Erik von Markovik, who calls himself "Mystery," is a decent-looking 6'5" beanstalk who has a Canadian accent, dresses like a peacock (a furry top hat and goggles), and calls himself the world's best Pickup Artist (of women, that is).He's also the star of a new reality show on vh1 called "The Pickup Artist." In it, Erik (I refuse to call him by his nom de guerre) will teach eight hapless guys how to attract beautiful women. On the surface the show looks like slightly more instructive riff on the nerdy guy/beautiful girl pairing used for humor in countless sitcoms and

It is with great shame that I admit this to you: I have become a "Big Brother" addict. For years I've shunned CBS' summer reality staple. I was burned by Season 1 --- so boring, so pointless, so predictable (of course the guy with one leg won!). Since then I've caught bits and pieces, underwhelmed by nearly every "houseguest," all of whom seem to be the least pretty, least talented, least interesting contestants in all of reality TV.But damn if this season hasn't gotten me. It's not the twists --- the "secret enemies" (three houseguests were shocked to find out

I thought, for a moment, that I saw a glimmer of hope for Bonnie in the Hell's Kitchen season finale on Monday night.  Judging by the way the season had been going though, she really didn't have much of a chance and, as expected, Rock won despite his comparatively poor performance in the final service.To jump right into overanalyzing the final decision, I'd start by pointing out why Bonnie was doomed: she had basically made her way into the final by squeaking past eliminations, so much so that by the final episode Rock had an excess of momentum. I'd also like

Well THAT was unexpected.Last night's finale of "So You Think You Can Dance" was predictable in format --- oodles and oodles of filler to fill the two-hour running time --- but unpredictable in results, as the dancers I felt most confident would be in the Final 2 were the first to go and the dancer I thought least likely to win the competition took the crown.That's right, Sabra won. I'm happy, because a girl has finally won the show. I'm perplexed because...really? Sabra? I've never really gotten the whole Sabra thing. She's obviously a very talented dancer, and the fact

Last night's "Big Brother" was rough to watch. Not just because the show is so unrelentingly shlocky, but also because it featured the complete mental breakdown of one of the houseguests, and then what is unquestionably physical assault upon her person by another. Things got ugly.The episode picked up with Jen and Jameka on the block for eviction, since Awful Daniele used her veto power to remove Amber and backdoor Jen. (If this terminology doesn't make sense, that means you haven't been watching the show. And that also means you're a better person than I am.) Jen initially played it