Celebrity Apprentice Australia

Celebrity Apprentice will hit our screens at 8.40pm Tuesdays and Arrow has an air date!

Sunday April 28

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Nine has been touting its new ’7PM stripped reality’ plan since the end of last year, but now it seems one of its big 7PM players in 2011, The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, may move to ‘an 8pm burn’, if reports in The Daily Telegraph are true.

The tabloid claims that with post-Easter competition soaring post the enforced non-ratings period, Nine will screen The Celebrity Apprentice Australia ‘at least twice weekly’ after The Block, which will screen at 7PM.

After the success of stripping its reality television shows (The Block and Celebrity Apprentice Australia) in 2011, Nine set out to strip the format all year long, starting with Excess Baggage (now on GO!), leading into The Block and Celebrity Apprentice Australia, then into the Olympics, and finishing with Big Brother.

While Excess Baggage has not been the hit the network was expecting, Celebrity Apprentice Australia did prove itself in the timeslot in the final weeks of 2011 when it ran five nights a week as an ‘experiment’ to solidify the network’s confidence in stripping reality at 7PM, after successfully converting The Block into a five-night a week show in that format.

If Celebrity Apprentice Australia ran at 7PM after The Block, it would air in the heart of winter, allowing for a big potential audience. It would however be up against MasterChef Australia which will also return to a 7PM airing this year.

But even still, the news is still odd. If it is true, reality television could dominate the winter landscape for months with Dancing with the Stars, The Block, The Voice Australia, MasterChef Australia and Australia’s Got Talent all airing at that time.

More news on timeslots is set to surface as Easter draws near.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

David Hasselhoff has headed back to California, after leaving the set of Celebrity Apprentice. Don’t worry – this is not a spoiler for the upcoming Channel Nine reailty series as he wasn’t “fired” by Mark Bouris, but instead removed himself from the competition due to a work commitment. Well what was this??

The show’s publicist told the Sun Herald “During his short time in Australia doing CA 2012, David’s high international profile ensured that hundreds of thousands of dollars flowed to worthy charities”

“David left the productionearly due to prior commitments but his passsion and dedication to charity has been an inspiration to all.”

Fremantle, the show’s production company apparently knew of his departure before filming started. I find this odd, but apparently they are in negotiations to get him back.

After Nine’s ratings failing with Excess Baggage, this news could not come at a worse time as it begs the question as to why a celebrity would be able to complete as part of the show if it is known they cannot see the show to their ultimate end.

If Fremantle and Hasselhoff fail to reach an agreement for his return to the show, viewers will be aware that The Hoff is only in Celebrity Apprentice Australia for one month which effectively devalues the attraction of any challenges he takes part in – as he would not be able to be the winner of the series.

Series two of Celebrity Apprentice Australia will air on Nine soon, once again stripped to 7pm weeknights. With Excess Baggage shipped off to GO!, Celebrity Apprentice could air as soon as late February.

Whether series two performs as well in ratings as series one – a surprise hit for Nine – is to be seen.

We’re getting to the very end of the year now; you can just smell the New Year celebrations! Today and tomorrow, I’ll be showcasing the two biggest personalities of reality television in 2011 as I begin to wrap up my coverage of 2011 reality television FOR GOOD!

 

Intro: Polly Porter first exploded onto out screens as the wild, amateur, fun loving, ocker girlfriend of Waz Jones who together, formed one team of Nine’s popular The Block. After making it through the elimination round, she was given house 2. As amateurs, Polly & Waz were always the underdogs. In fact, giving them the title of 2011 Underdog(s) of the Year was an understatement. In the first week, their skills, or lack thereof showed. Creating a bland room that unimpressed the judges looked certainly bad on their behalf. Throughout the series, they continued to score well below the average. Overall, Polly & Waz scored the lowest overall score- taking into account the ‘Design’ score and the ‘Execution’ score for all eight rooms. They won on one occasion; however this was a tie with Jenna & Josh and was seemingly only given to them because they were game-endingly broke. But despite all this, a miracle occurred. These underdog, underperforming amateurs became the only team to sell their house at auction, and for $15,000! Other houses sold for higher soon after, but only Polly & Waz were given the $100,000 bonus.

Polly became quite a hit with the public, and she was even given a place on Celebrity Apprentice Australia where she was again considered the underdog. Unfortunately, her stint on this show didn’t go so well. She was eliminated second however was allowed to return to the final challenge to help out her finalists.

Why She Made The List: Reality television fans will now remember Polly Porter by default. Her amazing win on The Block was an utter shock; especially in a reality television finale that will go down in history. Her inclusion on Celebrity Apprentice was met with criticism; but as she has mentioned once before, she was practically a star on a show watched by millions of Australians week in, week out. Hey, this kind of publicity made the likes of Hugh Sheridan, Stefan Dennis and Luke Mitchell famous; why not Polly. She was the first contestant in Celebrity Apprentice to stand up to villain Deni Hines- she also kept Block teammate Waz in his place; comically referring to him as Bubba to the hilarity of the other contestants. Safe to say The Block won’t be the same without the likes of Polly- she is irreplaceable- this is why she made the list. When you find a contestant you can truly call irreplaceable- you know they are special.

