Over Anything Entertainment

Robert Palmer Dead at 54

Celebrity deaths come in threes, and following the untimely and unfortunate deaths of John Ritter and Johnny Cash comes news that 54-year-old British singer Robert Palmer has died in Paris, France of a heart attack.

Owner of the popular hit 'Addicted To Love', Palmer was in Paris with his partner, Mary Ambrose, after recording a TV appearance in Britain. No other details have been made available.

CBS Renews 'The Amazing Race'

It seems Emmy voters finally did something worthwhile after an Emmy given to CBS' 'The Amazing Race' appears to have been responsible for getting the series renewed for a 2004 installment. Critically acclaimed and with a small, rabid fan base, 'The Amazing Race' has never been able to achieve the big numbers it needed to guarantee survival. Until this week, although applications were being accepted through the official website, CBS had hinted that the chances of renewal were low. However, after besting both 'Survivor' and 'American Idol' for the Emmy on Sunday, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has been telling associates that CBS has finally picked it up for 2004.

Congratulations to Bruckheimer and his staff - this show definitely deserves more than it's been getting.

SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 2

Don't click if you don't want to know..

REWARD CHALLENGE
At some point the folks appear to be underwater lifting their heavy crates, er, "treasure chests" around. The winner will get to raid the opposite tribe's camp and steal the item(s) of their choice. Look for Morgan to surprise with a short-lived winning streak of .. one.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
This appears to be a pulling heavy crap challenge, much like last week's pulling heavy crap challenge, but different. I'd like to thank CBS for showing Jon ecstaticly jumping into the arms of his teammates while screaming, thus giving away the fact that Drake win yet again.

BOOT
Time to finish what ya started, and bid farewell to Ryan S. You know, the same Ryan S I told you wouldn't make the merge a month ago? Yeah, that guy.

Cheers!

The Secrets Behind Joe Millionaire 2

Just when you thought putting an underwear model/construction worker in a French mansion full of deceived women was cruel comes a few spoilers that may offer up the secrets behind how Fox plans to do it all over again - and who they'll be doing it with.

The first highly guarded secret was how Fox could possibly find women who didn't own TVs, and were thus ready to be fooled by the same premise all over again. The answer? Go overseas, where Joe Millionaire either didn't air, or simply wasn't the success it was domestically. Confirmed in an ad that ran during this week's episode of Boston Public was the fact the new series will be titled The Next Joe Millionaire: An International Affair, and feature an underpaid American wooing a series of women from around the world, who will all believe he is inheriting millions.

The second highly guarded secret - the identity of the next Joe Millionaire. The folks at RealityTVWorld.com have determined through a series of posts on their message board that the likely candidate is Bellville, Texas bareback rodeo rider David Smith.

More News Here

The Amazing Race Wins Emmy

... Over Anything would like to congratulate CBS' The Amazing Race for winning last night's Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, beating Survivor and American Idol to do so.

2003 Reality TV World Blowie Awards Nominations - Vote Now!

RealityTVWorld.com has announced the nominations for their annual "Blowie" Awards, with the 2002-03 edition seeing Survivor lead the pack with 54 nominations, and CBS owning the network nominations with 91, followedly less than closely by ABC at 29.

The full press release can be found below, or vote for your favourites in each section by clicking here.

2003 Reality TV World Blowie Awards Nominations Press Release

(Press Release, September 17, 2003) RealityTVWorld.com today announced the nominees for the second annual Reality TV World "Blowie" Awards, which are presented yearly to outstanding productions, performances and situations in unscripted television programming. Consisting of 22 award categories with a total of 164 nominees, the Reality TV World "Blowie" Awards range from the serious to the frivolous, providing an overview of the reality TV programming in the year gone by.

Although the 2002-03 television season featured a creative mix of unscripted programming, five programs received the lion's share of nominations, and the top three were all broadcast by the CBS Television Network. Leading the way were the stunning 54 nominations recorded by the Emmy-nominated "Survivor," which had three editions included in the eligibilty period for the Blowies. CBS's summer success "Big Brother" received 20 nominations, while critics' favorite and Emmy-nominated "The Amazing Race" picked up 17. ABC's "The Mole," which aired both a celebrity edition and a regular edition during the 2002-03 season, followed just behind with 16 nominations, and Fox's Emmy-nominated sensation "American Idol" closed out the "Big 5" with 12 nominations.

In addition to the awards for outstanding accomplishments, the Reality TV World Blowie Awards also feature categories for worst mistakes and a heavy serving of humor in some of the lesser categories. For example, Flo Pesenti, co-winner of "The Amazing Race 3," achieved the dubious distinction of being nominated in both the Least Favorite Personality and Biggest Drama Queen categories.

