I blame C.S.I. for the phenomenon known as put the name of a city in a show so there will be a built in audience for the show. I guess you have noticed there is no C.S.I Fargo, because as lovely as that city is, they probably are not going to boost the ratings much. Call a show C.S.I Miami and you get a nice bump. People want to see places in movies and television they know. It makes them watch more and talk about it more. It's free advertising and it works great. I'm fine with it.
But, since the success of C.S.I., that formula has spread to other television formats where it just becomes awful. Whitney Port moves to New York - Awful. The Hills type show based in Washington DC. - Awful. Soon to be a Real Housewives of Washington DC. Probably really good. Hey, I watch it. I don't talk about it on here much, but I watch it. If there is a marathon on, I can get sucked in for the 8 hours it's on. There seems to be this push to try and capitalize on the attention being focused on Washington DC since the election. I can understand that, but sometimes I think you need to leave the idea in LA. The Hills works because we expect them to be pretentious, conceited, superficial, spoiled and selfish because they live in LA. Those same attributes don't really translate to Washington DC.
Now though comes the ultimate reach to expand a show beyond Hollywood. Take a look at what came out today.
MUST LIVE IN DC AREA!!
Shooting an untitled pilot for a reality series on Vh1 in Washington DC - about an A-List Celebrity Stylist moving from Beverly Hills to Washington to be closer to the WHITE HOUSE. He's taking over the hair world, and he's talented beyond belief.
Seeking - BIG PERSONALITY women to get a free hairstyle done by an A-List Celebrity Hairstylist. You'll leave looking FAB. People pay big bucks to get their hair done by him, but you'll get it for FREE!!
[2 WOMEN] Women who are fun and cute w/ big personalities who want their hair done for free.
[WOMAN] Low income. Did you lose your job, and entering a new field, but need a NEW LOOK?? Do you work for the government? Are you sick of looking drab? Want to look fab???
[CELEBRITY] Are you a celebrity, socialite, style editor living in Washington and want a free hairdo? Must have an OVER-THE-TOP PERSONALITY.
Seriously? And they want to be close to the White House because? I think Bravo pretty much has the hair stylist market cornered. Any show that is looking for someone who is fab, fab, and must be fab and over the top is going to be the most annoying show ever. Unless of course Spencer got his beautician's license.
Not to mention that currently the residents of Fargo have no time for crime - they're almost underwater. :)
ReplyDeleteCan you see Ken Paves trying to function in D.C.? Once it snowed, he couldn't leave his house. (The blind date who lied about him is still one of my favorite Enty stories...)
the recaps by richard over at gawker are the best. if you watch housewives of new york you'll luv them!
ReplyDeleterichard posts them on wed afternoons.
ReplyDelete"Do you suffer from hair loss, lack of appetite or insomnia AND have a big personality? Do you want to get your hair done for free by some asshat who fell for this crap idea? SHAMWOW!"
ReplyDeleteI only get sucked into reality shows when there is some sort of talent (Proj Runway, Top Chef, sometimes amazing race, 1st season Survivor, 1st season Apprentice -- ok last one was purely omarosa).
ReplyDeletei do live in dc.
ReplyDeleteits effin awesome here.
except for the fucking tourists.
especially when the cherry blossoms bloom.
"oohhh lets go see pink flowers on trees while walking around a polluted river. maybe if we're lucky we'll have enough time to stop by the spy or holocaust museum!"
exciting!
fyi to anyone here wanting to take their kids to DC for a ~historical and memorable~ vacation...NO ITS NOT APPRECIATED, GO TO FLORIDA INSTEAD.
and my mom would totally love to be on the Real Housewives of DC. she loves the orange county show.
"fyi to anyone here wanting to take their kids to DC for a ~historical and memorable~ vacation...NO ITS NOT APPRECIATED, GO TO FLORIDA INSTEAD."
ReplyDeletemy bad, i thought it was a FREE country.
