10 Dangerously Real Moments in Reality TV

 
Tyra Banks, Steve-O, and Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi


Reality TV shows are often more "show" than "reality," but there are still some programs that manage to offer up real, completely unscripted moments that leave audiences stunned. Whether it's a fainting contestant, a life or death battle with mother nature, or a chainsaw accident, sometimes reality television can get just a little bit too real. Read on to learn about 10 of the most dangerously real moments in reality TV.

1. Mythbusters: Cannonballs Away

Damage from the 'Mythbusters' cannonball ('Contra Costa Times'). MythBusters likes to push the envelope on wild science experiments, but in 2011 one experiment went dreadfully wrong. A rogue cannonball plowed through a family home in Northern California, hitting the roof of another house and eventually crashing through the window of a minivan. Luckily, no one was hurt. “We had some tremendous bad luck and some tremendous good luck,” a Mythbusters safety expert commented after the incident.


2. Deadliest Catch: Fishing for Injuries

'Deadliest Catch' (From Discovery Channel) Deadliest Catch, the Discovery Channel series about the men who work in the dangerous field of commercial crab fishing, has featured numerous work-related injuries over its nine seasons. Crew members have been swept overboard, hit on the head by chunks of falling ice, and injured by various pieces of fishing equipment. During the first season, the Big Valley vessel sank in the Bering Sea, killing five members of the six man crew. Talk about truly real reality TV...

3. Jersey Shore: The Punch Heard Round the World

'Jersey Shore' (From MTV) During the fourth episode of MTV's Jersey Shore, pint-sized guidette Snooki got punched in the face by a guy at a bar. The clip immediately went viral and skyrocketed Jersey Shore (and Snooki herself) into superstardom. Under pressure from domestic violence groups, MTV eventually cut the punch from the Dec. 17, 2009, broadcast and aired a PSA about violence against women after the episode.


4. Survivor: Fire Fainter

'Survivor' (From CBS) Survivor takes place in a remote location and features contestants hunting for food and engaging in various physical challenges, so it makes sense that it has racked up a fair amount of injuries. Contestants have suffered from infections, leg injuries, dislocated shoulders, and much more. During Survivor: The Australian Outback, contestant Michael Skupin became the first contestant ever to be evacuated after he fainted into a fire and suffered severe burns to his hands.

5. America's Next Top Model: Model Down

'America's Next Top Model' (From CW) America's Next Top Model hasn't produced too many real models, but it has created some intense reality TV moments. ANTM Cycle 4 contestant Rebecca Epley fainted during the judging panel thanks to a malfunction with her vagus nerve. The judges and the other model wannabes freaked out as Epley's body stiffly crashed onto the floor, and she was immediately rushed to the hospital, where she quickly recovered and rejoined the show the next day.

6. Fear Factor: Rat Retch

'Fear Factor' (From NBC) Fear Factor hasn't led to any specific contestant injuries (unless you count the intense shame they must feel after eating cockroaches and live worms), but it has resulted in a viewer injury. A man from Ohio sued NBC for $2.5 million in damages after an episode featuring a rat smoothie (YES, A RAT SMOOTHIE) caused him to become so ill that he ran into a wall and vomited. The suit was eventually dismissed.

7. Wipeout: Contestant Tragedy

'Wipeout' (From ABC) During filming for the ABC game show Wipeout, 33-year-old Tom Sparks began to complain of knee pain and shortness of breath so producers pulled him from the competition. He was transferred to Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where he died two weeks later of a stroke brought on by an existing medical condition. Wipeout conducts full physical screenings of all its contestants but Sparks' medical condition — a fairly rare disease called antiphospholipid antibody syndrome — was not detected by the show's doctors. ABC offered a statement of condolences after Sparks' passing. "We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family. This is a tragic loss and our thoughts are with them at this time."

8. Surviving Nugent: Clumsy Chainsaw

Do not give this man a chainsaw. (From VH1) Musician and all-around wackadoo Ted Nugent had a short-lived VH1 reality show called Surviving Nugent: The Ted Commandments, in which he took city dwellers like Tila Tequila to his ranch and taught them outdoors skills like how to skin a boar and build an outhouse. During one such lesson on the great outdoors he injured himself with a chainsaw, which resulted in 44 stitches and a leg brace.


9. Wetten Dass?: Stunt Gone Wrong

'Wetten Dass?' During a live broadcast of a popular German game show a contestant was severely injured during a stunt that went terribly wrong. Samuel Koch, 23, was attempting to jump over a moving car driven by his father on Wetten Dass?, but the spring stilts that he was wearing malfunctioned and he fell onto the floor of the stadium. Wetten Dass? immediately cut the live feed (for the first time in the show's 20-year history) as the motionless contestant was rushed to the hospital with multiple back injuries and fractures. Koch is a permanent paraplegic as a result of the on-air accident.

