Video- Rod Blagojevich gets fired from The Apprentice

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Good lord, wonder what he'll do now.

Sarah Palin to Become the Jessica Simpson of the North

By GottaLaff

I must give a hat tip for the blog title to Gawker. The reason for it is the following newsflash about that perennial glutton for attention, Famey McBigBucks:

Sarah Palin is close to a deal for her travelogue reality show.

Sources say Discovery Communications has edged out rival A&E Networks in the bidding for the project, titled "Sarah Palin's Alaska." An agreement could be announced in the next few days.

It will be shot in high definition, so she better keep herself lookin' fit there, you betcha. Rich Lowry is my first choice as designated barometer.

The former governor's asking price was $1.2 million per episode. A network paying anywhere close to that figure would make "Alaska" one of the most expensive nature series ever produced.

See? She's doing for the people. All that money is for them, because she's just that one of us. I wonder who her ghost talker will be.

Hey, did you realize that nature was that pricey? Me neither.

The good news is that the production company will likely provide teleprompters. Famey can wash her hands, literally, of that Sharpie habit she can't seem to break. If not, she may need an intervention.

Networks reject $arah Palin, who wants BIG money for small reality show

By GottaLaff

$eems ol' Greedy McBadShow has been rejected by the Big Three and has been sent to CableLand. So much for her irresistible celebrity pull:

Sources say A&E Networks and Discovery Communications want to acquire Palin's project, which focuses on the ex-governor giving a guided tour of her native Alaska [...]

But here's the money line, as it were... so to speak... after a fashion...

The former vice presidential candidate is asking for between $1 million and $1.5 million per episode, a hefty amount for a first-year cable series.

It's good to know she's staying true to her money-grubbing self. She can add this outlandish effort to rake in some more cash to her habit of making a few bucks by avoiding property taxes, her ghostwritten book, and her exorbitant speaking fees.

To put her salary demands into perspective:

Stars tend to receive about $10,000 to $25,000 per episode for their appearances on reality TV, according to a recent report in the New York Post. But that does vary. For the second season of “The Osbournes,” for example, each member of the clan reportedly received $5 million, bringing MTV’s bill to $20 million. That was a huge salary increase, considering they only received about $5,000 each, per episode, for the first season. Then again, it was a huge hit for the network. [...]

For the first season of “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump received $50,000 per episode, and double that for the second season. For the third season of “Dancing with the Stars,” participants were offered contracts that had variable pay rates, depending upon how long they lasted, for a maximum of $245,000.

It's nice to see that Greedy's priorities are consistent. It's never about America, it's all about Greedy.

Palin initially pitched the show to broadcast networks. Given the show's laid-back nature theme and lack of high-stakes drama that tends to typify broadcast reality hits, industry executives see cable as a better fit.

And by "better fit" the networks mean it sucked too much for words, they wouldn't get near it and knew better than to rely on a failed, lying quitter to carry a series, especially a boring one.

Shorter version: Don't call us, we'll call you.

H/t: DAKGirl

Obamas in, reality stars out in desirable neighbors poll

OMG, what has this country come to? We'd rather live next door to a FascistMooslimSocialist family and a couple of those there gay gals (and Sar) than quality "family values" folks?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Americans would most like to live next door to the Obama family. But a reality star like California's "Octomom", or Jon and Kate Gosselin and their brood of eight would be a big turn off, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, came top of a poll that asked Americans who would be their most desirable celebrity neighbor.

The U.S. first family were followed by TV chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi, who tied with Republican Sarah Palin, in the poll by online real estate marketplace Zillow.com.

(snip)

Nadya Suleman, the California single mom who this year added octuplets to her existing brood of six children, topped the worst celebrity neighbor poll with 17 percent of votes.

Suleman, dubbed "Octomom" by the U.S. media, was followed by recently divorced reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight kids.

In a reflection of her tendency to polarize Americans, Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential contender who has five children, also came third in the worst neighbors list with 11 percent of votes.

Blame Clancy

Tiger need to get his rep back fast? After a nice little "grief" haitus...

...A reality show in which Tiger gets set up on blind dates with Octomom, Kate Gosselin, etc.

And maybe their first date could be a balloon ride? In New Jersey?

