The cel ebrity sho landscape is getting too cluttered P's >» New TV shows deserve a better chance to shine Naomi Ambrose Staff Writer Can you believe that Dancing with the Stars is in its 27th season? If you can’t get enough of the show, I’m sure you were excited when October 7 arrived as you got to watch Dancing with the Stars Juniors— the latest spin-off of the Dancing with the Stars show. Or perhaps you were excited to watch your other favourite spin-off shows with your beloved celebrities that either debuted or returned to the television airwaves last month. Before you get excited to watch your upcoming favourite celebrity spin- off show, please take a moment with me to analyze the implications of the overabundance of spin-off television shows with celebrities. The proliferation of TV spin-off reminder about the role of popularity when the executives, chairpersons, and chief executive officers at television networks and studios determine which shows get on the air. Television shows with big name W Spin- Have an idea for a story? M opinions@theotherpress.ca i oh of reign supreme in the reality TV, sports, and entertainment spheres have appeared on the show. Many of these stars have been well known for decades, though some have withered away while others have kept celebrities their staying get a lot of ¢ 4 power in the attention. Take Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear _ limelight. Big Brother: some new lines in a new show Whether these Celebrity . stars’ lights Edition as written by anew producer? have dimmed a classic or continued example. to shine, they When the show debuted earlier this year, it “drew a1.8 rating in adults 18 [to] 49 and 7.3 million viewers, making it the top-rated and most-watched show of the night,” wrote Joe Otterson ina Variety article. Dancing with the Stars has a similar relationship with celebrities. The show focuses on famous people who dance usually still have a large fan base who are excited to see their favourite star in another role—this time as a ballroom dancer. Maybe these excited fans could instead be given a chance to like the performance of an unknown actor from a well-written TV show that is not very popular. I’m sure you have watched several ¢ New TV shows deserve a better chance to shine ¢ Vegans who can’t take jokes ¢ Feminist faux pas ..and more! = e ‘Dancing with the Stars Junior’ still Maybe the show’s ratings were not high enough because the cast was not well- known—or maybe because celebrity spin- off shows are hoarding all the attention. Because of the cancellation, we may never see the extent of the performance given by a brilliant new actor. We will never know if the show could have been a hit. If a new show was given a chance to become a hit, we could have been introduced to a new way of understanding our world. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear some new lines in a new show written by a new producer? Wouldn't it be awesome to laugh at a new joke or to ponder a thought- provoking comment introduced by a new writer or actor? Please take a moment to celebrate new shows. In the meantime, enjoy your favourite spin-off TV shows with your favourite celebrities. shows with popular celebrities is another various types of ballroom dances with professional dancers. Several stars who shows you liked that were cancelled after one season or even after a few episodes. What gets your goat: Vegans who cannot make fun of themselves » How do you know that someone is a vegan? They'll tell you—and they may or may not laugh about it C J Sommerfeld Contributor A few years back while visiting cattle ranch on the Central Coast of California, one of the cattle farmers picked up my tub of vegan protein powder, scoffed, and asked, “You make burgers outta this stuff?” He was very unimpressed. Although I am sure he was aware that protein powder goes in a shaker cup—or in the batter for yummy protein pancakes—I could not help but laugh with him. Although he was making fun of me, his joke was funny, so I sucked up my plant-based pride and honoured his humour. There are many hilarious stereotypes about vegans: They smother hummus on everything, they have a vegetable to describe every emotion, and they have chickens running around their backyards (which is totally legal in Vancouver by the way). Vegans are often viewed as yogi-extremist liberal folks who never shut up about their veganism. These are socially constructed assumptions about vegans, and sure, there is nothing wrong with these views—they just do not apply to every vegan! It is these characteristics of a select few which have provided rich subject matter for banter. However, regardless of if these stigmas have revealed themselves to be truthful or not, why not laugh when someone uses them as wisecrack ammunition? Instead of taking offense and trying to squash vegan stereotypes (no pun intended), just embrace it and laugh! Better yet, throw some organic, locally sourced, non-GMO jokes in there yourself, because who cares what people think about your food beliefs? If you have reasons to eat a certain way, then why feel the need to argue against the stereotypes? So, when people laugh at our nutritional yeast, mock our chickpeas, and joke about where we get our protein from, laugh with them! Aspects of veganism can be absurd and hilarious, and the best humour is always rooted in the truth. Not to mention that nothing is more annoying than those self-righteous vegans who cannot laugh at themselves (except maybe for vegans who never shut up about their veganism). Why did the organic tofu cross the road? To show that he wasrit chicken!