The past few weeks in reality TV

Well... I have been a big time slacker in the world of blogging lately.

Two weeks later... some big things have happened in reality TV that cannot go unmentioned.

A week after The Blondes used the U-Turn on the Amazing Race to screw over Lorena and Jason... karma came back and they were the next ones out. But more importantly, last week's episode saw the departure of creepy brother/sister duo Azaria and Hendekea. Sadly, we will no longer be subjected to their nearly incestuous closeness that involves him calling her babe and tackling her to the ground. TK and Rachel continue to be my favorite team, and more importantly, Nathan and Jennifer (primarily Jennifer) are making an uncontested run as the most hateable team in the race. It's as if we're seeing the return of Romber.

Over the past two weeks, Top Model has cut the field from four to three... and from three to one. So, I would like to take this time to congratulate Tyra Banks for sinking to a new low. When editing the show, perhaps you should've taken out that clip of your eventual "deserving" winner making fun of another contestant with a mild form of autism. Clearly your definition of a role model (please stop trying to pretend that you're producing idols, by the by) is a little different from mine. How else do you explain getting rid of the girl who had the best photographs and grew up supporting her family to eventually crowning the one who makes fun of a person with a disability. After making the declaration in the first week that this year's winner would be a role model (and therefore banning smoking)... you certainly took three giant steps backwards.

Project Runway followed one week of sadness (the dismissal of the ever-entertaining Chris March) with another (the withdrawal of HIV positive contestant Jack due to a staph infection) and a tiny dose of happiness (the return of Chris March!). Stephen maybe got the short end of the stick in this week's challenge when he was given the model who came in wearing a dress that looked like an oversized doily. But at the same time, he did make the poor woman look like an old-fashioned pilgrim (no, that is not redundant... she made pilgrims look hip and cool). My girl Kit is kind of fading into the background, which leads me to think she doesn't make it to the finals... though Christian and Victorya seem to be pretty good bets at this point... with Jillian and Kevin potentially sneaking in there too.

I haven't had much of anything to say about Real Housewives so far this season, but the introduction of new housewife Quinn has me a bit riled up. For one, what is the point of introducing a new housewife in the middle of a season? And secondly... I miss the days of Kimberly. It seems that Jeana (and maybe Tammy) are the only ladies this year who aren't COMPLETELY worthless... and Quinn definitely has very little to offer.

The Real World has been all sorts of entertaining for the last month. With the departure of Trisha, the show has become infinitely more enjoyable. And who doesn't love to see Isaac back in the house (if for no other reason than that his girlfriend Noirin seems WAY cooler than any of the female roommates). I remembered what we were missing with the I-man when he got into the fish tank... because I know for a fact that's the first thing I'd be doing. The last two weeks have also brought us the first two "real" hook-ups between the roommates. Not only does Dunbar put his relationship with his seemingly cool girlfriend in jeopardy... he does so by sleeping with a girl who seems to have nothing on her mind beyond breaking up said relationship. And the denials? Dunbar has spent what seems to be days denying the Ashli hookup... apparently he's forgotten that he is living in a fishbowl and his little indiscretion WILL be making it to air. Fast forward to this week's misguided hookup. Am I the only one completely disturbed by the thought of KellyAnne as a mother? Yeesh.

As far as Survivor... resident hottie Erik won't be the sole Survivor and won't be joining the hottie club of CBS-made millionaires with Mr. Ethan. And even MORE importantly, Peih Gee won't be the big winner and I won't have to listen to her attempt to whine her way into the final three. I have yet to watch the finale, but my money is on Todd narrowly edging out Amanda... not sure if we'll see Denise or Courtney advancing to the final three. That being said... Todd could just as easily get the boot and then look for Denise to win it all.

Season 3, part 1 of the Hills wrapped this week. Since the cast members are so closely followed through LA every night, none of the revelations were all that surprising. There had already been many reports of Lauren heading to Paris with Whitney... and it was shown in the previews. I have nothing to contribute as far as Spencer and Heidi go... but this quote from Entertainment Weekly sums it up perfectly:

And let it not be forgotten that She-Pratt had this amazing suggestion on hearing her brother's troubles: ''You've got to send her an e-mail or something.'' Um, really? Not that I'm against passive-aggressive e-mails saying what I'm basically too wimpy to say in person, but with the person that you're engaged to, you should have at least enough balls to confront or apologize to them in person. It's fun to imagine the kind of e-mail Spencer would write: ''Dearest Heidi, You are the love of my life. I spell-checked this e-mail twice, just in case the MTV producers might include it in a Best of The Hills edition. Is it easier to forgive me when you don't have to hear my creepy man-child singsong voice? Sweet dreams. I may or may not be here when you wake up. Yours, Furby.''

A quick note to say... we are under 2 months until the Big Brother premiere. February 12 is the big day!

And last of all in the reality wrap up... Newport Harbor has returned for a four episode run over the holidays. First let me say that the title is misleading. Clearly none of the scenes were actually filmed over the HOLIDAYS since three of the four episodes will have aired prior to Christmas day. Chrissy made the wise choice of moving on from attractive but personality-less Clay to some joker named Billy. We know very little about him but I have pre-judged him based on his name... sorry B-man.