■ TV review
American Idoly and Apprentice’
jump into another reality TV round
Show changes include older 'Idol' contestants
and alternative team assignments in 'Apprentice'
BY AMY LICHTY
PULSE REPORTER
Reality TV is a surprisingly contro
versial topic today. Some people can't
live without the bug-eating challenges
on "Survivor" or the drama that nev
er fails to surround "The Real
World." Others can't stand the
sight of Jessica Simpson and
"Newlyweds" or the incredibly
and obviouslyfake "The Simple
Life" with Paris Hilton and Nicole
Richie. But like it or not reality TV has
been dominating the airwaves for the
past few years and with the new pre
miers of "American Idol" and "The Ap
prentice" last week, it's hereto stay—
at least until something even trashier
and more addictive comes along.
The fourth season "American Idol"
debuted Jan. 18 in the nation's capital.
A whopping 54 million fans tuned in to
watch the horrendous singing and
dancing of this year's "Idol." Along with
terrible voices and sporadic talent,
"American Idol" also brought some
changes in the way the show is run.
The age limit has been raised this sea
son, from 24 to 28, which opened doors
for people with a little more experience
to jump on board the "A.I.” train.
There are also guest judges to help
with the difficult decisions Simon
Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Ab
dul have to make. Mark McGrath,
lead singer of '90s band Sugar Ray
and current correspondent forthe
gossip TV show "Extra," was the first
of five guests, who will also include
Gene Simmons from KISS, LL Cool J,
Brandy and Kenny Loggins.
Bret furtwancler | Graphic artist
This time around there will also be
some gender separation because of
women dominating last season in the
final weeks before Fantasia Barrino
was announced the winner. There will
be separate male and female groups in
the early rounds of the competition,
and as a consequence, there will bean
increased number of weekly episodes.
Throughout the semifinals, there will be
three weekly episodes instead of the
usual two — one for the gentlemen,
one for ladies and one for the results.
"The Apprentice" also launched its
third season last week, ironically just
two days before "the Donald" said "I
do" forthe third time to model Mela
nia Knauss. Perhaps the third time is
the charm forTrump as a husband
and for "The Apprentice," his
i>; babywithreality-TVKing
Midas, Mark Burnett.
This season, the most evi
dent change is thatthe two
teams are no longer separat
ed by gender, but rather by
those who have a college de
gree and those who entered
the work force straight out of high
school. Obviously, I was rooting for
the "Book Smarts" (those with col
lege educations) because I didn't
want to feel like I'm wasting my time,
and more importantly my money, on a
college degree. But alas, the "Street
Smarts" proved to outsmartthe com
petition and won the first episode's
Burger King Challenge. A few person
alities stuck out like sore thumbs, such
as polyester-suit-sporting Danny and
Viking-hat-wearing Brian, who liked to
use the f-word while eating dinner with
the cast, including Trump. Ultimately,
however, it was "Book Smarts" project
managerTodd who gotthe first "You're
fired" from Trump this season. "The
Apprentice" can be seen on NBC
Thursday nights.
amylichty@dailyemerald.com
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