Video- Woman at center of Tiger Woods scandal

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Just thought you'd like to see this. Lord have mercy, I guess there really is a reason I don't watch reality tv. I guess she's having a presser at 230EST to confess or reject all. Snore.

Video- White House Party Crashers

Seriously f'd up.

Michelle's hairstylist cuts tv deal

You knew it was going to happen.

Michelle Obama's mane man is getting his own TV show.

Johnny Wright, Obama's longtime hair stylist, is shopping a reality show along the lines of "Blow Out" or "Shear Genius" (the format has yet-to-be-decided).

Wright, who styled Michelle's hair for the Democratic National Convention and her upcoming Vogue cover, has inked a deal with 44 Blue--which plans to shop the show as a cable series.

"There aren't too many people of color doing makeover and beauty shows," 44 Blue exec Stephanie Drachkovitch said in a statement.

VIDEOS: "Check Please!"-- Obama's lost episodes

By GottaLaff

Check this out: Our next president was on the Tee Vee Machine as an amateur restaurant critic:

In August, 2001, President-elect Barack Obama did a turn as amateur restaurant critic for a local Chicago television show called "Check, Please!". The premise of the show was that each week three amateur reviewers were invited to pick their favorite restaurant and review it, then they would review the picks of the other two critics.

After taping an episode with a local firefighter and a retail buyer, Obama's segment was shelved...until now. The vintage clip will be aired on January 16th.

The Chicago Tribune has more:

[T]he president-elect was too good--too thoughtful, too articulate, not enough of an amateur. He ended up dominating the conversation.

"It was unbalanced," Manilow said, "to put it charitably."

In other words, he was overqualified and realized he'd be better off as president of the United States. Here, he reviewed Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago:



The episode will air on January 16th at 8:00PM on WTTW.

H/t: Ellen

'Toughest Sheriff' takes act to small screen

What a wonderful idea Fox!! A reality show about a facist, racist bully. Alert Lou Dobbs!!

HOLLYWOOD, California (CNN) -- Reality television featuring law enforcement officers on the beat is nothing new. A show featuring a lawman who makes jailed inmates wear pink underwear and uses actors to trick suspects, however, is a new twist.

Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- whose showy brand of justice has raised charges of discrimination and civil-rights abuses while making him a hero among fans of his tough-on-crime attitudes -- will star in "Smile: You're Under Arrest."

The show, which premiers this weekend on Fox Reality Channel, features Arpaio and other officers using elaborate ploys crafted by comedy writers and carried out by professional actors to arrest suspects with outstanding warrants.

(snip)

But Arpaio's critics aren't amused.

They say they fear the show will give the controversial sheriff positive publicity, ignoring what they call a darker side to his 16-year tenure as top lawman in the county that includes Phoenix.

"It's going to celebrate a sheriff that's frankly scaring this community, a sheriff that has seen violent crime increase significantly in his county, a sheriff that is racially profiling the Latino community, and I doubt that the show is going to reflect that," said Paco Fabian, spokesman for the immigrant-rights group America's Voice.

More here.

UPDATE- Seems Joe is finally getting called on his "enforcement" of immigration laws-

A state civil-rights panel is recommending that, because of racial-profiling complaints, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors end a contract with the federal government that allows the county Sheriff's Office to enforce immigrations laws.

The Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board also is asking federal officials in Washington, D.C., to investigate the Sheriff's Office for possible civil-rights violations during the enforcement of immigration laws. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon made a similar request earlier this year.

Fox Reality Show Contestant Wears Anti-Abu Ghraib Shirt

Pretty impressive the kid got away with it. I don't watch these things, but some kid named Gev is competing on "So You Think You Can Dance" and an EW reader caught this-

An astute reader has pointed out that during his pre-taped rehearsal and interview, Gev wore a shirt with the unmistakable image of one of the hooded Abu Ghraib prisoners with electrodes on either hand and draped in an American flag.

In watching more of the vid (gag), when Gev first comes on the screen, he's wearing a "Drop Beats, Not Bombs" shirt and says he's from Kazakhstan. Then in the next bit he's wearing the Gitmo shirt that has a tagline "Invisible *****", can't read the second word.

Props to Gev for taking a stand and hope Fox doesn't find out. (pertinent video starts about :35)