No. No no no no no. That’s pretty much all I have to say about MTV’s latest reality show, Making Menudo, which is precisely what it sounds like. Remember Menudo? Or, at least, remember all the jokes about Menudo back when Ricky Martin became famous after escaping from the Hispanic all-male group that kicked its members out once they became too old? Yeah. They’re back. Oh my Lord.
I mean, Wilmer Valderrama is on this show, and that’s the biggest name they have going for them. And yes, this is exactly like Making the Band except with a little more Spanish, and the age limit is 19. I mean, I guess all the other “make the band” type shows only want teenagers, but this time they’re being blatant about it. Honesty in television at last?
Making Menudo will premiere on October 25th at 10:30 p.m. and in typical MTV style, will be rebroadcast all over the place: on mobile phones and on the internet, along with cast blogs, deleted scenes, etc, as well as on MTV Tr3s (I confess, I do not actually know what this is). Johnny Wright, who was the manager for both the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC at various points, and vocal coach David Coury, with the same credits, will be hosting the show and managing the boys. Howie D, who I had forgotten until this moment was in the Backstreet Boys, will be popping up as a guest along with good ol’ Wilmer and someone named Frankie J (I just learned, thanks to Wikipedia, that he has a platinum album, and I know nothing about the music industry).
Yawn. Reporting on entertainment for the last year, I just learn over and over again that there are no new ideas left. Also, the signs of an 80s revival have been showing for a while (have you seen the sneakers on those NYU kids?), and this may be the last straw. Invest in rubber bracelets and fingerless lace gloves!
