Michael Urie As Reality Host: B+
Did you watch all four episodes of Miss America Reality Check? My household did - I wouldn’t exactly call it compelling TV, but it was interesting enough that we carved out an hour each Friday in the month of January. Of course, we mostly watched to see how Ugly Betty’s Urie would do, although the “competition” did suck us in a little bit.
How did Urie do? My wife and I both gave him a B+ . We even agreed about WHY Urie deserved the grade. We just didn’t agree on the timing.
I thought he started out, especially in episode 1, a little unsure of himself and stiff. My wife thought he did really well in the early episodes, then read off his cue cards too much in episode 4. I thought he was great last night, and related to the women far better than in any other episode.
More (and a question for you) after the jump
Of course, when grading a reality show host, one has to take editing into consideration (Urie certainly didn’t pause 20 seconds before announcing each of the ten finalists), but it is fair to judge how he related to the contestants, the advisory board, and the audience. His narration was appropriately dramatic without being over the top, and he did the best he could with a “contest” that was really a makeover show.
If the strike drags on, is there a future for Urie in this sort of thing? Well, he’d have to pick his spots - I don’t think he’d be comfortable as a game show host (but wouldn’t that be a hoot!). But, I think Urie could very easily host standard reality shows - at least the ones that don’t get too “mean”. He would just seem out of place on Big Brother. I know that sounds ridiculous considering how catty his character Marc can be, but I just don’t get that vibe from Urie himself.
I also find it interesting, that, as of this writing, Urie is not “out”, yet everyone on the show related to him as if he were.
At the end of episode 4, Urie told the girls he would “see them at Miss America Live” in Las Vegas. I was wondering if he was going to make an appearance at the actual pageant. That leads to a question:
Did the Miss America Reality Check make you interested enough to watch Miss America Live tonight? I have to admit - some of the makeovers were stunning: Miss Alaska and Miss New Mexico come to mind. The show did succeed in making the contestants a little more “today” (they no longer have hair and makeup that make them look 40), and it looks like they are going to go beyond “world peace” in the Q & A contest. (They actually discussed gay marriage with Miss Washington last night - if they do this sort of thing in the pageant, it really will be compelling TV).
Are you going to watch the pageant tonight?
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POSTED IN: Appearances, Commentary, Michael Urie
1 opinion for Michael Urie As Reality Host: B+
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Feb 26, 2008 at 8:36 pm
[…] Micheal Urie makes a good reality show host. […]
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