10. Killer Karaoke: Drenched Disaster

'Killer Karaoke' Jackass star Steve-O is used to injuring himself in the name of reality TV, but now he's being sued for an incident that occurred during the taping of his upcoming reality TV series, Killer Karaoke. The show features contestants singing karaoke while being distracted by various diversions and contestant Susanne Ohman was repeatedly doused with water while she tried to sing. This caused the floor of the studio to allegedly become dangerously wet, and when Ohman tried to leave of the stage she slipped and fell on the steps, fracturing her tibia, patella, knee, and other bones in her legs.
 

Elton John Takes Jabs at Madonna, Super Bowl Performances

Elton John isn't expecting much from this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show, but it's not all Madonna's fault. On Good Morning America Monday, John insisted, "I've never seen a decent [halftime performance]. Never ever."

Also, Madonna's releasing a teaser of her new music video on American Idol, Jennifer Lopez says she may never marry again, and Christina Aguilera had a fight with some fake tanner.

  •  When stars land major endorsement deals, they're paid not only to shoot commercials, but also do the press rounds to promote those commercials. That's why Elton John was on Good Morning America this week: He's raising the profile on his Pepsi commercial. He's also sniping about Madonna. When asked to give the Queen of Pop some advice before her halftime show at Super Bowl XLVI, he quipped, "Make sure you lip-sync good."

This is just the latest Madonna hate to come from Elton. In the past month, he:
1. Told Carson Daly that Madonna didn't have a "f**king chance" of winning Best Original Song at the Golden Globes.
2. Gave major sadface after Madonna won.
3. Failed to comment after his husband ranted on Facebook, "Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism."

There's more than professional jealousy at the heart of this feud: John likely feels the need to protect his close friend Lady Gaga, about whom Madonna has said some pretty nasty things as she attempts to drum up press for her film W.E. before its release.

Madonna has remained cool about Elton's comments, telling reporters backstage at the Golden Globes, "I hope he speaks to me for the next couple of years. He's been known to get mad at me so I don't know. He's brilliant and I adore him so he'll win another award. I don't feel bad."

  •  Madonna's marketing team is taking the blitzkrieg approach this month. If you're not already sick of hearing about the movie or the halftime show, check out this commercial for a preview of her new music video for "Give Me All Your Luvin," which will air during American Idol on Thursday. Because even teasers require commercials these days. Ugh.

 •  More evidence that Beyonce is the most important person in the universe: Her life and work is the basis for a course at Rutgers University. Doctoral student Kevin Allred is teaching a course called "Politicizing Beyonce," which explores the singer's career within a gender and race studies framework. I sincerely hope there's an entire section of the syllabus dedicated to probing lyrics like, "Is my body too bootylicious for you babe?"

  •  Christina Aguilera covered Etta James' "At Last" at the late singer's funeral over the weekend, but all that oversinging was overshadowed by the thin stream of ick that made its way down Aguilera's leg. Fake tanner: Not a good idea right before a big performance!

  •  It might seem like getting married is Jennifer Lopez's favorite thing to do given her track record, but she doesn't know if she'll ever walk down the aisle again. "It's not time to think about that yet," she demured on the Today show. "It's still fresh."

 •  Gwen and Gavin want you to ignore those breakup rumors:

Singer Gwen Stefani enjoyed spending time with her husband Gavin Rossdale and their boys at a local Trout Pond in Agoura Hills, California on January 29, 2012. Kingston and Zuma looked to be having a blast and even caught a few fish while hanging out with their parents.

 

•  Britney's weave is back to its old tricks:

Singer Britney Spears and fiance Jason Trawick take her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James to go bowling with her mother Lynne at Harley's Camarillo Bowling alley in Camarillo, CA on January 29, 2012.

•  LMFAO doesn't care much for subtlety.


DJ Redfoo (Stefan Kendal Gordy) and DJ SkyBlu (Skyler Husten Gordy) of LMFAO are in high spirits as they prepare to depart from Nice Airport.

Who was best dressed at the 2012 SAG Awards?

 

Viola Davis

 

 

Ariel Winter

Ferris Bueller Rides Again in New Super Bowl Ad

To mark the release of the new CR-V, Honda has hired Matthew Broderick to reprise his role as Ferris Bueller. The result is amusing, even if it's a little strange to see Ferris doing product placement:

Who Should Win Best Actress at the Oscars?

The date has been set. The nominations have been announced. And in less than a month, the biggest stars in Hollywood will fill Kodak Theater for the 2012 Academy Awards. Question is: Who deserves to be named Best Actress?

  She's already close with Jay-Z and Beyonce, so we guess it makes sense that the majority of you think Gwyneth Paltrow should become Blue Ivy's godmother. (Bauer Griffin) But first, last week's poll: Though we were pulling for Cher, the majority of you believe Gwyneth Paltrow should become Blue Ivy's godmother. With 36 percent of the vote, the seaweed-loving star beat out the likes of Tyra Banks, Michelle Obama, and Janice Dickinson.

