RULE NUMBER THREE On ''Average Joe,'' Fabio should not count as a surprise twist
Average Joe: Hawaii: Mario Perez; Fabio: Steve Granitz/Wireimage
 | Banish the bad surprise twists |
''Average Joe: Hawaii'''s Larissa dated Fabio for four minutes! ''The Real World'''s Frankie has a John Hinckley-like stalker...that is, until she asks him to go away and he leaves politely! We understand that every reality show thrives on promoting H-U-G-E twists, but the drama should come from surprising the contestants (case in point: Fans will choose a second All-Star Survivor to win a million bucks), not from annoying the viewer. If you have to rely on labyrinthine games to make the story compelling, you've failed to cast interesting enough people and create a coherent premise: That was the problem with ''For Love or Money'' (hotties don't know who's zooming who) as well as ''Forever Eden'' and ''Paradise Hotel'' (hotties play a game with rules that appear to be made up on the spot). Sorry, but only Jerry Seinfeld can make a show about nothing.
-- JA
 | Stop the obnoxious product placement |
It couldn't get any worse than this: Those crazy ''American Idol'' kids ''board'' a Ford Focus that blasts off to Mars, where they cavort in cheesy space suits while we secretly wish they would make like the JPL rover and lose contact with civilization. (These promos are durable -- and not in a good way: Even after all this time, we're still shuddering at Clay and Ruben getting ready for their make-believe date with Kimberley Locke.) If ''AI'''s plugs aren't the lamest thing you've ever seen, howzabout when the kids on ''The Real World/Road Rules Challenge'' shoot paintballs at a bull's-eye with the Chili's logo? We realize the nets rely on product placement to help pay the bills (big brands like Ford will back up the money truck if it means their products are getting prominent placement). But they're already earning enviable ad rates for their monster reality shows: CBS, for example, reportedly collects $390K for each 30-second spot during ''Survivor.'' When is enough enough? Keep it discreet and part of the plot (think ''Survivor'' tempting its hungry castaways with Snickers). We're just as likely to buy your Ford Focus -- and far more likely to stay tuned to ''American Idol'' -- with a softer sell.
-- Lynette Rice
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