Legacy: It’s been a big year for Polly Porter. She’s gone from obscurity to starring in two hit television shows- one of which she won a big wad of cash some television personalities would drool at. Polly seems to be taking a break next year; but expect to maybe see her on Nine chat shows for the odd appearance and possibly even a guest appearance on The Block. I’m not quite sure if this story is updated, but so far, Polly & Waz are in no hurry to wed.

 

And with that; there is just one more entry to go. From the bubbly Polly Porter, to the courageous Nathan & Tyler, to the bedazzled Brynne Edelsten, to the shocking Deni Hines- I hope this list has proved its worth.

 

Tomorrow, it culminates for the crowning of its first Reality Television Star of the Year; and this star will define 2011. I won’t give ANYTHING away with this one- but I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Also tomorrow, to wrap up a big year of reality television, I will also be crowning the 2011 Reality Television Personality of the Year which is a category solely for presenters, mentors or judges who have made an impact on the viewers.

 

Lastly, from Block contestants, to Beauty & The Geek contestants, even the odd Top Design contestant- there have been plenty of people who have been left out of this list- some possibly regrettably. But that’s what happens when the talent pool is so BIG! So tomorrow, I’ll also be celebrating the best of reality in 2011 with the 2011 Notable Contestant List for those who just didn’t quite make it to the big league.

Yes; I feel good now that I’ve given Miss JMo a number four position!

 

Intro: Julia Morris entered Celebrity Apprentice Australia as probably the most likeable, most real and most down to earth celebrity of the pack. Rich with jokes, passion and humbleness, it was immediately noticeable that Morris could only benefit from this show. She flew through the show with flying colours. Not only did she avoid the boardroom on all accounts; she ties with Shane Crawford as the most successful project manager of the season, having project managed two challenges successfully. Naturally, she made it to the final and fair enough, she won- opting to split the prize money with Jason Coleman.

Why She Made The List: Julia definitely wins this year’s award for most down to earth, honest and most true game player of the year. She never had to cheat to win and even in times where she could benefit her charity with extra cash, she chose to share the love and joy with smiles and tears. A good example of her true character came when Max stole that Woman’s Day cheque from the other team. As project manager, Julia made a risky but absolutely generous decision of giving it back to the other team. Luckily, this deed did not go unheard of, and her team were spared elimination. How she gave $50,000 to Jason after winning the grand prize money was definitely the feel good story of the year. Backed up by her jokes and her good humour, Julia Morris has done more for Celebrity Apprentice this year than any other contestant. A bit like how Celebrity Apprentice has done more for Julia Morris than any other reality television show has done for her in the past.

Legacy: Apparently, she’s hosting everything. The news, A Current Affair, everything!

 

The fact that she did more for Celebrity Apprentice than any other contestant was the reason Julia was promoted to number four on the ladder. Definitely worthy of that for sure. Tomorrow, we enter the big three- and trust me; you WILL remember these guys if they were to never pop up again. In at number three was a contestant who was so inspirational; he made it to that position on this list without even having reached the main stage of a competition.

Just to let you guys know; I’ve actually done a quick switcheroo. The original number five place getter now stands at number four, and you may see why tomorrow.

 

Intro: Jesinta Campbell entered Celebrity Apprentice Australia as the only female model of the group. Expected to spice the competition up with her looks and charm; she quickly made headlines after being spotted in her bikini washing cars! All throughout the show, Jesinta made a name for herself as the young contestant with an eye for maturity. She was well spoken, received good criticism for her conduct in challenges and in the boardroom, and even managed a win as project manager in the first task! Jesinta made it all the way to the finale only to be fired at the final hurdle with team member Shane Crawford. Safe to say Deni Hines had something to do about that.

Why She Made The List: Originally, Jesinta Campbell was in number four position, however despite Nine’s love for her personality, I do believe she belongs at number five. Still, it aint a position to be sneezed at. Jesinta was one of the most prolific people to enter the show this year after Tweeted images of her washing a car in a bikini were unravelled. The audience fell in love with her and her honest game play. It took a while for her to learn the ropes, first getting in trouble for coming up with the team name ‘Bouris’ Babes’ and then for not answering Bouris’ question about who was the weakest link in a challenge with an honest answer. But after that, she became a shining beacon of hope. She was a firm favourite to win for a brief period of time, but in the end, I think Australia was just happy to have her in the final.

Legacy: Again, not really necessary for a celebrity, but this show certainly has fired up her career. Along with Cameron Williams, she will co-host Nine’s coverage of the New Year’s Eve fireworks. A very interesting choice that anyone who has watched Celebrity Apprentice knows will probably not backfire. She then begins a few weeks of weather watching with Weekend Today, which I believe begins on New Years Eve.

