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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Celebrity Wife Swap? Yep... it has Gary Busey!

By: Sheri Levine

Posted: 01/2/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

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Flajnik: Mr. Available (ABC)

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Celebrity Wife Swap

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The Bachelor

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Busey and fiance Steffanie Sampson star in Celebrity Wife Swap with former drug addict and evangelist Ted Haggard and his wife Gayle. (DAVE BENTLEY / ABC)

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Ted and Gayle Haggard (ABC)

REALITY TV is the gift that keeps on giving as it continues to reach new lows.

Just when you thought theyd run out of awful ideas, along comes... wait for it... Celebrity Wife Swap! Note that the word "Celebrity" is used loosely, just like "Stars" in Dancing with the Stars. Both shows air on ABC, home to another punishing reality series, The Bachelor (more on that in a minute).

I will admit, Wife Swap is an interesting sociological experiment: Two wives switch places by moving into the others home and living the others life. In the original non-celebrity version of Wife Swap, the two participating families were always polar opposites: one deeply religious, the other deeply atheist; or one family with money to burn while the other has to scrimp and save. Sometimes, there would be a heartwarming lesson about acceptance and the importance of family. At other times, it played out like a circus gone rogue.

But now that "celebrities" have been added to the mix, the crazy bar has been significantly raised. Think Im exaggerating? Check out the cast list: Gary Busey, Flavor Flav, Dee Snider and Niecy Nash -- all of who have been known to venture into Crazy Town now and again. Other cast members include: Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, professional wrestler Mick Foley, actor-model Antonio Sabato Jr., and Tina Yothers -- yes, that Tina Yothers, the one who played Alex P. Keatons little sister on Family Ties. (Now you see why I put "Celebrity" in quotation marks.)

And speaking of the 80s, tonights opening episode features another child-star actress from a hit 80s sitcom, Tracey Gold of Growing Pains fame. Tonight, she swaps lives with Carnie Wilson, formerly of 90s pop group Wilson Phillips. Im thinking a more appropriate title might be Former Celebrity Wife Swap. Regardless, the results should be entertaining, as the self-described "control freak" Gold switches lifestyles with the "free-spirited" Wilson.

But before the swapping begins, its the return of The Bachelor. As hard as it may be to believe, The Bachelor kicks off Season 16 tonight -- with two hours, to boot. The horror! Same show, different cast.

This time, looking for love in all the wrong places is Ben Flajnik. This is the second chance at "love" for Bachelor Ben, who was one of many men vying for the affections of The Bachelorettes Ashley Hebert. The 28-year-old winemaker will have his revenge, I mean, chance, to break some hearts and, fingers crossed, eventually find a new Mrs. Bachelor.

Dont pretend you dont want to watch.

-- Postmedia News;

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 2, 2012 B7

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