Reality Check
'Idol' opens doors for UW's Matt Rogers

By Pamela Sitt
Seattle Times staff reporter

	FOX TV Matt Rogers is exploring several television projects after being eliminated on "American Idol" last week.
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Rogers, 25, has reportedly been offered gigs with "Access Hollywood" and "Extra" and says he's eyeing movie projects, possibly involving Eugene Levy and Samuel L. Jackson.

"Someone even told me I might be up for Bob Barker's job on 'The Price Is Right' when he retires," Rogers told reporters. Which is not to say he doesn't have any regrets.

If he could do it again, Rogers says he would've chosen a different song in last week's country round. "I tried to please too many people, instead of just being myself at the very end," he said.

"I regret not throwing my cowboy hat on and doing a Toby Keith song. I think that would've freakin' rocked the whole show."

Rogers also said he plans to propose to his girlfriend soon: "I'm ready to be married. She's a good Christian girl."

'The Apprentice'

The most intriguing part of last week's "The Apprentice" — which continues to rack up viewers, drawing a series-high 22.69 million Thursday — was not the tiger or the 10-year-old wunderkind or even the minuscule skirt Amy wore to the boardroom (hello, Ally McBeal!).

We were instead transfixed watching Donald Trump's hair blow freely in the wind during his visit to a construction site. ("Look, ma! No hair plugs!") Trump seemed to take a certain amount of glee in the much-touted Amy Henry's first trip to the boardroom, where he grilled her about her flirtatious relationship with Nick Warnock before firing the sulky Katrina Campins. Henry is now the only woman left among the five "Apprentice" candidates. Meantime, who's a fan of those Verizon Wireless commercials with Trump doing a boardroom bit and chastising people for using another cellular company? You're fired.

'Average Joe'

	SARA JAYE Adam Mesh of ABC's "Average Joe" will take two women home to meet his parents, in the show's two-hour finale Monday.

Uh-oh, Adam's in trouble. All that stuff we said last week about Adam Mesh being such a stand-up guy? Dashed on Monday when the women he's wooing saw him pull a Bob Guiney (in other words, act a kissing fool) on a promo for "Average Joe: Adam Returns." Five of the 10 remaining bachelorettes were sent home this week, including the obnoxious Tracilee Bennardello (good riddance!) and the obsequious Jennifer Lifshitz. Why do we miss Lifshitz? As Alicia Silverstone's Cher would say: "She is so adorably clueless!" Next week: Mesh takes two women home to meet his parents in the two-hour finale.

'High School Reunion'

Now that "America's Next Top Model" is over (sigh), feed your appetite for catfights and petty rivalry with The WB's "High School Reunion," (9 p.m. Sundays, KTWB-TV). It's so fun watching a grown woman (Denise) pout over a high-school rival (Heather) going on a date with her ex-husband (Gabe). The scary thing is that Denise and Gabe have two children. Let's hope the show airs past their bedtimes.

'The Bachelor'

"The Bachelor/Bachelorette" series was feeling positively quaint with its straightforward approach to reality-TV dating — what, no actors posing as obnoxious fiancés or bikini-clad party crashers? For the fifth season of "The Bachelor," starring New York Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer, producers are throwing a mole into the mix. Unbeknownst to the bachelorettes, one of the 25 women will be a spy planted to give Palmer the lowdown on the others. "The Bachelor" premieres in a special two-hour edition Wednesday (9 p.m., KOMO-TV).

Notes

"Extreme Makeover" meets "Miss America" in "The Swan," premiering Wednesday on Fox before moving to its regular timeslot April 12 (9 p.m., KCPQ-TV). Look for local contestants Beth L., 25, Milton; Rachel L., 27, Sammamish; and Tanya S., 32, Olympia. (The women will not be identified by their last names on the show.) ...

CBS is seeking "outgoing, competitive, quirky and charismatic" housemates to compete for $1 million on "Big Brother 5." Visit www.cbs.com for an application; deadline is April 9. ...

Martha who? CBS is in talks with LMNO Productions ("The Littlest Groom") to produce a reality show searching for the next "diva of domesticity." Applications are available at www.cbs.com.

Pamela Sitt: 206-464-2376 or psitt@seattletimes.com

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