The Game has New Players

The new season of The Game on BET network premiered Tuesday, March 26. I was very unsure of how the writers and producers were going to start off the new season because being a huge fan of the TV show from their very start, I feel as though the show started slacking in its quality. I watched all 5 seasons, but I wasn't a faithful fan of the 5th season because I feel like the stories went downhill. However, the first episode of the new season was pretty good. Tia Mowry who plays Melanie Barnett and Pooch Hall who plays Derwin Davis are no longer on the show. This first episode was their last show.

Actress Lauren London and Actor Jay Ellis seem to be the new Melanie and Derwin. They did a good job in this first episode but my fan admiration belongs to Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall. I adored them as a couple in this TV series that at one point I wanted them to be a real couple (silly me!). Hopefully Lauren London and Jay Ellis can be just as great and convincing like Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall so they can have their own legacy on the show.

Dance Moms

Dance Moms is a riveting reality TV series on the lifetime network that is based in Pittsburgh, PA at the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC). The reality TV series is about 7 young and extremely talented female dancers who are apart of ALDC and are constantly physically and emotionally worked to their abilities to win dance competitions and make their hard to please dance instructor (Abby Lee) satisfied enough for her to not scold them.  The TV show also displays the deviant yet supportive actions and thoughts of the dancers' moms and their relationship with Abby Lee. This is one of my favorite reality TV shows right now.

The young dancers who the show is focused on are between the ages of 7 and 14. These young girls undergo extreme stress at such tender ages. They are remarkable dancers who receive more discipline and correction than being honored or celebrated. The most Abby Lee says is good job but she always notices what they do wrong. There is a lot of favoritism between Abby Lee and specific dancers which negatively affects the rest of the team and bond between the mothers. The mothers never agree with Abby Lee's advice or choices of how she instructs her dance classes but they tolerate it for the sake of their daughters.

The show has drama, excitement, beautiful dancing, comedy, and lessons that can be learned. I absolutely adore this show. However, the one problem I have with it is the fact that these young children are constantly being overly pressured to be perfect. Other viewers may see it differently but from what I see the mothers and Abby Lee put loads of stress on these young girls. The oldest girl is a teenager and wants to explore other activities in her social life, but she decides not to because she wants to make her dance instructor proud. Three of the dancers are working as best as they can just to be compared to the better dancers of the group and be broken down again and again. One of the dancers who is probably considered the best dancer in the group doesn't like to loose and is very spoiled from Abby Lee.

 I have a strong feeling that these girls are going to grow up with serious psychological and emotional issues which are going to affect their everyday lives. The fact that this is being broadcasted on national TV may also add to their stress because the whole country is watching them being psychologically and emotionally torn down. I hope they grow up to be confident, self-assured, and successful artists even if they choose not to dance after the show.

Rip the Runway

Every year BET network has their Rip the Runway Fashion show and they broadcast it for their viewers to watch. This year Kelly Rowland and Boris Kodjoe hosted the event and they did a good job. Kelly looked fabulous as always and Boris looked very handsome as dapper as he normally does. All of the designers had amazing and futuristic looks. As always there are musical artists that perform at these fashion shows. This year, however, it seems as though the musical acts took over the show and made it into a concert. Don't get me wrong, I liked the music but I was more interested in the fashion. I was surprised to find out the at Boris Kodjoe has his own clothing line for men and women but I wasn't surprised that it primarily consists of dressy suits and dressy casual sweaters, pants, blazers, and shirts for the stylish man. Besides that the show was pretty good.

Pictures of Rip the Runway

Spreading the Christian Word on Reality TV

When I first saw the trailer for the new Lifetime network reality TV show "Preachers' Daughters" I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. At first, I didn't like how the network was making something so serious into "reality" TV. The fact that the show focuses on religion and preaching I felt like this topic should have been off limits to exploit on TV. However, I watched an episode for the first time Tuesday night (March 12, 2013) and I actually enjoyed it. From what I've seen there aren't any exploitation or manipulation of Christianity and religion. It is about several Christian preachers who are trying to raise the daughter's with strong Christian moral values but the teenage lives and the curiosity of the their daughters are getting in the way of their fatherly and Christian-like teachings.

Just in the one show I saw there were so many problems the preacher fathers were having with their daughters. I was actually a little surprised that a couple of the daughters are wilder than I thought they would be. I think this show will be a good show for a wide age range of people because it focuses on many challenges teenagers and parents undergo in life. By watching the show many people can learn the same values and life lessons that the daughters are learning within their own lives.

Below is the trailer of the Lifetime channel reality TV series

I Miss the 90s TV shows

So we all know that as time goes on, everything in life changes and advances. Technology, advertisements for any product, new products are invented to work faster and easier, new trends in fashion, new theories, everything. Television ,nowadays, has changed drastically. I'm not sure if I would say advanced but certainly changed. Television sets have advanced though i.e. flat screens, HDTV, Blue Ray, etc. Some things I really miss about television are the good, morally upholding, entertaining, everyday drama you can learn from, 90s television shows. Some of my favorite shows were Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sister Sister, Boy Meets World, Lizzie McGuire, Clueless, Keenan and Kell, Full House, The Nanny, RugRats, The Cosby Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Living Single and so many more. My list of favorite 90s shows can go on for days. The Disney and Nickelodeon shows that have been created in the past couple of generations up until now don't compare to the shows I've mentioned and others. A lot of the new PG 13 television series and reality TV shows are just too much to handle and they don't give me that feeling I use to get when watching those 90s shows. That could just be me grown up and matured now (shrugs shoulders). I just feel and think television shows in the 90s were much more satisfying and one could actually learn from them. That's how I feel, you could feel completely different.

Here are some pictures of my favorite 90S TV shows.

Another Addition to the Reality TV madness on VH1

If you don't watch VH1 I am positive in saying that it has turned into reality TV madness. Don't get me wrong I really like the reality shows they broadcast, BUT I can only handle them for a little while. Most of the reality TV shows on VH1 consist of an African American cast. For example, Love and Hip-Hop consist of an African American and Hispanic/Latino cast and most of the time the cast members are acting crazy, manipulative, ignorant, and violent. Sometimes watching that is entertaining, but a lot of the times it's embarrassing because I am an African American young woman. I honestly disapprove of the misrepresentation ethnic women on reality TV.

The next reality show that will be premiering on VH1 is a show called  The Gossip Game. The Gossip Game is a reality TV show that explores the lives of radio personalities and entertainment journalists within the entertainment industry of how they work and how they interact with each other. When I saw the introduction trailer of the new show, I automatically thought of another Love and Hip-Hop. It seemed like there was drama already and the show hasn't even premiered yet. It premiers April 1, 2013 at 9 pm.

Below is a picture of the cast.