 

So I hope I’ve made the right decision by downgrading her to number five, but you should all agree that tomorrow’s entrant is nothing short of worthy of a top four position. The entrant made it in for their enormous generosity, which was equally matched by their spirit of the game. You’ll enjoy this one!

Intro: Who on Earth is Max Markson and how the hell is he a celebrity? These were some of the questions running through my head when Max’s name was announced amongst the line up for this year’s season. Apparently, he isn’t a celebrity- he is just an agent to them and while I hate it when shows like these include people whose job just cannot be spun to make them look like a celebrity, it became apparent early that Max Markson’s inclusion would be a good one. Max burst into the game with all guns blazing. At first, he was helpful; ringing clients of his to rock up to challenges and donate vast amounts of money to help his team win. But as time went on, Max’s over the top attitude became a subject of torment for Jason and some other fellow team members who grew tired of his shenanigans. Max however was apart of some very successful challenges, and it wasn’t until a double elimination in the middle of the competition that Max saw his demise. Had the double elimination not been there, he probably would have survived however as it happens, him and fellow team member Didier were eliminated. Max made it to joint seventh place in the game.

Why He Made The List: Max was just an over the top character. When the series first began, his ‘mad’ attitude looked like it could get old and even diminish the quality of the show. His attitude in the first episode was enough to drown out future season loudmouth’s Deni Hines and Julia Morris. It was all about Max, Max, Max. In deliberations, Max would constantly ignore what was being said and continue to ring agents even when his team members told him not too. While Jason Coleman always seemed agitated by the tomfoolery this man showed, at first, he was the bud of jokes coming from Shane Crawford and Warwick Capper. Soon enough though, he became tiresome and even Shane and youngster model Didier saw the downfall potential in him. Max probably hit a low note when, during a challenge in which he invited a Women’s Day representative to come down and donate money to his seaside photoboard challenge only for the woman to give the money to the other team instead, he stole a cheque off of the other team, claiming it was rightfully his. While team leader Julia gave the money back in the boardroom, it left a sour taste in the mouths of many contestants and many viewers.

In the next boardroom challenge; Max’s last, he caused controversy after, for no apparent reason whatsoever, brought up Didier’s drug using past as a means of getting an upper hand in a dispute. The outburst made Didier cry but Max later apologised when he returned to help in the final challenge of the season. Even in this challenge, Mad Max returned to spite Jason! Actually, while this ‘mad’ approach proved to be a hindrance for some of his team’s mental health, he did turn it off and play the mature card for one challenge. That challenge ultimately got him fired!

 

Ah, good old Max, they don’t make reality stars like him anymore- especially if they weren’t a ‘celebrity’ to begin with. So Max starts us off in the single digits and we are getting close now. For number eight tomorrow, it is hard to give out a clue relating to the show this person was on without giving too much away. That’s how infamous they were! I guess I could give out some advice- don’t let this person host a morning television program any time soon.

Intro: Singer, but more noticeably the daughter of icon Marcia Hines, Deni Hines exploded onto our screens on Celebrity Apprentice Australia. As part of the girl’s team, she was one of those responsible for the infamous name ‘Bouris’ Babes’, a team name which Mark Bouris despised and made them change. Deni didn’t last too long on the show. She was eliminated only third inside the second week after becoming project manager for the first time for a challenge based on selling art at an auction night. Deni returned for a small but memorable stint in the final challenge of the season where she helped Shane & Jesinta, along with returnee Didier Cohen come up with an ad campaign for Yellow Brick Road.

Why They Made The List: Deni didn’t get a lot of media attention before her time on Celebrity Apprentice. Sure, she did the odd gig, but she was always doomed to live in the shadow of her mother, Marcia. Due to this fact, I’m sure a lot of people assumed that when Deni was to take part in the series, she would offer warmth, niceness and charm. Umm…nope!

She was anything but charming. Pauline made this very list due in large part for the fact she became an unlikely hero in the series. Deni is making this list for becoming a very, very, very unlikely villain. And we’re not talking a small scratch on a shiny CD; we’re talking Satan!

I can’t really recall what came first; but during her initial stint on the show, Deni was known for two incidents. One involved her talking down fellow contestant Polly in a car ride to a KFC challenge. She mocked Polly’s lack of celebrity and acted immaturely when Polly told her she was offended by her comments. During that same challenge, Deni refused her team’s only suggestion directed at her, and that was to come up with a jingle. What Deni didn’t know was that her excuse (‘People pay to hear me sing’, ‘I don’t do jingles’) only sounded good on paper to her; everyone else thought she was nuts, and she was branded an overnight villain.

Despite a better performance in the art challenge in terms of raising money, Deni acted a little cluelessly during the auction and she was eliminated based on her merits as project manager.

During her time away from the show, she commented in articles at how she disliked the bitch persona. But did she really?

