DarkStar Spouts Off

Real Reality Television

Real reality television is "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel.

You will NEVER look at the Alaskan King Crab on your plate the same way again.

The Wire Finale

See below the fold for spoilers.

"Cavemen"

I DVR'ed "Cavemen" and finally watched it.

Booooooooooo.......
Holding nose

Drive By Question

I'm busy but I have a question.

How can the "flippers" on shows like "Flip That House" or "Property Ladder" re-do an entire house for $30,000 when it cost me $18,000 to get a bathroom and a "bonus room" put into the basement?

Flip This House Scam, II

Last night I watched the new episode of Flip This House. Even after the scam of the earlier season was revealed, my wife and I still are hooked, although we watch with a closer eye.

This episode really seemed staged with Armando Montelongo letting the "intern" be the construction lead for the flip. The "intern" knows little about the business and the "intern" was not able to get anything right. The main contractor lead called him an idiot left and right. The one scene that nailed the "staged" nature of this particular episode was Armando taking the "intern" back to some of the homes that were previously "flipped," or so we thought, to teach a lesson.

One house, the "cat house," the people buying the house, pulled out and the house is still on the market. That was the house that caused the break up of partnership with his brother. Another house, the house that was sold at auction, the person who authorized the auction buyer to make the bid, pulled out of the deal. Armando sold the house to that person, only for less money. Another house could not be sold, so the house is not a rental.

This episode was definitely made to counter and/or respond the scrutiny of Flip This House. Some people have been tracking Montelongo's real estate activities and pointing out that some of his houses haven't sold or sold for as much as the show implied.

[ Update ]

The "intern" has a MySpace page.

Dr. Burke Is Gone!

Will Isiah Washington get the same support that Don Imus received?

Reality Scam: Flip This House

Wow.
Just. WOW.

One Saturday, I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready for the family when "Flip This House" came on. Mrs. D.S. was previously watching a home improvement show. After about 20 minutes, I was HOOKED! It was a show that featured a brother, his wife, and his employees and contractors going through the process of flipping a house. At the end of the 1 hour show, I was impressed. My wife said she was impressed as well but wondered about the focus on the bottom line. She even said she wouldn't buy a home from someone like that, while I said I wouldn't mind. Additionally, the amount of money made on the flip was impressive.

This morning, after I made a run to the hardware store, I came in the house and my wife just hugged me and said, "Come up stairs, I have something to show you."

I thought she was going to show me a blue stick!

Instead, she showed me this link:

ATLANTA (FOX 5) -- What if you found out an American Idol contestant was lip-synching? What if the Bachelor was really married? How real is reality TV? The FOX 5 I-Team answers that question with one of America's favorite reality shows: Flip This House. Senior I-Team reporter Dale Russell found one Atlanta developer on the show, Sam Leccima, wasn't telling the truth about his renovations.

Now, I am heart broken!

Sam was ON THE BALL! Instead, it was a scam and he not only involved and scammed people who thought they were friends, he seemed to focus on Black people. Here is part two of the investigation. Dude never made a profit! Dude even lost his license BEFORE the "Flip This House" shows!

Check out Dale Russell's blog about this.

I also started a show called "The Real Deal". The person who stars in this flipping show was also on "Flip This House". Check out the flipthislawsuit blog. It's not associated with "The Real Deal" but it's an interesting read.

After watching a few shows, one with Armando Montelongo, I was impressed with the series, BUT I told my wife that if Montelongo ever did anything in my area, I wouldn't buy from him because he really seemed to be focused more on money vs. doing a good job.

Man, I'm really crushed.