The first annual Reality TV World Blowie Awards, which were announced in March 2002, covered reality programming broadcast during the 2001 calendar year. However, with the recent explosion in year-round reality programming, the Blowie Awards Committee (as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences once did with the Oscars) revised the end of the annual eligibility period to conform with the television broadcast season, which traditionally ends at the end of May sweeps each year. As a result, this year's award eligibility period began January 1, 2002 and extended through May 21, 2003 -- the end of the 2002-03 TV season. Thus, the second annual Blowie Awards covers an extended 17 month period instead of the usual year -- a period that began with predictions of doom for reality TV after the Sept. 11 tragedy ... and ended with America riveted to the final showdown between Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.

In nominations by network, CBS managed to garner more than half of the total: 91 nominations out of a total of 164, aided strongly by the fact that "Survivor" alone received more nominations than any rival network did. Although ABC and Fox were noted for all of the reality shows they introduced during the 2002-03 season, they still only placed second and third, with 29 and 24 nominations respectively. Cable networks MTV, with 6 nominations, and USA Network, with 5, rounded out the top five. NBC recorded a scant 3 nominations, while E!, The WB, and The Learning Channel each received two nominations and ESPN earned one.

Voting for the Reality TV World Blowie Awards will take place on the RealityTVWorld.com website from now through Friday, October 3, 2002 and is open to any member of the public. Voting information is available on the RealityTVWorld.com home page or by visiting http://www.realitytvworld.com/2003Blowies/ The software used to power the balloting site is designed to prevent multiple voting and will discard any duplicate submissions.

The award winners will be announced by RealityTVWorld.com on Friday, October 10, 2003.

NOMINATION BREAKDOWN BY NETWORK

1. CBS - 91
2. ABC - 29
3. FOX - 24
4. MTV - 6
5. USA - 5
6. NBC - 3
7. TLC - 2
8. WB - 2
9. E! - 2
10. ESPN - 1

NOMINATION BREAKDOWN BY SERIES

1. Survivor (CBS) - 54
2. Big Brother (CBS) - 20
3. The Amazing Race (CBS) - 17
4. The Mole (ABC) - 16
5. American Idol (FOX) - 12
6. I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! (ABC) - 5.5
7. Joe Millionaire (FOX) - 5
8. The Bachelor (ABC) - 3
9. Bachelorettes In Alaska (FOX) - 3
10. Combat Missions (USA) - 3
11. The Anna Nicole Show (E!) - 2
12. Are You Hot? (ABC) - 2
13. Fear Factor (NBC) - 2
14. Mr. Personality (FOX) - 2
15. Nashville Star (USA) - 2
16. The Osbournes (MTV) - 2
17. The Real World (MTV) - 2
18. Trading Spaces (TLC) - 2
19. Boot Camp (FOX) - 1.5
20. Beg Borrow & Deal (ESPN) - 1
21. Dog Eat Dog (NBC) - 1
22. Making The Band (ABC) - 1
23. No Boundaries (WB) - 1
24. Real World/Road Rules Challenge (MTV) - 1
25. Sorority Life (MTV) - 1
26. The Surreal Life (WB) - 1

(Note: Half-nominations result from one individual being nominated for performances in two different series.)

CBS' Selective Editing Soils Big Brother 4

An interesting article was posted by our old friend John Powell late last week over at CANOE.ca titled 'Big Brother 4' finalists decided. Much attention was paid to the poor language choices - and the rough names for the girls in the house - offered up in anger by third place contestant Robert Roman. Host Julie Chen went so far as to demonize him live-to-air by bringing up his past indiscretions. While I do not condone the terms used to describe the girls of the house, one must wonder how it is better than things being said by finalists Jun Song and Alison Irwin.

Because the words had been spoken on the Monday prior to the boot episode this past Wednesday, CBS had the option to air them, but had apparently selected not to. In the words of Powell, who states it better than I could:

'On Monday night, while she and Alison were alone in the backyard, Jun threatened to destroy a present Robert had made for his daughter, Elena.

"Alison is a sweet girl. I like her now," Robert said.'

SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 1

Well, the time has come to start all over again - and my weekly spoiling of Survivor shall begin again. Not like I should have to say it, but if you don't want to know, don't click. I hide it behind a drop down for a reason, so no complaints that I'm "ruining" the show. On with it ...

We've already gone into the big twist in an earlier message, but that's not the first of the big twists this season. As we know, the castaways will be dropped off wearing only the clothes on their backs - and without their personal baggage and luxury items. Look for them to each get a pair of running shoes as a bonus chock full of Probsty goodness, but other than that, done. Who's the girl rumoured to be underpants-free? Christa.

