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Reality Check: 'Dance Moms' spoons out some more hysteria
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Remember the absurdity of "This Is Spinal Tap," when the band tried to pretend the Stonehenge props weren't teeny tiny? That was kind of the spirit this week on "Dance Moms" (Lifetime, Tuesdays), when the girls found they couldn't carry around the humongous silver spoon in their group number.
Someone found a largish cooking spoon instead, and they made do. But they took second place at a big competition and, no surprise, dance instructor Abby Lee Miller was really angry. The Moms were angry as well, with accusations of favoritism flying about and irritation that Ms. Miller insisted on showcasing one of the girls, which meant costumes were swapped, to ill effect.
A few weeks of this is growing tiresome; please bring back the Candy Apples and/or Jill, bearing outlandish gifts.
• Zanesville, Ohio, native Nathan McDonald is a cast member for the upcoming season of "Project Runway" (Lifetime, Thursdays), which begins July 19. Although technically not a Pittsburgher, eh, he's close enough.
He'll make it work.
• On "Design Star" (HGTV, Tuesdays), the designers work in teams to transform suburban living rooms and patios. Pittsburgh's Stanley Boyd Palmieri helps design and execute a successful makeover of a former concrete jungle, but the judges advise him against doing all the carpentry himself in future challenges. (Stanley's skill set involves construction).
He's on to the next round.
• Chartiers Valley grad Allison DeBona is a perfectionist, but as opening night approaches, she's portrayed as borderline neurotic on "Breaking Pointe" (the CW, Thursdays).
Seems the music conductor is all over the map with the tempo, and as the Ballet West company scrambles to adjust, we learn it is ill-advised to complain about it. Ms. DeBona complains.
There's also some soul-searching in some nice quiet moments in a park as Allison and Rex discuss, once again, why they are Just Friends.
Next week, we see dancers fall down and get wrapped up in big rolls of silk on stage.
• HGTV's "House Hunters" recently was busted when a participant from 2006, Bobi Jensen, admitted that the popular show taped her hunt after the house was pretty much purchased.
She also said that the other houses involved in the "hunt" were just those of some friends that weren't even on the market.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, a show publicist noted, "To maximize production time, we seek out families who are pretty far along in the process. Often everything moves much more quickly than we can anticipate, so we go back and revisit some of the homes that the family has already seen, and we capture their authentic reactions."
First Published June 23, 2012 12:00 am