We drove from SoCal to D.C. when I was in the 4th grade. I'll never forget it. Awesome trip, but I think Mum would say that the little bro and I had a few fist fights in the backseat of the Impala.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to Jonathan Antin? I loved his show. Maybe he could pack it up and move to D.C.? I love the reality shows on Bravo.
Love D.C.
ReplyDeleteLove The Real Housewives
I will watch.
Oh, and The New Jersey Housewives? I can't wait!
"fyi to anyone here wanting to take their kids to DC for a ~historical and memorable~ vacation...NO ITS NOT APPRECIATED, GO TO FLORIDA INSTEAD."
ReplyDeleteWow! I didn't realize that US citizens, or anyone for that matter, needed permission from the residents of DC to visit the nation's Capital?
Do you go on vacations? Because I wonder if maybe the residents of the places where you holiday might not appreciate it.
BTW, I try not to get personal on here, but I figured that you might be from either Georgetown or DuPont Circle. Clicking on your name, I see that I was correct. (Georgetown)
ReplyDeleteIt's really ashame the air that you've projected upon yourself by one simple post.
jax,
ReplyDeleteI know I shouldn't let someone get my feathers so ruffled, but the gall of trying to tell people don't come to DC, you're not welcome here. It makes me want to say don't come back to CDAN, it's not appreciated or wanted, go to Perez's website instead.
heh. growing up around the beaches of SoCal, everytime we went on vacation somewhere, my dad would berate me if i "acted like a tourist". he's so right about that! i love it when we go to maui and we don't get treated like a "fuckin haole!"-- because we respect the locals.
ReplyDeletebut, norah, the locals depend on the tourist trade. as do a lot of the locals in D.C. i have a friend who was a mounted policeman in D.C., and HE didn't complain about the tourists, and in fact loved his job. so, like, CHILL, baby.
hey everyone is entitled to their opinons Leia, don't sweat it.
ReplyDeletei'm going to chalk this up to age as i beleive Norah might still be a teen. Buns is right, without the tourist to DC, you woundn't have a hope in hell of a part time job.
Coming from Central Florida to DC, I'm used to tourists. :) As long on the Metro escalators you stand on the right and walk/run on the left, you're golden.
ReplyDeleteI work part-time as a personal assistant for a pretty wealthy/busy family. There'll definitely be some good times with "Real Housewives" in the DC area. Heh...
I have lived in DC for 20 years. It fucking sucks. The phrase
ReplyDelete"the nail that sticks out gets pounded down" applies here. No personality, no pizzazz, no culture. Don't make waves, kiss a lot of ass, and you'll do just fine.
The celeb stylist is Andre Chreky, I'm guessing.
Jax...that person is by far not the only one here that feels that way. DC is as unwelcoming and snobbish a place as you'll find in the US. Come here if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it as a destination or a place to live to my worst enemy.
ReplyDeletei do go to perez's website. i go to tons of other celeb websites.
ReplyDeleteyes i'm still a teen, its written in my profile.
and yes, i do have a job (and i do love it) . guess where i was for the last few hours instead of responding?
I MEANT as a child, before i moved to dc i had to go there every year and it was awful.
i'm not saying "don't come here because you aren't wanted" i'm saying that going to dc isn't the ideal vacation place for a kid with a week off for spring break.
"fyi to anyone here wanting to take their kids to DC for a ~historical and memorable~ vacation"
once again don't, it isn't fun for a child but then again you can because wahhh its a free country.
i honestly don't care unless you are the type of tourist to yell at me because i can't direct you to a museum.
I live in the DC metro area, and worked downtown for a lot of years. Most of us welcome tourists, and love to share our nation's capitol. Just like any big city, DC can be wonderful or it can be awful. It is what you make of it.
ReplyDeleteFYI about Andre: I received a gift certificate for his salon, and it was one of the worst hair cuts I ever received. However, one of my friends gets her hair cut and colored there, and it always looks fantastic.
As a New Yorker who moved to DC, I can say this city needs a hairstylist. People just look so, so, BORED.
ReplyDelete