Secret Talents of the Stars

infobox Television
show_name = Secret Talents of the Stars


caption =
rating =
picture_format =
format = Interactive reality Game Show
runtime = 60 mins. (including commercials)
creator =
executive_producer = Robyn Nash Don Weiner
director = Don Weiner
presenter = John O'Hurley
judges = Debbie Reynolds, Brian McKnight, Gavin Polone
filmed =
country = Flagicon|USA United States
network = CBS
first_aired = April 8, 2008
last_aired =
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 1 (7 originally planned)
list_episodes =
website = http://www.cbs.com/primetime/secret_talents_of_the_stars/
imdb_id = 1176154
tv_com_id = 75268

"Secret Talents of the Stars" was a short-lived CBS reality/game show, where celebrities competed against each other in a tournament-like format in areas that differed from their normal professions, like singing, dancing, and acrobatics. Viewers were to vote on the most talented celebrity. The show premiered on April 8, 2008 and was canceled the next day due to low ratings, making it one of the few series to be canceled after one episode [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gh_LFA34F_A6Fvcyf20qIJ8PLXHAD8VV3R5O0] Dead link|date=June 2008] .

Format

While the contestants' performances were critiqued by the show's judging panel of Debbie Reynolds, Brian McKnight, and Gavin Polone, home viewers were to vote online during each episode to determine which two celebrities stayed in the competition and which two were sent home. Voting was open only during the initial live broadcast to the Eastern and Central time zones as the results were to be announced at the end of each episode.

"Secret Talents of the Stars" was to follow a seven-week, tournament-style broadcast format.

Four acts were to each perform during both the show's live April 8 and April 15 broadcasts, with home viewer votes determining two semifinalists from each of those episodes. Those four semifinalists would then have performed during a live April 22 broadcast, after which home viewer votes will determine the show's first two finalists.

Four acts would then each have performed during both the show's live April 29 and May 6 broadcasts, with home viewer votes determining two semifinalists from each of those episodes. Those four semifinalists would then perform during a live May 13 broadcast, after which home viewer votes would determine the show's second two finalists.

The live finale broadcast would have aired May 22, with the four finalists competing one last time for home viewers -- who would have been able to vote during the broadcast. The winner would then be revealed at the finale's conclusion.

CBS ordered "Secret Talents of the Stars" in January. The show was produced by Magic Molehill Productions, Inc., in association with Robyn Nash Productions and Don Weiner Productions. Robyn Nash and Don Weiner served as executive producers.

Contestants

Participants in the show, as well as the "secret talents" they would be performing, include [http://www.cbs.com/primetime/secret_talents_of_the_stars/bio/] :

*Clint Black, country singer-songwriter - performing stand-up comedy
*Danny Bonaduce, former child actor - maneuvering a unicycle with members of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
*Sasha Cohen, Olympic figure skater - performing with the New Shanghai Circus, a Chinese acrobat troupe
*Ric Flair, former professional wrestler - salsa dancing
*Joe Frazier, former professional boxer - singing R&B
*Roy Jones, Jr., professional boxer - rapping
*Marla Maples, ex-wife of Donald Trump and co-host of "The Ex-Wives Club", doing a gymnastics routine with The Anti-Gravity Troupe
*Cindy Margolis, actress and model - performing magic
*Bridget Marquardt, actress and model - performing trapeze with the former masters of Cirque du Soleil
*Jo Dee Messina, country singer-songwriter - performing a hip-hop meets step-dancing routine
*Joshua Morrow, "The Young and the Restless" actor - performing a rock-n-roll juggling routine with Marcus Monroe
*Mýa, actress and singer - tap dancing
*Sheila E., musician and former judge on "The Next Great American Band" - juggling with The Flying Karamazov Brothers
*Ben Stein, comedian, attorney and commentator - dancing the jitterbug
*George Takei, former "Star Trek" actor - crooning as a country singer
*Malcolm-Jamal Warner, former "Cosby Show" actor - performing an original song on bass guitar as part of a hip hop orchestra

Episode

During the April 8, 2008 episode, the only one that aired, the judges uniformly expressed their preference for the performances of Mya and Clint Black. However, the audience votes advanced Sasha Cohen and Clint Black while sending Mya and George Takei home.

After Takei performed, Polone joked that he looked like one of the main characters in "Brokeback Mountain", the Oscar-nominated film about two gay cowboys. Takei mustered a smile during the live broadcast, but in a later interview with "Entertainment Tonight", he admitted to being offended. Polone did not apologize for his words. ["Entertainment Tonight", shown in syndication on April 9, 2008]

Ratings

In comparison, the notorious flop "quarterlife", which had also been canceled after one episode by NBC several weeks earlier, had a 3.1 rating in the 10 p.m. time slot, where fewer networks broadcast.

References