My dirty little secret - I watch reality TV

I used to think I didn't like reality TV shows. I never got into "Survivor," "The Amazing Race," or "American Idol." Even now when people talk about who got voted off, I just kinda shrug and go, huh? I might be the only person in the country who hasn't seen at least one episode of the singing sensation.

The idea of "reality" TV is nothing new. Back in 1973, PBS aired a show called "An American Family." I watched parts of it in a media class in college. Even with the cameras on, the family members eventually became unaware of them, and what transpired was a surprise. The husband and wife ended up separating, and one son came out of the closet. It was the precursor to shows such as "Big Brother" and "MTV's The Real World," where viewers hope for the worst to come out.

So for a very long time in the evolution of reality TV, I stayed out of it. But in the last few years, the number of competition shows I watched has slowly creeped up. And I just realized today that most of them involve one of two things - dancing or cooking.

The first show to hook me was "So You Think You Can Dance." I watched an audition show while visiting a friend in Indiana. Later that summer, I started recording it on Tivo in my room. I'd watch it alone before bed. I started season two in the middle, the year Benji won the top honors. Watching the show was a little bit like my dirty little secret. No one knew about it because I knew my sister would poke fun at me. I watched the third season only in my room, as well, rooting for winner Sabra the whole time. I skipped the audition part of the season, fast-forwarded through the slow dance numbers and the musical guests, and watched just the dancers I liked.

I think I got into the show because I am such a klutz, I was astonished by the way the dancers were able to move.

For season four, I'd moved to a new place and no longer had a Tivo set up in my bedroom. I had to confess to my secret addiction so that I could tape the show in the living room. To my surprise, my sister and my mother were hooked with me within weeks. It probably helped that the show last season had dancers full of personality -Twitch, Kherington, Chelsie, Katee, Joshua and Mark.

Season five will end next week, and the final four were announced last night. It is a little anti-climatic this season as the two people I was rooting for have already been voted off - Jason and Janette. The dancers this season may be more talented than in past years - according to the judges - but their personalities have not come out as much.

With season six auditions under way now for a fall season, I hold out hope that the judges will pick the right bit of talent and personality for the next top 20.

As for cooking shows, "The Next Food Network Star" finale ends August 2; "Top Chef Masters" will air its second top six elimination on Bravo; and there are always plenty of episodes of "Chopped" and "Food Network Challenge" to fill in the space in between.

Teen movie to TV transition

It's been done before - the attempt of a popular movie to transition to the small screen as regular series. And nothing is a better base for the experiement than a teen comedy.

Some of the past spin-offs include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a movie I love to watch from time to time - who doesn't love a campy vampire movie? I never got into the television series, though I watched quite a few "Angel" episodes at Gold's Gym while working out on the elliptical machine. The TV version of the vampire hunter lasted seven seasons so it seems to have been a success.

"Clueless" was another attempt to win the on-screen success on the little screen. I love the movie, and have probably watched it 20 times. It makes me laugh. It's the reason I have a soft spot for Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone. I never watched it because my favorite actors were replaced with others. It lasted three seasons.

The latest in line is "10 Things I Hate About You," which debuted on ABC Family a few weeks ago. "Sneak peeks" can be seen online at abcfamily.go.com and the show airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

The movie version came out 10 years ago and starred Heath Ledger, who was relativiely new to American audiences. He wooed Kat Straford (Julia Stiles) as bad boy Patrick Verona in the retelling of "Taming of the Shrew." In it, Kat's younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) just wants to be popular, but their strict father will only let her date if Kat gets a guy (he thinks Kat isn't interested in dating.) Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) pays Patrick to get Kat to fall for him in hopes of getting Bianca. The movie is clever and laugh-out-loud funny. Ledger showed the early acting chops that would make his career in years to come, and Oleynik and Gordon-Levitt had plenty of chemistry since they starred together on "Third Rock from the Sun."

So far I've watched one episode and the thing I liked least about the movie came along with it. Larry Miller is back to play dad to Bianca (Meaghan Jette Martin) and Kat (Lindsey Shaw). Ethan Peck, grandson of Gregory Peck takes on the Patrick Verona part.

I'm not quite sure what to think of it so far, but the one thing that would bring me back is Shaw. She played Claire Tolcheck in a short-lived Fox sitcom called "Aliens in American." She's gone from ditzy, popular girl to rebel and it suits her.

Early morning explosion

In the predawn hours before the sun had risen, I stood in the circle of my neighborhood surrounded by others as we watched a house across the common area from mine burn. It wasn't like in the movies, with just timber and ash left on the ground. Flames came out of the garage, and smoke billowed out of the roof. Firefighters had the fire out in an hour, and though the house hadn't burned to the ground, the charred innards visible from the street make it seem like a shell of itself. In under an hour, everything was destroyed.

The homeowner got out safely, with a pet, but escaped with not one belonging before the explosion that woke up others.

It jolted me awake at 4:40 a.m., and I assumed it was an earthquake, what with living near faults. I mumbled in my sleep to the two cats on my bed that everything was fine, and turned over to go back to sleep. But soon we heard sirens and a woman wailing. My mother, sister and I pulled on sweaters or robes and joined the neighbors outside in the chilly air as we all watched and thought, "that could have been us."

It was mesmerizing, and hard to turn away from the fire until it was completely out, even though we were all helpless to do anything. We kept our distance as firefighters did their job.

It reminded me of the year at Pitzer College when the fire alarms kept going off. It happened often enough that my friends and I all started keeping flip-flops at the edge of our beds and a sweatshirt that would be accesible on the way out the door. The alarms always went off during sleeping hours. The late-night or early-morning fire alarms were a nuisance, especially during finals week. I stood gathered with the other college students, shivering most nights, always half asleep, and mostly irritated. It was at least amusing as we picked up on who wasn't coming out of their own dorm rooms.

But this morning was sobering. It was impossible to go back to sleep so we showered, walked the dog and headed to the office early. Since it was one of my busiest days, I just focused on work. It didn't really hit me until my drive home. Everything in my house could be destroyed in under an hour. It made me think about what I would want to save. There are a few things, but I guess if my family and pets made it out safe, I would be content.

An 'Ugly' side of romantic comedies

When I went to the movies this weekend to see "The Ugly Truth," it was mostly to get some fodder for the weekly movie column I write for the Weekend Pinnacle (www.pinnaclenews.com/life.)

I figured it was going to be predictable, but maybe it would have a few laughs. As it turns out, the laughs were few and far between. The humor in the movie can only be described as raunchy and it was one that brought to life one more strong female character (Katherine Heigl as Abby) who turns into a dithering idiot when a cute guy walks in the room.

The whole time I was watching the movie, I felt like the Mike Chadway character (played by Gerard Butler) was based on a Web site that promotes the Ladder Theory. Google it for more, but the premise of the theory is basically that women are cruel and men will sleep with any woman. It's pretty crude, but so much like the words that came out of Mike's mouth in the movie I thought there must be a connection.

For more on "The Ugly Truth" and "Taken," visit www.pinnaclenews.com/life and click on "Movie Lines" Friday after noon.