When she was asked to return to help the final four in the final challenge, Nine ran a promo depicting her as the wicked witch. It was as tacky as it was hilarious- and it was a promo that will linger in my mind forever. It also did justice, as when Deni returned, she went on the rampage. During the collaboration of the ad campaign, she picked at every little thing project manager Jesinta did; from disrupting her on the phone, to just saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Every time the camera cut to the group, Deni would have a problem about everything. Sometimes it was justified. Like when Jesinta made Deni and Shane hold a white baby doll in the commercial they were shooting; you would understand Deni being a bit confused; however the rudeness displayed by Deni, despite the fact the baby could just be covered up, was outrageous.

After recording her own voice for, yes that’s right, the advertisement JINGLE, the group were waiting for Deni’s manager to arrive with the completed product which could then be used in the promotion. As they waited for the 3.30pm deadline, Jesinta got a bit impatient, as you would at 3.29pm. This caused Deni to go off her nut and pretty much confirm to Jesinta that she was trying to rock the boat and sabotage things to let Julia Morris win.

Deni’s outbursts seemed scripted; but for a woman who seemed very conscious about her ‘brand’, it couldn’t have been. Her blowups caused more controversy than any other event of 2011. She probably wins the award for 2011’s biggest villain. Well done, Deni.

 

A very big 2011 star indeed; but for all the wrong reasons. Tomorrow, we enter the coveted top ten- and lucky, it is on a high! For all you ladies out there, you’re gonna love this entrant. A bit of a hint; he’s not your average kitchen-goer.

Deni Disaster
The has-been singer who believes she is God’s gift, showed us the real meaning of a “diva”. She berated Polly from the Block as being a nobody, attacked the sweet Jacinta Campbell and thankfully was eliminated from the suprise hit “Celebrity Apprentice” – making way for the fab Julia Morris to win.

MKR Death Threats
My Kitchen Rules polarising couple Melanie and James Maddock recieved death threats via facebook and mobile phone, after ‘Mel’ continuously made snarky remarks about other contestants and belittled her husband.

Biggest Bully?
On The Biggest Loser: Families we met the Challenors. Joe prooved he was a bully to rival Deni.Who’s heart did not go out to the overwhelmed and down trodden Nathaniel. In the end Joe redeemed himself, but not enough to win the crown, taken by Emma Duncan

Alustralia’s Next Fat Model?!
Australian Fashion icon Alex Perry caused one of the stirs of 2011 when, on Foxtel’s ‘Australia’s Next Top Model’, he referred to a size-eight, 57kg model as too fat, likening her to “overstuffed luggage”. His comments caused outrage in the media, particularly considering the fact that the girl’s BMI is below the national average.

Ricky Gervais At The Golden Globes
In early 2011, Ricky Gervais returned as host of the Golden Globes, delivering a series of brilliantly crafted and cheeky barbs, aimed directly at Hollywood’s elite. The pick of the litter was his attack on Charlie Sheen: “Its going to be a night of partying and heavy-drinking. Or as Charlie Sheen calls it: ‘breakfast.’” Celebrity Scientologists also came under direct fire.

MasterChef Mishap!
On MasterChef, 24 year old Mat Beyer, was kicked off the hit reality cooking show for breaching the show’s rules and smuggling a smartphone onto the set, fearing he had been secretly downloading recipes.

Kris & Kim’s “Wedding”
The “lovebirds” were married in August 2011, with their wedding broadcast as a two part television special on the E! network. Just 72 days later, they were seperated, with claims from Kim’s former publicist and the public alike, that the wedding was staged for publicity and money.

Amazing Disgrace
Anastasia Drimousis and Chris Pselletes’ relationship came under great scrutiny after he was abusive and continuously berated her while on the worldwide reality show. The couple have thankfully seperated.

Brynne Edelstein’s “Potatoe” Jibe
Who could forget when ‘Dancing With The Stars’ judge Josh Horner harshly criticised Brynne Edelstein after her dance to Katy Perry’s hit “Firework”. “You looked like a bedazzled sack of potatoes rolling down on the floor. It was shocking,’ he said. Cue national outrage and sympathy for a young lady.

Insane Altiyan
2011 was year was the year that 2010′s ‘X Factor’ winner Altiyan Childs showed us what we already knew – He’s a sandwich short of a picnic. In a tell-all interview on Channel Seven’s ‘Today Tonight’, Childs talked – in a rambling collection of made-up proverbs, no less – about his financial situation, living in a cave, moving back in with his disgraced manager Steve Gold, and wanting to marry his teenage lover.

Block Shock
Back in August, four couples vied to win ‘The Block’, renovating a series of dilapidated houses, with the winners to be decided via public auction. However, in an unprecedented turn of events, only one out of four of the properties sold at auction, crowning fan favourites Polly and Waz champions by default. Yay!

Losing!
It was the TV scandal of 2011. Charlie Sheen’s remarkable and bizarre fall from grace was one of the most talked about stories of the year, coining buzzwords such as “winning” and “tigerblood”. This scandal had it all: drugs, booze, porn stars and slagging’Two And A Half Men’.