Paltrow may have won your vote. But despite the foaming-at-the-mouth, dying possum impersonation she gave us in Contagion, the actress couldn't score an Oscar nod this year. This left the door open for Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Michelle Williams, and Rooney Mara.

And while 17-time nominee Streep may look like an early favorite, we still have to ask:

Who should win Best Actress at the 2012 Oscars?

• 
  Meryl Streep in 'The Iron Lady'
• 
  Michelle Williams in 'My Week With Marilyn'
• 
  Rooney Mara in 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'
• 
  Viola Davis in 'The Help'
• 
  Glenn Close in 'Albert Nobbs'

Entire 'Arrested Development' Cast Confirmed for Revival

 

Great news for Arrested Development fans: the entire Bluth clan will be back for the new season on Netflix! According to writer Dean Lorey, the entire oiginal cast — including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Michael Cera, Portia De Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Jessica Walter — have all signed on to appear in the new season, which is set to hit Netflix sometime in 2013.

Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz first announced that the series would be returning at the New Yorker Festival last October. Arrested Development originally aired for three seasons on Fox from 2003-2006, gathering critical adoration and a devoted fan following. Movie rumors started almost as soon as the series was cancelled, but fans have had to wait five long years for Arrested Development's official return. The current plan involves 10 brand new episodes for Netflix, followed by a movie. No word on whether Judy Greer will join the rest of the cast and reprise her Kitty Sanchez role, but we're crossing our fingers and toes!

• Fans of Downton Abbey will be pleased to learn that Maggie Smith's sharp-tongued Countess will soon have a worthy rival: Oscar winner Shirley McClaine has signed on to play the mother of Elizabeth McGovern's Lady Grantham character. According to the Daily Beast, McClaine will appear in the third season of the Emmy winning series, which begins production next month (Downton's 2nd season currently airs in the US on Sunday nights on PBS). We can't wait to see what  Downton Abbeyoncé does with the indomitable McClaine.

• HBO has released a new Game of Thrones season 2 trailer and even though it's only about a minute long, it definitely has us longing for the show's April 1st premiere. "Power resides where men believe it resides. It's a trick — a shadow on the wall..." the Master of Whispers Lord Varys says in a voice over. "And a very small man can cast a very large shadow," he finishes as Tyrion (Emmy winner Peter Dinklage) smiles slyly. Winter can't come soon enough...

• Turns out Fear Factor does have gross-out limits. In light of public outcry over an episode that was to feature contestants drinking donkey semen (yes, DONKEY SEMEN), Fear Factor has pulled the offending episode and will air a repeat in its place. So if you were really looking forward to watching the grossest thing ever on TV tonight, sorry.

• DVR Watch: Gossip Girl celebrates its 100th episode with Blair's wedding CW, 8pm), Hart of Dixie has Lemon campaigning to become to Belle's new Memory Matron (CW, 9pm), Alcatraz brings back a notorious bank robber (Fox, 9pm), Being Human has vampire Aidan discovering a secret from his girlfriend's past (Syfy, 9pm), The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunite for what is sure to be a staid intellectual affair (Bravo, 9pm), and RuPaul's Drag Race is baaaaaack! (Logo, 9pm).

What Was the Best Musical Act in Super Bowl History?

  

Sting

Nelly

When Wives Outearn Husbands in Hollywood

 

 

With more women in the workforce than ever before, it's becoming more common for wives to earn more than their husbands. See which stars could be considered alpha females. 

 

Full List:

 

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown

Amy Adams and Darren Le Gallo

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman

Madonna and Guy Ritchie

Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick

Amy Poehler and Will Arnett

Heidi Klum and Seal

Hot or Not: Rose Byrne's Elie Saab Couture Jumpsuit

It doesn't really matter how finely tailored it is, or how intricate its embellishments: The jumpsuit is often a fast-track to worst dressed lists, particularly when worn to high-profile industry events like the Screen Actors' Guild Awards. Rose Byrne is a brave, brave lady.

The stunning Australian actress chose to completely commit to her look at Sunday evening's awards show, pairing her elaborate ice white Elie Saab jumpsuit from the Fall 2009 couture collection with a shiny, shapely bob and gold jewels. As Michael K of Dlisted noted, "she came out looking like Elvira Hancock from Scarface after getting twisted up in a roll of bubble wrap."

But even bubble wrap has its place in fashion. Byrne's jumpsuit is clearly exquisitely crafted, and, with its structured shoulders and plunging neckline, flattering to Byrne's petite figure. Should Byrne go bold more often, or should she leave looks like these to those with more attitude?

Celebrity Hipsters

 

 

Full List:

 

Johnny Depp

Miley Cyrus

Michael Cera

Adrien Brody

Bret McKenzie

Mischa Barton

Jared Leto

Ryan Gosling

Zoeey Deschanel

James Franco

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Russell Brand

Gwen Stefani

Kristen Stewart