Buddy Games

Strangers living together in a camera-filled house attempt to win $500,000 by being the last one standing after three months of confinement in the 18th installment of the reality series.

In this youth-oriented variation on the familiar Survivor reality-competition format, a group of forty youngsters, ages eight through fifteen, took charge of the Bonanza Creek Ranch (aka Bonanza City), a deserted piece of property in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Cut off from their parents, and with no modern comforts or conveniences at their disposal, the youngsters were given the task to create their own self-governing community from the ground up, with all responsibilities and chores equitably distributed among them; the kids were also obliged to come up with their own recreational activities and entertainment. At the end of forty days, the youthful citizens of Kid Nation were expected to "build a new world" and put their ghost town back on its feet as a thriving tourist attraction. When CBS first announced plans for Kid Nation, the network came under fire for its "exploitation" of children by having the individual youngsters conform to certain stereotypical behavior (the smart one, the angry one, the pugnacious one etc.) and for its "encouragement" of child labor. However, the kids didn't seem to mind being under the spotlight at all, and in fact thrived under the pressures brought to bear. Nor, contrary to expecations, were certain youngsters "traumatized" by being voted off the show at the end of each episode, a la Survivor; true, each installment ended with a "town meeting" in which there was an elimination process, but those who departed the show chose to leave on their own accord (despite foreknowledge that those who "toughed it out" earned special privileges and perks along the way). Kid Nation debuted September 19, 2007.

Described by critics as a reality-show variation on Desperate Housewives, the weekly, hour-long CBS offering Tuesday Night Book Club also bore similarities to the unscripted Bravo series The Real Housewives of Orange County. Filmed in an upscale suburb, of Scottsdale, AZ, Tuesday Night Book Club focused on a group of women, mostly housewives, who gathered for a weekly literary meeting which generally devolved into a round-robin discussion of their sex problems. The main players were identified only by first name and character description: thus, the woman named Cris was billed as "The Loyal Wife," while Jamie was "The Conflicted Wife," Jenn "The Trophy Wife," Kirin "The Doctor's Wife," Sara "The Party Girl," Lynn "The Newlywed," and Tina "The Divorced Mom." In addition to the ladies' book-club discourses, the series allowed the women time to vent their woes in direct-to-camera interviews, and occasionally went "backstage," as it were, to show certain ladies in their own homes with own significant others. The preponderance of severe crises and bitter arguments, coupled with the sonorous offscreen narration and ominous musical stings, suggested that perhaps the series was not as "spontaneous" and unrehearsed as the producers claimed. Debuting June 13, 2006, Tuesday Night Book Club was doled out in "chapters" rather than episodes; only two of the four completed "chapters" were seen before the series was canceled.

The 18th edition of the reality series strands 16 castaways in Tocantins, Brazil, to vie for the $1 million first-place prize.

Contestants write and perform jingles for various products in a weekly elimination competition, with each week's winner getting his or her composition used in an actual commercial.

Eleven teams of two race around the world to win $1 million.