However with BB9 starting in two weeks I want to let everyone know THAT area will be in full swing.  So click on over to my Big Brother 9 area to see what is going on.

CBS also said that there would still be a summer edition of Big Brother as well.

As much as part of me wants to, I just am not watching all these shows on a regular basis.  Thanks to TIVO I have everything recorded and I catch up when I can but as of today I haven’t watched any episode from all the shows (AR, Dancing, Kid Nation and Survivor) this week.  Busy  busy busy!

But enough of that, with the writers on strike, the networks are getting ready for things to air when the ‘new’ episodes run out (January seems to be the common time).  This week they announced casting for Big Brother  9 which may air in February.

Check out my Big Brother 9 area for any updates.

I did see that the original female trainer was back on Biggest Loser -  I wondered why she wasn’t there last season - when I find out I’ll let you know.  Yeah, I am very uninformed when it comes to most reality shows other than Big Brother.

Dancing with the Stars seems really heavy on the not so well known ‘celebrities’ - I mean I am sure a lot of America is familiar with the ‘Cheetah Girls’ but are they that popular in general or just for a very specific part of the population?  Then again I guess some would say the same about Mark Cuban or anyone else on the show.  I better catch up cause I don’t even know who was voted out last week!

I’ll be watching tonight.  I have to admit I was not a huge Holly fan on Big Brother but I didn’t ‘hate’ her either so I hope she does well.

As I watched, my cynicism took over, I wondered if this “ghost town” was really ever real. Since the last ‘new’ reality show I watched, Pirate Master, tried to weave a story about a fabled pirate, I was cynical that this place called “Bonanza City, New Mexico was real.

With a short search I found out there was indeed a town called Bonanza in New Mexico. It only lasted from 1880-1885 and unlike the town shown on the CBS show, there is nothing but foundation lines left of the real Bonanza City.

The best source of information I found was at the site GhostTowns.com

The town never lived up to its name for it didn’t live long enough. Bonanza was founded in 1880 and died about 1885. Silver, zinc and lead were the primary ores in the Los Cerrillos Hills during this period. The population of Bonanza in 1884 is listed as two hundred and declined thereafter. One has to look hard to find the traces of the town for all that is left are faint foundation outlines and rock ruins of a smelter

As I expected the town we see on the show is simply a set created by the show’s producers, but you wouldn’t expect them to be able to take over an authentic ‘ghost town’ and have 40 kids live there.

My take on the show?  It is pretty much what I expected, a show that a lot of people will enjoy, but only thanks to the producers who managed to make it both funny and dramatic.  Some examples, calling a 10 year old girl a ‘beauty queen,’  an eight year old worried he may die, the kids attempting to cook their first meal, the bullies of the town using chalk to make graffiti.

The competition to determine the class status of the kids was very reminiscent of  a Survivor type challenge but at the end all 40 kids were rewarded for completing the task (outhouses all around!).

Compelling television?  No.  Interesting enough to keep on a Tivo Season Pass?  Yes.

If it is a ratings hit it will be because it is a kid/family show, something parents won’t be afraid to let their children watch.

He had some interesting things to say including revealing that they do a strip search of the contestants before they show and saying that they have some real ‘wackos’ on the show this year.

You can see most of his appearance below.

Survivor China airs Thursday night @ 8pm on CBS.

Otherwise head over to my main Big Brother Page for general info.