"I'm seeing people in a whole new way," says Phillip Swann, president of OnHD.TV, an online magazine. "If somebody's aging or if they've got any old acne damage, it just jumps out at you. They've got no chance." The editors of OnHD.TV examined several dozen stars and compiled a list of heartthrobs who (they claim) wither under the unblinking gaze of high-def, including Cameron Diaz ("littered with unfortunate pockmarks"), Jewel (whose makeup "looks like it was done by Ringling Brothers") and Bill Maher ("scary"). I've seen the effect myself: when I recently watched a high-def close-up of Bradley Whitford -- a handsome star of The West Wing -- a normally insignificant mark on his forehead suddenly stood out like a third eye. I couldn't stop staring.

The high-def format's merciless gaze isn't solely a matter of screen resolution. Color is a factor, too. For years, government standards have limited the range of colors available to broadcasters, based on the technological limits of the time. With high-def, more colors can be used, including some formerly forbidden shades of red -- which means that blotches, zits and tiny nose-veins can be presented with the brutal clarity of a surgery textbook.

"It's almost too realistic, too digital and computery," complains Alexis Vogel, a veteran celebrity makeup artist who recently worked on Stacked, a high-def show starring Pamela Anderson. "We'd all like to go back to the old days." Makeup artists are now engaged in an arms race with the new medium. But they face a paradox: while makeup is more necessary than ever, its artifice is more obvious. You can't slather on powder when every grain looks like a boulder on your client's face. And interestingly, many cosmeticians predict that high-def could actually reduce the amount of plastic surgery in Hollywood, because the tiny seams look Frankensteinian at such high resolution. High-def is, in essence, a medium peculiarly unsuited to dissembling. "It's harder to change people from their natural form," Vogel adds.

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Dancing With the Stars is a Hit

ABC executives were shocked to find out that their new reality TV show, Dancing With the Stars was a ratings hit in its Wednesday night slot. Its debut was one of the most watched programs of last week, and this week's ratings simply blew away the competition. The reality series, which pairs celebrities and professional dancers in a competition, averaged 14.9 million viewers and a 4.7 rating/14 share in the demographic, according to preliminary ratings results from Nielsen Media Research. That's up from the 13.5 million viewers who watched the debut last week. Viewers just loved watching Evander Holyfeld and Rachel Hunter trip the light fantastic.

The ballroom dancing competition series also grew its ratings strongly from its first half-hour to its second (adding over a million viewers in the process) -- indicating that unlike Britney Spears' new UPN reality show, viewers liked what they saw and are likely to tune back in again.

Dancing with the Stars' surprisingly strong debut ranked it as the most watched summer series premiere since CBS's smash-hit Survivor premiered back on May 31, 2000 and as the best Adults 18-49 summer debut since the NBC's Last Comics Standing premiered on June 10, 2003.

In an unusual bit of network candor, even the ABC executive responsible for the series had acknowledged odd nature of the series. "I am fully aware that this may sound like the craziest show anyone has ever heard of," ABC alternative programming executive vice president Andrea Wong had stated in the network's April announcement of the six-episode series.

"But in a world where it's easier for reality series to imitate than innovate, I just loved how fresh this format is. And the show's global success just shows how audiences around the world find it to be surprising, and undeniably fun," she added.

We think it's the whole Shall We Dance Effect. Jennifer Lopez has made ballroom dancing hot.

Posted on June 9, 2005
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Britney and Kevin: Chaotic Expected to Overload Tivos Everywhere Tonight

At last it's here: the debut of Chaotic, the behind the scenes look at the elegant style and timeless love of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. The show, which is expected to overload Tivos everywhere, airs tonight on UPN at 9:00 pm Eastern time. Fox News (via The New York Post) has the scoop:

A raw, personal journey. That's how a very high level production insider describes Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, the new six-part UPN reality series based on home videos shot by Britney Spears and her new husband, singer/dancer Kevin Federline. Says the insider, "She lives in a world where everybody thinks they know her, but they don't."

The most surprising scene so far? "She shoots [all the tape] in the beginning," says the insider. "But as their relationship evolves and Kevin gains a foothold, he starts to shoot. There is a point where she is in denial about where the relationship is heading. She's thinking that the whole thing is a set-up -- that it was just a friend trying to put them together in L.A. before they left (to go on tour). But the reality is she's just trying to put up another wall. And he stops her. He says to her: 'You want to believe this is a setup because you don't want me breaking down these walls. You're really scared to love me. And that makes me really scared to love you.'

Oh please, you know you'll at least tune in once.

Posted on May 17, 2005
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