Last night; reality television bowed its head for 2011 with a lovely finale for Beauty & The Geek Australia. In a blog post; I went through the key aspects that went into making the final week of reality for this year a success while also hinting at future prospects for this blog. In the final recapping blog I will be posting for this year, I will detail the year that has been; the highs and the lows. Pretend it is one of those lengthy recaps shows attach to the top of their finales. Then I will preview what is in store for the coming months and into 2012.

The year began on 30 January 2011 with the launch of The Biggest Loser Australia’s sixth season- the first in the ‘families’ format. The season began with four trainers; Shannon Ponton, Michelle Bridges, Steve Willis (formerly ‘The Commando’, now a fully fledged trainer) and new ninja warrior Tiffiny Hall, all heading to the homes of their respective families to eat what they eat, do what they do and most importantly, live how they live.

It was an eye opening experience, and the perfect way to introduce the four families- the Westren family containing Leigh Westren, fiancée Lara Whelan, mother Sharlene and father Craig. We also had the Moon family, containing sisters Sarah, Jodie, Rebecca and Kellie. The Duncan family contained Emma, Jarrod, Sarah-Jayne and Meg and the Challenor family contained Damien, Nathaniel, Joe and Greg.

One by one, these families competed for immunity and power. Joe became a villain after making his nephew Nathaniel enter an elimination when it should have been him and also giving away immunity to someone other than his brother, Damien.

Despite being eliminated, a twist in the show saw Lara, Nathaniel, Rebecca and Emma return to the show. Two of these four were supposed to be eliminated, but after gaining weight at a weigh in, previously safe contestant Joe joined the line up and was eliminated with Lara, meaning three people were allowed back into the competition.

After 13 long weeks, Kellie, Sarah, Leigh and returnee Emma returned for the finale and despite great odds, Emma Duncan was crowned Australia’s second female Biggest Loser, with Leigh coming in second and Kellie and Sarah coming in third and fourth respectively.

In the same era, My Kitchen Rules returned after a highly successful first season. Its second season seemed to tap into the success MasterChef saw in 2010, and won pretty much every night it was on.

Amongst all the teams, we had High Achievers Kelly and Ash Cooke, Newlyweds Anne-Marie Battista and Nick Sharp, urban hippies Mal Gill and Bec Saul and of course, sisters Sammy & Bella Jakubiak.

It was a toughly contested battle, and MKR became something of a phenomenon. In the end, it was sisters Sammy & Bella who took the crown and have been close to Seven’s heart ever since, even making a few appearances on Dancing with the Stars.

Speaking of which, Dancing With The Stars made its 2011 debut with a big cast. Well, it wasn’t so big, but those people in Seven’s controversy department were prepped and at the ready. A change to the judging panel saw Josh Horner take the place of Mark Wilson, someone who seemed all too keen to create a stir.

The dancing line up consisted of newsreader Samantha Armytage, Home & Away’s Dan Ewing, bungled model Lara Bingle and most infamously, socialite Brynne Edelsten.

Brynne was at the centre of two very public controversies that helped lift ratings for the show. The first saw new judge Josh Horner describe her as a ‘bedazzled sack of potatoes’, causing her to cry after only her first dance. The second saw co-host Sonia Kruger comment on her and her husband, Geoffrey Edelsten’s age gap, referring to the latter as the former’s dad.

Despite all this, the country was ‘bedazzled’ by Brynne’s story, and also that of Samantha Armytage who was also given a beating by the judges. Both stayed in the contest for quite a while longer than many would have thought, with Samantha only just missing out on a place in the final.

Another contestant, Haley Bracken, who’s husband Nathan competed on the show only to be eliminated first, delighted the judges and scored herself a few ten’s, regularly winning challenges.

She made it all the way to the finale with singer Damien Leith and chef Manu Feildel.

While her dancing skills were enough to ward off Damien into third place, she was not able to beat Manu, who won the public vote and therefore the very controversial contest for 2011.

Back to TEN, and their reality ratings juggernaut, MasterChef Australia, returned for its third season. Branded as the biggest yet, a massive mystery box in Sydney Harbour was enough to herald in that promise to viewers watching at home.

The new season had a Cerebral Palsy sufferer, a surfer pin up dude, a few at home mother cooks and a fighter pilot.

Ratings for the season opened fairly high and fairly consistent, but the series was never going to reach the success of 2010. By the end of the season, it was also clear that its days of creating a 3 million plus viewership finale were over.

But there was plenty to celebrate in between. To make up for a lack of inspiration found in most of the dishes presented this year, the contestants headed to the likes of Margaret River, Busselton Jetty, a mine, Malaysia, New York and Melbourne for challenges and episodes.

The production team were in overdrive, and the production of the series was insanely great.

Storytelling also played a big part as many events grabbed news headlines. Firstly was that little fling between Ellie and Hayden which resulted in nothing. The second, and probably the biggest controversy to ever hit the MasterChef kitchen came from contestant Mat Beyer, or more frankly, his smart phone.

