Dang it! I haven't had a good TV-related tirade since Russell Brand turned the VMAs R-rated. I've been saving myself for FOX's new reality show, "Our Little Genius" - and it hasn't been easy (oh, "Jersey Shore," how you tempt!).
But it was clear that OLG was going to be special. Parents pushing their child prodigies (as young as 6) into the limelight for financial gain? Check. Pressure-cooker all-or-nothing quiz show format? Check. Dramatic lighting, 15-foot video screen and scary music? Check. I was fully expecting an all-out outrage; planning on a scandalous night in front of the toob, what with "American Idol" on beforehand. Break out the popcorn and the rhyming dictionary!
<splutter>
But today - less than a week before the big debut - comes word that the producer has asked FOX not to air the first two episodes because of problems with the way the young contestants were dealt with. Or, according to the Associated Press, the producer, Mark Burnett (of "Survivor" fame) had "'an issue' with how some information was relayed to the show's young contestants."
FOX will air a Very Special Episode of "The Simpsons," instead. No word of when OLG will actually debut, but you can bet that when it does, I'll be watching.
