By the time the Bravo series "Real Housewives of New Jersey" drew to a close during the spring of 2010, it had generated enough buzz, controversy, and water-cooler discussion to make devoted viewers forget the producers' original intention: They had intended this installment of "The Real Housewives" franchise to satirize the characters and lifestyle represented in cable hit "The Sopranos." As "The Real Housewives of Orange County" were supposed to mimic ABC's "Desperate Housewives," so the Jersey Girls were groomed to look, sound, and spend like real-life equivalents of Carmella Soprano. The New York Times summed-up, "[They are] loud, nasal, nouveau-riche wives who raise spoiled children and spend their husbands' money in vast marble and onyx starter palaces in Franklin Lakes, N.J. They boast about everything, including how soon they qualified for the black American Express card. As Danielle Staub puts it, "˜I actually got mine before Madonna did'." They even had the pedigree to support the role: Albert Manzo, husband of mater familia Caroline Manzo, is the son of Albert "Tiny" Manzo, whose body"”all 350 pounds of it"”was discovered in the trunk of his Lincoln Continental; in 1983, police described the body as "perforated" with machine gun bullets.

Las Vegas, Nevada is a fun place and reality television fits in there perfectly! With locations such as Las Vegas, Hollywood, Brooklyn (also New York City itself), and Washington, DC the show is always topical and fresh. The locations are sometimes repeated when they've been successful, such as Vegas and New York (although the trip back to the Big Apple was dedicated to Brooklyn specifically). A group of individuals participate in the challenges before them and all reside as housemates in comfortable accommodations where they need to learn to get along with one another and must participate in each task or job as they are assigned or they must leave the program. The tasks generally consist of a single job that runs the length of the season. Most recently they worked with a charity named the Athlete Recovery Fund in which they were assigned weekly jobs such as events involving motorbikes and a guest, Carey Hart, who is a renowned biker. Other seasons have dealt with substance abuse, prejudice, and irresponsible immature behavior (remember, they are all housed together!).

Confession time on MTV - I used to be fat! Cards and letters come pouring in begging to be on the popular MTV television reality show called "I used to be fat". Young people from all over need help with their weight problems and some are really compelling to hear. Most are well over two hundred pounds and have been overweight for many years. Being heavy is not only psychologically difficult it is also extremely bad for anyone's health, especially young children and teenagers. They need support from friends and family but also a clear cut plan to lose weight that will actually work for them. Diabetes and heart problems are among the most common illnesses to befall those who weigh more than average but in the case of teenagers there are issues of self esteem and the need to socialize with their peers involved, making it a vital issue faced by many younger people. While reality TV programs like "I used to be fat" on MTV may not solve all their problems, teenagers can gain self confidence by seeing it work for others if they follow advice, may work for them as well.

The term foodie has become popular because there are so darn many cooking programs on television now days! A foodie is basically an amateur gourmet. A foodie is someone who loves food, both eating it and making it. Shows like Top Chef are designed to show how difficult it can be to get that special dish served up, starting with the basics like proper measuring, cooking temperature, timing, and the ability to know what tastes good. Then things get competitive! The idea behind Top Chef is to narrow down the competition by process of elimination until there is one winner. Top prize has been upped from $100,000 to $200,000 plus celebrity appearances and coveted editorials in gourmet type magazines. Along the way some fail because they don't belong in the heat of a professional kitchen and some just can't quite keep up with the rest. Judges have included some big famous names of the culinary world like Emeril Lagasse and Anthony Bourdain who bring their own style of leadership into the mix and make demands that increase the challenges each week. The very competitive world of cooking at the professional level is rewarding and tests the contestants to the limits of their capabilities, and the loser packs up his or her knives and goes home.

The competition is high and so are the stakes for the U.S. version of The X Factor. Judges have been selected from the cream of the celebrity music crop and with a recording contract worth $5 million the winners in each category will need to be at their best and give the performances of their lives. Simon Cowell is creator of The X Factor and will oversee the talent as well as the judges, assuring the show goes on in an audience pleasing manner. Each of the judges will handle one of the four assigned categories that include boy singers (ages 12-25), girl singers (ages 12-25), group singers, and those who are over the age of twenty five. Unlike other programs of this sort there is no upper age limit for the competitors. Judges will mentor those in their category and offer help and advise as the competition progresses. Getting that advise from the likes of Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, L.A. Reid, or Simon Cowell himself will be invaluable to the aspiring singers as they have helped fashion many super stars in the music industry. There are to be five competitive stages involved: Auditions by the producers, auditions by the judges, a Bootcamp, visitation to the judges houses, and finally the live shows where it all comes down to a single winner or group. As the five stages of the competition progress, it promises to get more exciting each week

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is a satirical late-night talk show hosted by British comedian John Oliver. The show premiered on HBO in 2014 and has since gained a reputation for its humorous yet informative take on current events, politics, and social issues. Each episode typically focuses on a single topic and includes a mixture of monologues, interviews, and comedic sketches.