It’s summertime, and that means a whole new set of reality TV shows have stepped up to grace your screen. But if channel surfing isn’t meeting your summer adventure quotient, then why not get up off the couch to take a vacation to your favorite TV setting?
Whether you want to take a Costa Rica vacation in the rainforest, explore New York City’s ritzy Upper East Side, or spend some time in Tokyo participating in game shows, here are some of the varied options presented this summer on the tube—and we’re not holding anything back. We let forth on the good, the bad, and the ugly of seven reality TV destinations.
Show: I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
Location: A Costa Rican rainforest campsite with cots and pit toilet under the stars
Adventure Level: High
The Premise: 10 pseudo-celebs get sent to the Costa Rican rainforest to compete for king or queen of the jungle. Cast mates include The Hills couple Heidi and Spencer, basketball legend John Salley, retired supermodel Janice Dickinson, and a mohawked Sanjaya from American Idol. Each week, America votes out one contestant. The last one standing wins.
The Good: The jungle has some amazing wildlife, from monkeys to colorful birds, plus beautiful waterfalls. Also, the contestants are playing for charity.
The Bad: Food challenges! Contestants must eat some of the least appetizing critters of the rainforest, including live bugs and spiders, in order to win leader of the campsite for a week.
The Ugly: One challenge included the contestants getting locked in a water-filled phone booth crawling with live baby crocodiles, frogs, and fish.
Show: Real Housewives of New Jersey
Location: The palatial homes of Republican-leaning Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, one of the wealthiest suburbs in the country
Adventure Level: Low
The Premise: The Housewives franchise on Bravo is at it again. This time the mansions and cat fights are brought to the manicured lawns of New Jersey, where five “housewives” expose their lavish lifestyles to the lens of the TV camera.
The Good: Botox parties, mani-pedis, and rampant plastic surgery are part of the fun. Plus, the women get to enjoy beach houses at the Jersey shore, gaudy parties, charity fundraisers, and unbridled shopping sprees.
The Bad: Family infighting, mob connections, really big hair, even bigger accents, and spoiled children rule the day.
The Ugly: One of the “housewives” was allegedly a former stripper who has been linked to charges of kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking.
Show: I Survived a Japanese Game Show
Location: Tokyo, Japan where contestants live in a Japanese home and compete on a game-show set
Adventure Level: Medium-High
Premise: Americans are whisked away to compete on a Japanese game show in Tokyo, where they are divided into two teams that compete against each other in incredibly wacky (and often demeaning) challenges. The winners are rewarded, the losers are punished, and someone is sent home every week.
The Good: Contestants get to live in a Japanese home with Mama-San, a short but determined woman whose aim is not only keep them in line but also teach them about Japanese culture and customs.
The Bad: Zany costumes are a regular part of game-show attire. Past contestants have had to dress up like chickens and frogs, for example, and even had to compete in one challenge wearing a diaper and dressed like a baby.
The Ugly: Losing contestants are carried off the game show set in a humiliating fashion. Also, the Japanese game show host’s words toward the contestants aren’t always so sparing, but luckily, none of the contestants can understand what he’s saying.
Show: Beverly Hills Groomer
Location: Beverly Hills, California, where you’ll see plenty of frou-frou dogs in pink get-ups and stylish rain gear, plus plenty of pet-friendly hotels
Adventure Level: Low
Premise: Follow a dog groomer in Beverly Hills as he tries to establish an up and running dog-grooming business. The would-be groomer, Artist Knox, won the reality show Groomer Has It, and was born and raised in south-central L.A., so the move to Beverly Hills for him will be quite a contrast. With the help of his friends and family, he gives it a go, and the audience gets to follow along with his highs and lows.
The Good: Dogs, dogs, dogs! If you’re an animal fan, you’ll get plenty of your fix on this show that’s all about making dogs and their owners happy.
The Bad: Sometimes the groomer has to accommodate some unusual requests, including a cat and a yak.
The Ugly: Some Beverly Hills clients are particularly demanding, so beware a doggie haircut gone wrong.
Show: Ice Road Truckers
Location: The dark and icy back roads of Alaska, running mostly north of the Arctic Circle
Adventure Level: Extremely High
Premise: This season, the truckers must transport oil supplies over a three-month period on an extremely dangerous and treacherous road, and they must get everything done before the weather turns even worse and the road closes for the season.
The Good: Vast landscapes and sublime scenery on sunny days. Long hours of summer daylight and solitude.
The Bad: Hairpin curves and avalanches to worry about, plus negative 70-degree temperatures.
The Ugly: One wrong move and you’re in big trouble. The road’s mountainous twists have taken many a trucker’s life over the years.
Show: Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone
Location: The deep interior of Tanzania, Africa
Adventure Level: High
Premise: Using only a compass and basic maps, four explorers will make their way through dangerous yet beautiful territory tracing Henry Morgan Stanley’s 1871 journey to find Dr. Livingstone (who was trying to find the source of the Nile River). There is no competition here–the journey is the adventure in and of itself, and even in modern times it is fraught with peril.
The Good: The scenery is incredible, including the oldest forest in Africa, which is over 25 million years old. Plus, it’s a chance to retrace history and make it come alive.
The Bad: Clashing personalities are often more difficult to cope with than the elements.
The Ugly: There are over 29 kinds of venomous snakes in the area, along with a whole host of other wild and dangerous animals.
Show: NYC Prep
Location: Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City
Adventure Level: Low
Premise: This show follows the extracurricular lives of a group of super-elite high-schoolers being brought up in the lap of luxury in New York City. All but one of them attend prestigious private schools, and all of them manage schedules packed to the gills with school, homework, hooking up, going to parties, underage drinking, and constant extreme shopping.
The Good: Ahh, the sweet days of high school youth. These teens do everything from taking dance lessons and serving on the debate team to raising money for charities.
The Bad: Each teen has his or her own entourage, a set of stylists, college advisors, and personal trainers that follow in their wake.
The Ugly: The climate is ripe for ruthless social climbing and social networking. And, for one character, her main aspiration is to “marry a rich husband one day.”
