S17.E16: One on One (Part 2)

[nosedive]

3 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

Barbara Walters, God rest her soul, would have been a great interviewer for the Browns because she was an investigative journalist with a lot of experience in human interest subjects and reluctant interviewees. She could ask the hard questions but she was good at winning the trust and comfort of the subject so they didn't see it coming. 

BW would have asked hard-hitting questions like "Why the hair plugs, and why did you stop at three?" and "If you were a tree, deciduous or evergreen?"  And for Robyn, "Is your tear duct malfunction congenital?" and "Was the cookie your first husband stole from you homemade or store-bought?" Hopefully, she'd stay away from the classic "What makes you cry?" question for Robyn.  That would make for at least a five-part Tell Nothing.  RIP BW.  

[GeeGolly]

To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen a reality TV tell-all besides Sister Wives. Are other tell-alls different?

[procrasstinator]

4 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen a reality TV tell-all besides Sister Wives. Are other tell-alls different?

I have watched tell alls for Love is Blind and 90 Day Fiance and I don't see any difference.  All of the hosts seem unfamiliar with the show and all of the hosts seem to skim the surface.

[Adiba]

I think the only way this “tell-all” could have been really informative is if they had set it up like Divorce Court, with Kody, Robyn and Meri on one side and Jenelle and Christine on the other, with a (preferably female) judge presiding. Would love it if a female judge could tell Kody straight up that he’s lying, or to shut up.

[Elizzikra]

Quote

To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen a reality TV tell-all besides Sister Wives. Are other tell-alls different?

I've seen 90-Day fiancee and, while not tell-alls, afterparty shows for Married At First Sight. They all pretty much follow the same formula, tough for MAFS, the host (Keshia Knight Pulliam, fka Rudy from The Cosby Show) does seem to have watched the show.

Quote

I think the only way this “tell-all” could have been really informative is if they had set it up like Divorce Court, with Kody, Robyn and Meri on one side and Jenelle and Christine on the other, with a (preferably female) judge presiding. Would love it if a female judge could tell Kody straight up that he’s lying, or to shut up.

Well there we go. Judge Judy.

[MsMalin]

Barbara W: what kind of tree are you?

Robyn: Weeping Willow

[ginger90]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen a reality TV tell-all besides Sister Wives. Are other tell-alls different?

Once upon a time I watched a couple of Teen Mom tell nothings. The host seemed to side with what I considered the worst mom of the bunch at the time. 

[lookeyloo]

Judge Judy would be good.   She takes no crap.

[Elizzikra]

3 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Judge Judy would be good.   She takes no crap.

She seems to always be yelling. That makes me cranky and nervous at the same time.

[GeeGolly]

IMO, Judge Judy and "Dr" Phil are mean bullies, so they're right up there with Kody. 

I think I read Suki was a news anchor or maybe a journalist in NY during 9/11 and her coverage got her some notoriety. 

I'm not sure anyone could handle Kody with his tantrums, toddler pouts and platitudes, except maybe Savannah Guthrie.

In the end I don't think TLC is looking for a hard hitting tell-all. But I think their editing is turning so-so interviews into subpar interviews. 

Edited January 7, 2023 by GeeGolly

[Chris Knight]

Unexpected and Teen Mom OG are pretty much the same crap.

[Absolom]

The tell alls are just a way to pad out the season with a few more episodes that mostly rehash the season.  They aren't going to pay for a top notch interviewer and they really don't want to stir things up with the participants to a high level.

[b2H]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, gingerella said:

Suki needs to be fired. She is a horrible interviewer with these people. She clearly has not watched the show and has no fucking clue what liars Kotex and Sobbyn are. And the way she acts all sympathetic with them - even if she knowingly is getting them to lie on tape - is egregious be cause Kotex is a misogynistic piece of shit and should NOT be allowed to get away with his disgusting comments and treatment of three of the women he has families with. At times Suki appears to be afraid of Kotex's rage, and therefore they need another interviewer, preferably a man. Hell, Tim or Kenny from 90 Day would be better than Suki is.

She is doing the job they're paying her to do.  The powers that be know that if these nincompoops are confronted with their lies, they simply will refuse to participate.  The fambly has outlived its usefulness in any case and this tell-all is as much of a sham as the Browns' marriages.

She won't be fired for doing what she's been told to do.

ETA:  For the record:

 

Quote

 

Who Is Sukanya Krishnan?

Sukanya previously worked as the morning news anchor on Good Day Wake Up and is a five-time Emmy Award winner. She made history by becoming the first South Asian American to anchor news in the No. 1 market and even has a cameo in The Sopranos. 

In addition to hosting the Sister Wives tell-all two seasons in a row, she also hosted the TLC show Find Love Live in 2020. Fans may also recall seeing Sukanya from her hosting duties on 90 Day Fiancé: Love Games on Discovery+ in 2021.  

As for her personal life, Sukanya is a wife to Eric Schroeder and a proud mother of two. 

 

Who Is Sukanya Krishnan? Host of 'Sister Wives' Tell-All (intouchweekly.com)

In other words, no qualification whatsoever.

Edited January 7, 2023 by b2H

[gingerella]

1 hour ago, b2H said:

She is doing the job they're paying her to do.  The powers that be know that if these nincompoops are confronted with their lies, they simply will refuse to participate.  The fambly has outlived its usefulness in any case and this tell-all is as much of a sham as the Browns' marriages.

She won't be fired for doing what she's been told to do.