Things aren't all miserable in the Pearl Islands, though, because rather than heading to the camps and staying there, the castaways will be brought to a Panama market where they'll be able to barter their money for items they think they'll need. The decisions are theirs, and while some think ahead, others think a little more "recently", and you can expect at least a couple (ahem*ryan*ahem) to buy a little booze to help get them by.

While I whole heartedly admit to knowing very little about the Reward challenge this week (cut me some slack, I'm writing this four days early)...

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
I know very little about the Immunity Challenge other than Drake win it. You're on your own for the rest.

BOOTED OFF
I don't know why it happens, I don't know how it happens. All I know is that the Morgan crew will be continuing a disheartening tradition as of late on reality programming by eliminating the hot chicks early on. Say farewell to 26-year-old MASSAGE THERAPIST (*sigh*) Nicole, as she becomes the unceremonious first boot on this 7th edition of Survivor.

Cheers!

SPOILERS: Survivor Twist Revealed

The hard work has been done for us, and all that's left is to report the supposedly massive twist that takes place during Survivor: Pearl Islands, debuting with a 90-minute episode this Thursday, September 18th. Don't click if you don't want to know.

NOTE: This spoiler contains information that may spoil the final two contestants in this season of Survivor. If you wish to remain surprised please do not click on the drop down.

The four pre-jury contestants voted off the island (identities will be revealed .. eventually) will compete in a contest to allow one to return to the island AND the game. But out of the twist comes even bigger news - the bootee that returns will end up the final two.

Colby's Acting Debut on Hold

While ABC mulls the future of it's "8 Simple Rules.." program following the unfortunate death of star John Ritter, former Survivor star Colby Donaldson's acting debut will have to wait. Netscape reports Donaldson had signed on to appear on at least one episode of the hit ABC series, with the possibility of his character getting an extended run.

"I would have loved to have had the opportunity to work with him and meet (John Ritter),'' Donaldson said, "but all I can think about is the loss to those close to him.'' Donaldson would have been one of only a few Survivor vets to achieve mainstream acting success, over two years after his run on the hit CBS series.

ABC hopes to announce the future of their show soon, but tread relatively untrodden waters in this situation. The only time a show's star has died during filming was Redd Foxx in 1991 on CBS' "The Royal Family" and Peter Duel in 1971 on ABC's "Alias Smith and Jones". While the "Royal Family" returned minus Foxx, it lasted only a few episodes; Duel was replaced and "Alias.." lasted almost two more seasons. Deaths in supporting actors and actresses has happened with some level of regularity, and almost always the character is simply written out or replaced. Of course, replacing Ritter would not be an option, although refocusing the show is a possibility. During a contract dispute, the Producers of "Valerie" decided not to offer star Valerie Harper a new contract, instead choosing to write her out of the show and refocus on how her family dealt with the star's "death". Such an option may be the way to go.

Castaway Updates

The discovery has begun, so sit back and learn a bit about our new Survivor: Pearl Islands castaways before the show begins - small warning, some items could contain spoilers.

• Chicago attorney Andrew Savage, 40, once plied his trade as the in-house counsel for The Jerry Springer Show. In 1998 he took a job with Studios USA, unaware that his main responsibilities would be advising Springer guests of their rights and reviewing the programs for potential legal issues.

• Los Angeles computer programmer Christa Hastie, 24, has been a bad - and not altogether smart - girl. While her CBS bio shows she came clean on her college arrest, a quick Google Newsgroup search shows she's been no stranger to putting her foot in her mouth AND leaving a trail. A 1998 post to alt.gothic indicated some rather strong feelings on race and religion, including proclamations of "preferencing" her own colour, and a few months later, some posts to alt.drugs appear as well - including specifically one looking for "recommendations for getting the most out of your cocaine", and a recipe for a Speed alternative. While I'm not here to pass judgement on those who use drugs, I will pass judgement on those dumb enough to do it using their real name and e-mail account where it can be so easily extracted and posted five years later. Of course, take this with a grain of salt - it's possible she didn't actually post these, but altogether possible she did.

• Art consultant Jon Dalton, 29, once worked as a production assistant for wrestler Roddy Piper, which makes his submission to the Pro Wrestling Torch newsletter all the more entertaining. What's with the Drake tribe and drugs? Are alliances forming before the show even begins?

• Think the drug references are done? Not yet. Produce clerk Ryan Shoulders, 23, was once a regular poster to alt.drugs.psychedelics, including this 1999 post discussing his desire to watch Fight Club on LSD, and this one looking for advice on mailing gel tabs. Ah, and we musn't forget Ryan's travel advice for fans of acid. Too bad he won't be on the show long enough to make the merge and meet up with the other two.

• Not quite done with Ryan yet - a quick note that he runs a website at www.burgerrun.com, but nothing appears to be on it right this second. He's also in a band called The Mervs - download some music at MP3.com.

More to come....