During one challenge, it was suspected by the judges that Mat had brought in a smart phone that could have been used to find information on recipes. Their suspicions were somewhat confirmed and he was kicked out of the competition.

Other stories also attracted attention. The shock elimination of CP sufferer John Hughes in the top 50 round, the deletion of fighter pilot Paul Lombardi before the top 24 round even started and the shock walking of contestant Adam Bowen all left viewers with something to watch.

Moving into finals week, and Ellie, Dani, Alana, Michael and Kate were left to fight for the title, although Ellie was eliminated just before all this.

It all came down to Michael and Kate in the finale where mother Kate beat out SA Michael, 87 points to 84. It wasn’t a very memorable finale, and Kate hasn’t been heard of since, but it was still another successful slate for TEN.

Reality television was Seven’s forte in 2011 with Australia’s Got Talent also on the rise. All three judges; Kyle Sandilands, Dannii Minogue and Brian McFadden returned and found the likes of The Old Fella, Ben Price, Jack Vidgen and Cosentino and launched them into the spotlight.

Also launched into the spotlight was comedian Jordan Harris where, after a successful first round of auditions which was based on jokes ‘borrowed’ from other joke makers, he managed to alienate his audience in the semi finals with a less than impressive and rather cringeworthy performance of his own.

They also ‘re-found’ Timomatic who, after modest success on the second season of So You Think You Can Dance Australia in 2009, returned to this competition to place third.

In the end, performer Cosentino placed second to singing schoolboy Jack Vidgen, who was famous in his own right for those veneers.

Seven also launched The Amazing Race Australia, which brought out probably the most diverse range of characters seen on reality television this year. We had Muslims Mo & Mos, Big W employees Anne Marie and Tracy; reunited sisters Alana and Mel and dopey farmers Tom & Matt.

The first season saw these guys race to places like Indonesia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Poland, Singapore and Hong Kong, and face challenges ranging from playing a famous Chinese casino game, to stacking crates of beer to skydiving!

In the end, it was surfer duo Nathan & Tyler, the former of which dated Erin McNaught, won the show over Perth models Renae & Sam. Surprisingly, it all came down to a race around Perth.

But I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing about Seven and TEN for now; so lets visit some of Nine’s reality offerings.

Well, most famously, we had The Block. Now in it’s forth season, the producers mixed things up a bit and introduced a new stripped 7PM format. The show also moved out of apartment renovating with this year’s contestants asked to renovate four houses on a block!

Lastly, there were eight teams, not four. Four of those teams however were eliminated in the first week, but they all made appearances in challenges throughout the series.

The four main couples were Josh & Jenna, a bickering boyfriend/girlfriend duo who were in charge of the only double fronted house on the street; Polly & Waz, a very quirky, young and savvy couple who had nil background in renovating; Katrina & Amie, two sisters with emotions made of concrete and a very stylish yet obscure design technique, and seasoned renovators Tania & Rod.

They were all a bunch of laughs with only a few moments of sadness. There was a time when Tania & Rod were called off the block to attend a family funeral, and there was also a time when Katrina’s Crohn’s disease overtook her emotions a bit. But in the end, these couples, with the help of host Scott Cam, new host Shelley Craft, sometimes embattled onsite manager Keith and a whole set of reward winning challenges, were able to manage four great houses for auction.

The only disappointing thing about this season, was most probably the only thing that the producers didn’t want to end in disappointment- the finale.

After last year’s ‘shock’ announcement that Chez & Brenton’s apartment was to be passed in, it was a surprise to everyone watching when three of the four houses were passed in. It was even more of a shock that the winning house, selling for $15,000 profit, belonged to novice’s Polly & Waz. And it was an EVEN BIGGER shock to Jenna, whose night was turned upside down by a proposal by Josh. She said yes!

Nine also had Top Design, a brand new show by Jamie Durie, once Nine’s love child and host of The Block. The series failed to fire and was at one point shown first run on GEM ahead of a Nine screening.

Robert Davidov won the show, beating out Lisa and Steve at the finale, which was quite a high key affair for such a low key performer. I guess for me personally, the thing I will remember about this show was minutes after blogging the finale of the show on a Friday, news that Big Brother Australia was to return on Nine surfaced.

Nine also had two seasons of The Farmer Wants A Wife, however I only watched the second, which was the series’ seventh overall.

In this season, containing farmers Wil, Trent, Frank, John, Kev and Tim, a seventh mystery girl was added to the picked girls the farmers chose as potential wives. This seventh girl was chosen by the families. The farmers had to decide whether or not to take her back to the farm with him and two others.

Some jumped at the opportunity, some did not.

The show saw numerous exits; most notably, Farmer John’s favourite Belinda. The finale also saw a shocking outcome for Kev, who after two eliminations, his chosen girl got cold feet and left, leaving him with no one to pursue. Potential season eight candidate, anyone?

The season end showcasing the wedding of former contestants Nathan and Amanda.

To end the year, Nine debuted the oftentimes controversial Celebrity Apprentice to a stripped 7PM format. The series contained celebrities including Jesinta Campbell, Deni Hines, Jason Coleman, Julia Morris, Pauline Hanson and Shane Crawford.

