dressing up pretty.

The introductions proceeded with Sarina and Andrea meeting the families. Andrea was really sketchy about the whole burlesque aspect of Sarina’s life and Sarina just got right into telling the Robarge family about burlesque making Andrea’s husband, Wally, very uncomfortable. Sarina’s mother was telling Andrea that she had better get used to showing some skin as we met Andrea heading to the dance studio to learn the basics of burlesque.

Back in New York, Sarina was immediately thrust into the family chore cycle as she cooked and cleaned for Wally and the boys. Sarina was funny as she noticed that Andrea did not even have a place at the table and questioned the boys as to why they were so messy, which had the bright boys telling Sarina that their mom did everything for them, and that they liked that.

Andrea was off to burlesque class and felt very bad about leaving Dan to do everything in the home. We had our first glimpse of Andrea as she was putting on her costume and watched as she cried because she was so uncomfortable wearing the costume that actually was not revealing at all. I fully expected Stacy and Clinton from TLC’s “What Not to Wear” to jump out and convince Andrea to get a new wardrobe because she had such a hard time being a lady.

Back in New York, Sarina was trying to connect to Matt, the outcast artistic soul of the Robarge family but then was whisked off to do lumberjack stuff with Wally. In the quiet moments, Wally does finally open up to Sarina about Matt and asks how he could build that bridge with him.

Andrea was doing her first burlesque show and actually did a fairly good job at doing the routine. After the show, Andrea was seen saying that she was proud of herself for going outside of her comfort zone, even though she looked like a prostitute.

2nd Week Rules Change: The wives announced the rules change and, of course, Wally being of the dominant male persuasion, said “no” to most of the rule changes. Dan, on the other hand, seemed to be respectful but the kids, not so much, from either family. Andrea announced that there would be no more burlesque and that the kids were not to be so self-sufficient and that the family would have to spend quality time together.

Sarina said that burlesque would reign in the home for the week and that Wally would have to arrange a burlesque show for her and that he would have to MC the show. Wally said “no”, but you had a sense that he would probably relent. The one thing Wally did not give on, however, was Sarina’s insistence that Wally talk about sex with the boys and gave him a book on sex to help him with the task. Wally, in a typical open-minded way, burned the book and refused Sarina’s wishes.

Andrea ran into her own refusal when Dan stood up to her when she said that she was going to sell all of the burlesque stuff at a flea market. Dan, first cried then said “no” and that he was not going to do it. Andrea was surprised that he stood up to her and hoped that he would stand up to Sarina when it came time to talk about being with the family on a more consistent basis.

In New York, Sarina outlawed all lumberjack activities and started making the children do chores as well as Wally. Sarina also insisted that Wally build a studio in Wally’s shed for Matt, so they would have a chance to bond. Wally said “no” once again and Sarina seemed slightly frustrated with him. Uh, ya think? Andrea, on the other hand, seemed to be currying favor by actually being a mom to Dan and the boys, but this time, she actually had a seat at the table with the family.

The burlesque show was taking place in New York and Dan was actually wearing a tux for the event and he looked decent dressed up like a big boy. After the show, Wally had a heart-to-heart with Sarina about her being so selfish by not being a mom to her family. Sarina actually took it fairly well and agreed to reevaluate her schedule. Wally even had a change of heart as he actually constructed a studio for Matt and was seen drawing with him when the studio was completed.

In a touching scene, Wally was seen hugging Matt and telling him that he was proud of him and his artistic skills. Back in Washington, Andrea eventually took the family to a lumberjack competition where the kids and Dan enjoyed the family time with Andrea. The kids all got involved in the competition and older son, Will, really took to the whole axe-throwing event.

The final day showed the ladies packing and the reuniting with their respective husbands. At the judgment table, Andrea was concerned how much sexuality was being displayed to the kids and how much the family was missing their mother and the time spent t