Ah ha! I get it. That's hilarious. Yeah, I get it now. And "one of the main reasons why we bash them so much." Love it.

Hmm... I just can't resist weighing in on this one. I know my mother, Seasoned Refinement, has mentioned that I have worked in and around the entertainment industry in NYC since 2001 (modeling and acting). My opinions are based on what I've learned. Having said that, when I take a look at the reality show line up...including the infamous Jill....my answer would have to be a big, resounding NO. NO! NO!.. and NO! I don't think there are any diamonds in the rough at the Starting Over house.

I think most of the guests, past and current, want to get more than just life skills from being on the show. Even though SOME of the people on the show have said that it is "delusional" to think that anyone comes on the show hoping to become famous, OTHERS have said the opposite thing.

This is from an article about Towanda Braxton-Carter (season 2): "......cast member Towanda Braxton revealed on the NBC syndicated show 'Starting Over' that she was indeed the younger sister of famous recording artist Toni Braxton. Being a singer herself, Towanda has spent the last eight years living in her sister's shadow, so she felt the television show would finally help her to establish her own identity......" (This is quoted from www.SGVTribune.com). Starting Over focused on Towanda's singing career, and all of the viewers knew that she wanted to record her own music. After Starting Over, I believe she did record a solo effort called, "Survivor", but I cannot find it in the Billboard 100 list. Towanda has access to A-list contacts, studio people, musicians, agents, producers, and engineers. Besides that, she has a good body, a good face, experience, a name, and TALENT. She still isn't there yet. Her sister is a multi-platinum R&B recording artist, and Towanda is still trying to achieve that level of fame. What chance does Allison have? Tess? Christy? Lisa? Sommer? Maureen? The country singer from season 1?

Now Towanda's recent legal problems of theft and forgery don't help. Mug shots are never a good thing (just ask Jill!). Even the people who have already become stars are unhappy about mug shots popping up, and these are the people who have professional publicists and lawyers spinning their indiscretions and mistakes.

Back on topic - will any of the CURRENT houseguests ever become bona fide, A-List celebrities? (Obviously we are excluding the Life Coaches, I hope, hehe). Nothing is impossible, but it's really improbable. Look at "Real World", one of MTV's longest running shows (another Bunim-Murray production). It began airing in 1992, and it was one of the *very* first reality TV shows to gain national attention - a LOT of it. It was, and is, reportedly one of MTV's biggest money-making shows.

Real World has completed 16 seasons of production. Each season has had seven cast members. That's 112 guests that have been on the show altogether... NONE of whom are real celebrities.
The guests stay in the house/on the show for the ENTIRE season... they do NOT leave the show (or graduate) after 8-10 weeks. After the season ends though, you will probably see them again! Check shows like "The Real World Vs. Road Rules", "The Guantlet", the various MTV specials that reunite the casts, "The Best of....." shows, and reruns, reruns, reruns. I was a HUGE fan of the show in High School & in college..... and, honestly, I can't remember even ONE SOLITARY NAME out of all those seasons.

Survivor, another reality show, is now advertising a show about the contestants called something like, "Survivor, Personal Lives", But once again, it is still under the banner of reality television.

To be honest, while we are flooded with Reality TV shows right now, they aren't really respected by the "artists" in the industry. It cuts into their careers - there is only so much time available on the TV schedule. There are no actors, no actresses, no agents/agencies, no actors' union, no extras, no acting coaches, etc. The principals don't need hair, make-up, and wardrobe (excluding Iyanla, Rhonda, & Dr. S), and the extensive writing teams needed on sit-coms and dramas are replaced by several storyline writers. I guess what I'm trying to say is that not too many power brokers are looking at Reality TV contestants as an untapped talent pool.

Elizabeth from Survivor (a real rarity) was on a show that is completely different from Starting Over. As time goes by on Starting Over, we see the women's worse sides (hang-ups, phobias, and neurotic behavior). On Survivor, the contestants are seen as more popular and skilled by the week. It takes real skill to "survive".

Omarosa (I don't know how to spell her name) may have the most name recognition of all the other reality "stars". And didn't Omarosa have to become a sharp pebble in your shoe to get noticed? I saw her on Dr. Phil (he was telling her that she didn't have the future that she thought she did), and I saw a clip from "The Apprentice" that blew my mind. In the scene, another cast member said, "Omarosa, that's like calling the kettle black" - to which Omarosa replied, "See - there you go with your racists terms...". It wasn't a joke, it was inflammatory. Yeah, Omarosa was (and probably is) ready, willing, and able to CREATE racial conflict, a scourge on society, where there is none JUST TO GET THE CAMERA FOCUSED ON HER! She makes the mistake of thinking that people really tuned in to see her because she was so magnetic. They tuned in to see her say stupid things to a prideful billionnaire - Donald Trump. At best, she became an interloper, wandering around where she really didn't belong. When did she become even a semi-celebrity? If she's mentioned on television now, it is usually as the butt of a joke in a monolouge (think of Leno or Conan packing 40 jokes, and crushing 30 people, into a 3 or 4 minute ice-breaker).

Allison? Well... she may do a few speaking engagements, but what expertise does she really have that's going to make people want to advertise her as a keynote speaker or hire her to coordinate a fund raiser? My mother's aunt had a double-mastectomy, but that doesn't make her a public speaker. What happens if and when Starting Over goes off the air? People will forget it quickly. Since there are no guarantees, Allison better get something else of substance on that resume.

Jill? She was in a better place in radio back in Miami - she had a pretty good thing and she lost it. Her current position? Hosting a 3 hr. per week jazz show (fill-in) on public radio pretty much puts her back at square one. On her way to the middle or top, she may run into insiders who remember her from her prior career, and they may not like or trust her because of her previous problems. Second, third, and fourth chances are great - if everyone is with the program. If broadcasting is like the acting or modeling business at all, people have loooong, looooooooooooong memories. I don't want her to fail, I just don't have much faith where she is concerned.

The other reality shows that feature "talent" are different from SO. "American Idol" is NOT a Reality Show like Starting Over, Survivor, etc. American Idol is a contest - a modified Star Search. You see the contestants for a handful of minutes, once a week, after a week of vocal coaching and choreography, Oh, and don't forget that these kids have spent 3 hours in the make-up chair getting their make-up, hair styling (bleaching, wigs, extensions, and weaves). Then there's wardrobe...Juicy Couture for the R&B acts and vintage Versace for the heartbreaking solos. Then they sing a song cut down to a third of it's size, and then they answer one or two questions while frantically mugging for the camera and holding up the right amount of fingers to correspond with their place in the voting process. (Only $.99 to text! hehe j/k). And once again, they have talent, huge undiscovered talent.

I think America is beginning to miss the glamour, fantasy, and escapism that well trained actors and plot lines offer.... I think America (a feeling that is so strongly reflected on this board) is seeing through the so-called 'reality' of 'reality' TV.

So, in a word - No. I don't see Allison, Jill or Kristy becoming household names. I don't see Jill having a syndicated talk show, Allison sitting on any blue ribbon panels, or Kristy booking a Prada campaign. Do any of them have a reputable agent or publicist (not someone the Starting Over people set them up with) willing to stand behind them based on their promise of long-term appeal? I guess it's pretty obvious that I don't think so.

LAST EDITED ON 03-11-06 AT 09:44 PM (EST)

If broadcasting is like the acting or modeling business at all, people have loooong, looooooooooooong memories.

Ayup. It's a small community.

Omarosa (I don't know how to spell her name)

We spell it "She Who Must Not Be Hired."

Better than I deserve.