CBS today announced the lineup for its Secret Talents of the Celebrities series, which, if you hadn't heard of it before now, is exactly what you think it is: a reality show with celebrities (of the George Takei/Mya/Danny Bonaduce class) showing off their secret talents for America in a series of weekly competitions. Other than the little thrill I got from learning Takei would be singing country, my general reaction was a weary "eh." I suppose I'm just tired of the whole "watch celebrities do stuff you didn't know they could do" genre — and of celebrities on reality TV in general.
But are viewers at large also over it? The 20 million people who watched the premiere of Dancing with the Stars on Monday don't seem to be. Plus, there are some celebrity circus shows in the works for this summer, as well as the normal spate of VH1 and MTV fare like Celebrity Fit Club and That's Amore, so it seems like programmers are banking on this genre working for a while.
Are you in the weary sigh crowd — or the "Sheila E. juggling? I'm so there!" camp?
Photo copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.
Karen Walker
Diesel
Claudie Pierlot
I was never into celebrity reality shows in the first place.
1You aren't suggesting that there are any celebs on That's Amore...I hope. That is just trashy tv
2ughhhh i hate dancing with the stars, i don't understand how it does so well in the ratings. between that and american idol's monster ratings these days i have virtually no respect for my fellow americans...
3MindayH — good point. What DOES trying to date a pseudo-celeb like Tila Tequila make a person these days, anyway?
4It depends on the show, really. I really like Dancing With the Stars. That's really the only celeb-reality show I watch.
5I've never been interested enough to watch any of these.
6I'm sick of reality shows in general, the only reality show I watch is ANTM..
Reality shows are making people even less intelligent.
7I'm also fed up with reality shows in general, but you can bet I will tune in just for George Takei.
8Oh dear. I love Atonement, but I don't love that the background of this page is an ad to buy the DVD.
But I do like watching celebs. My mom loves Dancing with the Stars and I love Celebrity Apprentice. But I don't think I'd be interested in seeing celebs' "secret talents". I can't imagine that it'd be anything worth watching. Just run of the mill stuff like singing, playing piano and maybe burping the alphabet or something LMAO.
9Yes and No. It just depends what the show is and who the celebs are.
10I don't care for reality shows and most television in general. It's my least favorite form of entertainment.
11That's Amore is clearly fake. Those are actors, come on!
12I hate dancing with the stars...I think it's just because I find ballroom dancing boring. I get really tired of hearing about the Z-list celebrities that are on it as well...ugh. However, Flavor of Love and Rock of Love are guilty pleasures of mine...lol.
13I would definitely be into it if they were actual celebrities...
14I'm tired of many celebrities. I've never liked reality shows. So yeah, this sort of thing is twitch-inducing, lol.
Still, some people love reality TV, so I'll just not watch and let them have their fun.
15Oh I didn't read the article until now. I'm excited! I love Sasha Cohen and it'll be cool to see her again since she stopped skating competitively. And I wanna hear Joe Frazier sing and see BEN STEIN do the Jitterbug! lmao, that'll be some good stuff right thurrr....
16No "celebrity" shows for me, except "Dancing with the Stars." I love dancing, and it's just too much fun to watch people learn!
17I don't like reality show but I am totally hooked on Dancing With the Stars and have been since it first aired and Kelly Monaco won. Each season has gotten better(with the exception of last season). It is so much fun to watch these celebrities learn to dance! Seriously...Jerry Springer dancing???? It was great!! No other reality or competition show featuring celebrities has interested me at all.
18shernic82, how the heck is Marlee Matlin a Z lister??? The woman is an Oscar Winner and has been on many many popular shows. And, I certainly don't consider Jason Taylor a Z lister, he just isn't a "Hollywood" celeb. Same goes for Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Helio Castroneves....all from places other than Hollywood, but legends in their own world of popularity. Maybe Ian Ziering could be considered a D lister, same with Joey Lawrence. But who cares!!! Its fun to watch them try to dance and sometimes they surprise you!! But, I understand not everyone enjoys ballroom dancing. I didn't think I would. I watched the first season solely because Joey McIntyre was on and I just ended up really enjoying it so much.
19Depens on the show but the only one I'm watching is Dancing with the stars
20Dancing with the Stars is the only celeb reality show worth watching.
21i am getting tired of it - but what's the MOST ANNOYING is that soo many b/c-list celebs are now hosting these reality type shows. really - what credibility does Elizabeth Berkeley have to host a dancing show?
22I think DWTS is ok and people like it because it kind of reminds me of the old fashioned type of entertainment thats not trashy.
23NO NO NO more reality shows of any kind! Those things are awful.
24My mother and I both love Dancing with the Stars. We liked it so much we went to see the tour last summer. But..in all fairness....we are both dancers since we were little (3 for her, 4 for me) and still are. We like ballroom dancing as well. It's easy and kinda of fun to critique the celebs while they are dancing and then usually hear the same words come out of the judges mouths. Hehe. Dancer 4 life!
Although, I agree with ilanac13 when she said...."what credibility does Elizabeth Berkeley have to host a dancing show?" I wanted to watch the Bravo dancing show as well, but simply could not after I saw who was hosting. Talk about Z list! Way to make the show legit. Sheesh.
25i hate that reality shows make ppl famous...why kim k, tila, new york, flavaflave, spence and heidi...and all those ppl that r always shoved in my face by the media...so annoying.
26I dont know, im looking forward to Celebrity Circus. I always watched that other circus show as a kid, and i just have really fond memories. plus, the lineup of celebs for this show doesnt seem too annoying (theres enough ego to fit on stage)
anyway, NBC is really trying to outdo VH1 and MTV which i think were just getting way too desperate with tv reality shows (we dont care about Bret Michaels or Tila, really)
anyway. i hear the premiere is this wednesday and i would highly recommend it to people who love the circus and are not afraid of clowns (haha, peter brady)
watch it, y'all
27I believe reality shows are only made because they know we'll watch anything. People will pick the best of the worst....kind of like voting for a President......(humm ...hummm). The sad thing is they are out of ideas for anything. If it wasn't for old tv shows and comic books we wouldn't have had a summer movie block.
Then there is trash tv....American Gladiators, Family Foreman, P. Diddy, Big Brother, and anything that has a season that last 8 to 12 weeks. All are tuned to our short attention spans.
I think television is going in the way of "The Running Man" or "The Condemned".
Sorry didn't mean to rant. I just can't figure out why I should spend money on a $1500 HDTV for American Idol and Brooke Knows Best.
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