Deni became an instant villain; constantly attacking Polly for her lack of celebrity, and generally acting like a spoilt brat and damaged diva. She was soon eliminated.

Pauline Hanson would most likely be considered as the most unlikely hero of the series after showing real integrity and a real maturity towards challenges. She was constantly saved from elimination due to her work ethic and public support backing her, especially after washing some guy’s car in underwear, was shiny.

Another surprise characterisation came from Jason Coleman, who while showed great leadership and well-spokenedness, constantly lost challenges and began to be deemed a villain in the eyes of the contestants who saw his constant need to be in control and his somewhat demeaning mannerisms to be quite rude and somewhat crippling to the receiving contestant’s place in the competition

In the final week, eliminated contestants Polly, Didier, Deni and Max returned to help out finalists Jason, Julia, Shane and Jesinta in what was an explosive and controversial week. Mad Max Markson, who was known for his immaturity, outspokenness and time wasting abilities, somewhat ironically eliminated after competing in a challenge sober of these qualities, returned to give Julia and Jason one more test of patience and control.

But it was Deni Hines who stole the show, seemingly playing up for the cameras and using the villain persona she received in her first stint on the show, and arguing with people, mostly Jesinta, at any opportunity she got.

She later admitted that she did it for fun, and even commended enemy Jesinta on her smarts. It wasn’t enough to let Jesinta and Shane win, and in the end, it all came down to Julia and Jason. Julia Morris won the show, but decided to split the money with Jason Coleman and his charity; a rare show of such true honour and dignity. Julia will be one contestant who’s ‘brand’ isn’t damaged by this show.

TEN also experimented with The Renovators; but it turned into an overall flop, despite showing signs of life throughout its run, and even giving TEN a second place position on finale night. The renovation show saw host Brendan Moar and judges Peter Ho, Barry Du Bois and Robyn Holt guide 20 renovators through challenges, which included a 24-hour makeover of a house on wheels, carted into the show’s massive warehouse studio, and a week trip up to Brisbane to help flood victims, and eliminations which I personally noted for their initial lack of imagination.

Despite the low rating performance of the show, it was generally well received by the public, with many of you suggesting contestants for the Top 20 Reality Contestants of 2011 competition. While it was able to shake comparisons to The Block; its similarity to MasterChef remained and became the show’s only lowlight. Despite all this, I would say that where the Renovators was different was in its increased personal approach to its contestants and its laid back approach to the whole structure of the show.

There were plenty of team changes, but ultimately, Natalie from the sixties suburban (formerly, the shop), August from the shop, Peter from the half done house, Michael from the fibro cottage, Mel from the weatherboard and Luke from the terrace became the show’s finalists for auction night.

While not many houses sold for profit, they did all sell, and it was SA’s Michael Lynch’s fibro cottage that sold for the most and gave the tradie from Laura a win!

Junior MasterChef Australia was generally a miss for TEN, after initially debuting a brand new Top 50 format. Matt Preston took leave for the series, but Matt Moran took his place and Anna Gare returned as a solely Junior MasterChef judge.

The show continued the celebrated production of the main show, and the trips to Disneyland and the inspiring dish after inspiring dish of tasty food was a massive bonus; possibly making it a better season than the first, but the viewers didn’t come, and this is one show that will most probably be forgotten.

For those of you who don’t forget it, Greta Yaxley won the show, with 92 points over Jack’s 84 (if I recall).

Back to Seven and it was another year for The X Factor and it was going to be big. Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands didn’t return, but they were replaced by the gorgeous and talented Natalie Bassingthwaighte and singing superstar Mel B. The rest returned.

This year, it was the likes of Emmanuel Kelly; a talented Iraqi orphan and Luke O’Dell, an untalented Adam Lambert wannabe who stole the show; but none of which made it to the finals.

Out of the twelve who did, Mel B’s lot soon disappeared. Tyla Bertolli and Jacqui Newland were both eliminated early on and despite a promising first half for Christina Parie, she wasn’t able to make it into the top 5.

Conversely, Guy Sebastian kept all of his three acts until the final five, with Declan Sykes leaving in fifth place. His other two acts, Johnny Ruffo and Reece Mastin, both became finalists along with Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s Andrew Wishart.

After winning last year with Altiyan Childs, Ronan Keating did not renew his success this year, with his final act Three Wishez only making it to the final four.

In the end, SA’s Reece Mastin beat out Andrew Wishart and Johnny Ruffo (runner up and third place respectively) to become the winner of the show’s third season.

Seven also had The One; a show that briefly saw the light of day in 2008 and pits psychics against each other to find out who is the most gifted.
Judges were Richard Saunders, a sceptic, and Stacey Demarco, a psychic, whose bickering became a somewhat entertainment staple for the show.

Challenges these contestants faced included anything from in studio readings, finding of objects as small as gold to as big as helicopters using only their abilities; and ended in a now controversial challenge which saw them try to locate the body of missing, presumed dead woman, Kerry Whelan.