But she isn't doing the job by virtue of the name of the show, Tell All. It's more like a Lie All, and the host is aiding and abetting. Given that Kody Brown is a misogynistic, angry asshole wannabe cult leader, that behavior should not be tolerated under any circumstances. And his blatant lying to the camera about so many things is feeling less like TLC is allowing him to hang himself publicly with his own words, and more like the network is trying to make misogyny and controlling cult-like behavior entertaining. That is not okay to me as a viewer. And furthermore, IMO, TLC should already have in their contracts that anything can be asked on camera and must be answered or payment will be withheld. In fact, I cannot imagine that clause is not in there, it seems like basic reality TV legalese 101, so why not ask the hard questions? Why tell Meri about this farcical lie that Kody was considering reconciling with her but nobody else remembers hearing about this other than Kody? Why not ask Christine if he said this to her? Why not ask Janelle if he said this to her? And why, after Robyn admitted she only heard this allegedly from Kody, did the host present it to Meri as if it was indeed fact? If Suki had any journalist integrity she should have walked if she'd been unable to ask the tough questions because she is now part of the problem, IMO, YMMV as always.

And if Suki is a 'real journalist' then she ought to be ashamed if this job and not take it on anymore, IMO. 

[Cetacean]

25 minutes ago, gingerella said:

And his blatant lying to the camera about so many things is feeling less like TLC is allowing him to hang himself publicly with his own words, and more like the network is trying to make misogyny and controlling cult-like behavior entertaining.

Well, obviously it IS entertaining which is what their sponsors want. It's want viewers want.  It's the reason that the number of posters on this forum have skyrocketed for these episodes.

Let's be honest here, Sister Wives continues to thrive and we are all guilty of supporting it by watching.

[Celia Rubenstein]

18 minutes ago, gingerella said:

Why tell Meri about this farcical lie that Kody was considering reconciling with her but nobody else remembers hearing about this other than Kody? Why not ask Christine if he said this to her? Why not ask Janelle if he said this to her? And why, after Robyn admitted she only heard this allegedly from Kody, did the host present it to Meri as if it was indeed fact?

This is the thing about Suki's performance as a host that bothers me most.

I get that she is a stooge for the producers and not a real journalist/interviewer.  She is only allowed to go so far, lest she piss someone off so much that they refuse to participate.  I can even accept that she is just a lazy slob of a host who didn't do any research or watch the show at all.  And I can imagine that anything that doesn't fit the producer's narrative may have ended up on the cutting room floor.  But I do NOT understand how Suki took what Robyn said and twisted it the way she did when she talked to Meri. 

I must admit I am surprised the conversations between Suki/Robyn and Suki/Meri were aired in such a way that made it so obvious Suki was spewing innaccurate bullshit to Meri.  It's kind of ridiculous to put that on the air that way.  It stopped me in my tracks when I was watching the show. I knew what Suki told Meri was not what I had just heard Robyn say at all. 

So is Suki just stupid and not paying attenion or was she misleading Meri on purpose?  Is she a complete idiot or a manipulative, dishonest shit-stirrer? Given that the whole thing played out right in the open, I don't think it was to mislead Meri intentionally.  It was just too obvious.  The truth is right there on tape for the world to see. 

I think Suki is just kind of dim. And she is not really paying attention, to the point of irresponsibility.  What a cruel thing to do to Meri.  And so unfair to Christine.

Suki Suks.

[b2H]

On 1/7/2023 at 1:57 PM, gingerella said:

But she isn't doing the job by virtue of the name of the show, Tell All. It's more like a Lie All, and the host is aiding and abetting. Given that Kody Brown is a misogynistic, angry asshole wannabe cult leader, that behavior should not be tolerated under any circumstances. And his blatant lying to the camera about so many things is feeling less like TLC is allowing him to hang himself publicly with his own words, and more like the network is trying to make misogyny and controlling cult-like behavior entertaining. That is not okay to me as a viewer. And furthermore, IMO, TLC should already have in their contracts that anything can be asked on camera and must be answered or payment will be withheld. In fact, I cannot imagine that clause is not in there, it seems like basic reality TV legalese 101, so why not ask the hard questions? Why tell Meri about this farcical lie that Kody was considering reconciling with her but nobody else remembers hearing about this other than Kody? Why not ask Christine if he said this to her? Why not ask Janelle if he said this to her? And why, after Robyn admitted she only heard this allegedly from Kody, did the host present it to Meri as if it was indeed fact? If Suki had any journalist integrity she should have walked if she'd been unable to ask the tough questions because she is now part of the problem, IMO, YMMV as always.

And if Suki is a 'real journalist' then she ought to be ashamed if this job and not take it on anymore, IMO. 

It’s free money, exposure and publicity for her.  One more entry on her resume.  There hasn’t been a legitimate tell-all in the history of Bravo or TLC.  These are all just add-on’s to seasons that didn’t quite finish story lines and keep viewers on the hook for more of the same next season.  Same with the Bravo reunions.  We are all still watching, regardless of the journalistic quality.

[General Days]

 

4 hours ago, HeyDougieHowser said:

I don't believe Meris revision about the catfishing and how it wasn't an emotional affair, she was never gonna leave.

When did Meri say it was not an emotional affair?

I don't remember her talking about it with the term "emotional affair" to either confirm or deny it. She did say she thought she loved "Sam," who didn't exist, which seems to me like an emotional affair.

[RazzleberryPie]

Leon is actually likeable and relatable in that interview. Meri and Kody are the same, just toned down.