Is it so wrong that yesterday’s news about On-Air going off-the-air made me just giddy with glee? I’m confused about something, though; the story says the show ends production Thursday but will keep airing until mid-September. Wasn’t it supposed to be a live show? They don’t show repeats of TRL … ever. And this was just a poor rip-off of MTV’s signature show. Besides, Ryan Seacrest has had enough quick success, and he’ll be just fine as long as American Idol remains on the air, which should be for the forseeable future. His attempts to replace Carson Daly as the next Dick Clark don’t need to happen all at once.
So goodbye Seacrest, and hello Rumspringa! Don’t forget: tonight during the two hours before the time John Edwards should be appearing to accept the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination, UPN launches its new reality show Amish in the City. Even though it doesn’t include Tyra Banks, the show is garnering some good reviews, even though UPN execs felt the need to produce the entire thing in secrecy and refused to send copies of the tapes to congressmen who were certain the show would just exploit — by making fun of — Amish teens. Of course, those members of Congress must have never watched reality television, because just having heard the premise — Amish teens move in with non-Amish kids in a Real World-like situation — and never having seen the show, I know that the Amish aren’t the ones who will make asses of themselves, and as The Devil’s Playground proved, just because the Amish don’t live in “our world,” doesn’t mean they’re stupid and don’t know about it, and when they get out in the world, they live their rumspringa to the fullest. I have every faith in the casting gods, and I’m sure that the fools on Amish in the City will be not the Amish kids but the six morons who probably model their behavior on the San Diego cast. That’s what makes good television!
Out of Focus 