Greg Riley, empath Heidi Hanley and detective Debbie Malone were awarded finalist positions, and you at home got to determine the winner. Like the psychics themselves, you all chose Greg to be The One- Australia’s Most Gifted Psychic.

The last show of course, was Beauty & The Geek Australia which returned with Bernard Curry as host for its third season. The twist this year was a simple one; a male beauty paired with a female geek in the form of Troy and Helen.

Other than this, the show didn’t deviate away from its usual format of humorous storytelling, classy cutaway quotes, wonderful production and just plain stupidity. There was a time when the human twists, Helen & Troy, were eliminated quite early, but they were able to return via a twist. One episode later and they were eliminated again.

The season saw geek Lachlan and beauty Jordan, who both went on to be apart of the final two teams with their respective partners, hook up, break up and make up throughout the course of the season. The main problem came when Lachlan got his partner Sarah’s name tattooed on his arse. Pardon my French.

During makeovers, which were a dazzling array of spectacles, Dolly announced her decision to quit on medical grounds, leaving previously eliminated contestant Jacelle to fill her void with Gilbert.

In the finale, Mackenzie and Jimmy were eliminated after an exam challenge; Gilbert and Jacelle were eliminated after a formal challenge and Julian and Jordan were eliminated after a quiz, leaving Lachlan and Sarah as this year’s winners.

Lovebirds Mackenzie and Troy also announced their engagement throughout the final.

 

And that my friends, was the year in reality. Quite a hefty one wasn’t it. But enough about 2011; that was so last year (well, technically it was this year, but you get my drift)- let’s talk 2012.

The only show from the above list confirmed not to be returning is Top Design, but grave fears are being held for The Renovators, which despite being announced by TEN as a returning show, has since fallen victim to second thoughts. The only other show that will probably not return is Junior MasterChef Australia- but it would be for the best. Oh, and The One.

The Biggest Loser Australia will return and revert back to a ‘singles’ format. Dancing with the Stars will return with a new host after Sonia Kruger’s defection to Nine; possibly Nat Bass. My Kitchen Rules returns with a Kiwi pair. MasterChef returns with Matt Preston.

The Farmer Wants A Wife, Celebrity Apprentice Australia, The Block, The Amazing Race Australia, Australia’s Got Talent, The X Factor and Beauty & The Geek Australia will all return, or are all set to return based on viewer satisfaction and ratings.

To join them are a sleuth of new Nine shows. We have The Voice, which features blind auditions and battle rounds. Judges will be Joel Madden, Delta Goodrem, Seal and Keith Urban.

Big Brother returns to our screens on Nine with new host Sonia Kruger and a new ‘Secrets’ format where every housemate has a secret. Location, spin off shows and narrator are yet to be confirmed.

Excess Baggage will be a new celebrity weight loss show where eight overweight celebs pair up with ordinary contestants to lose the flab. Celebrities include Darryn Lyons who has previously competed on Celebrity Big Brother UK, causing a stir after revealing his ‘six pack on top of a beer gut’ formed stomach which evolved due to ‘contouring’. Having watched this season myself, I will warn you now; just in case he takes his top off, don’t eat dinner through this program! Kate Cebrano hosts.

 

And that is just a taste of what 2012 holds in terms of reality television! It’s the substance which makes up these shows in between which will really determine the flavour. And we won’t know what any of this ‘substance’ is until these seasons debut.

 

Over the next few months, Throng will still be delivering important reality news. Of course we have the Top 20 Reality Television Contestants of 2011 competition which will run from the 16^th of December right through until New Years Eve.

I will then be taking a break for the first half of January before returning with some opinion pieces to get you in the spirit of the 2012 reality ratings season. This will also be my last post before December 16 less any important announcements. I’m sure the other lovely writers here on Throng will be keeping you up to date anyway. There’s always an excuse to log onto Throng.

 

Then, in 2012 I can officially announce, Throng will be returning its episode-by-episode detailed recaps of EVERY episode of EVERY season of reality in 2012 (minus any last minute disruptions or planned events), so keep an eye out!

 

That’s all from me; a few last minute thank you’s before I sign off- firstly to AndrewB and Regan for letting me post my thoughts on reality onto this site in the first place. You have given me so much support and I have loved every minute of it.

 

Johnson, as many of you would know, has helped in nearly every single episode of MasterChef, Junior MasterChef and The X Factor; and has even helped out in other random episodes. I truly thank you for that, Johnson, as you have enriched my knowledge and therefore my love of this genre and this job.

 

And Ryno; who offered his complete support and helping hand throughout September, and while it didn’t all go to plan, I think your offer to help was the most exciting thing about this year.

 

And to the rest of the readers, who have commented kindly or constructively, or have just read my work, I am motivated by your continued support and I am proud to be able to do this for such a loving and intellectual community.

 

I’ll see you all soon; for now, it’s time to take a break.

 

Courtney xx