PRINTTired TV
Original programming is dead: Here’s how to sort through the knock-offs
COURTESY OF OXYGEN MEDIA
July 1, 2009 | 12:00 p.m. CST
Flipping through the many TV channels yields near-identical scenes — a doctor show here, a dance show there. It’s hard to tell which is worth watching when the previews are so similar. Check out this helpful guide to picking the best of the cable copycats.
Gossip Girl vs. NYC Prep
Both shows are about extremely rich teens living in New York City. The overly dramatic Gossip Girl came first in 2007.
These teens have sex with teachers, do drugs, wind up in jail and struggle with whether they have enough pull to get into Yale. Life for them is hard, but it’s just fiction, right?
Wrong. Bravo has created a reality show called NYC Prep, which is like Gossip Girl, only real. They are rich and do what they want. It follows teens as they drink, brag about their hook-ups and stress over the SATs.
Although Gossip Girl is a great train wreck to watch, it’s just acting. Check out NYC Prep instead. It airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
Biggest Loser vs. Dance Your Ass Off
Biggest Loser pits people against each other in a public weight-loss competition. If they’re not voted off, then they can win $250,000.
Dance Your Ass Off is the copycat. It’s a mixture of Biggest Loser and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. In the show, 12 overweight people are paired with professional dancers and perform a routine on each episode.
The pick for this one is definitely Dance Your Ass Off. Though Biggest Loser is inspiring, it’s unrealistic. Most people can’t afford personal trainers and chefs. However, everyone dances (even if it’s alone in your bedroom). Plus, these hopefuls will tackle the art of pole dancing, and nothing sounds better than that. Dance Your Ass Off airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on Oxygen.
Make Me a Supermodel vs. America’s Next Top Model vs. She’s Got the Look
The CW started this superficial trend with America’s Next Top Model in 2003, and Bravo followed it with Tyson Beckford’s Make Me a Supermodel in 2008. Now TV Land has its own spin on the genre with She’s Got The Look.
The first two shows feature young people who hope to make it as models. Make Me A Supermodel is the only show that features both men and women — but all are full of catty drama. None of the shows really helps promote a positive body image. Tyra Banks claims to do that on ANTM, but only a limited number of plus-sized models make it onto the show.
Then there’s Make Me A Supermodel. The challenges are more realistic, and each episode features both runway and print challenges.
She’s Got The Look is the best of the three. It’s a modeling competition too, but it only features women older than 35. Be sure to watch for the women who dress like teenagers. The laughter can be mean-spirited, but the enjoyment of watching people win their dream — a contract with Wilhelmina Models — is genuine.
She’s Got The Look airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. and is definitely the best pick.
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