News 'n' notes from another wacky week in the world of television: KING OF REALITY TV: Soaring ratings on The Amazing Race -- the No. 1 show in Canada -- can be traced to one person: Rob Mariano. Love him or hate him, Survivor's ever-quotable Rob-father and his million-dollar-fiancee, Amber Brkich, have stolen this show.
The lift could lead to more stunt casting on the series. Next fall's Amazing Race 8 is already a family affair, with four person teams made up entirely of relatives in the hunt. Don't be surprised if Survivor favorite Rupert Boneham, along with his wife, daughter and foster child, aren't part of the next race.
THE ROMBER FACTOR: Rob and Amber won Tuesday's leg of The Amazing Race, adding a trip to London to their already stuffed reality loot bag. Three consecutive eighth place finishes finally caught up with Susan and Patrick Vaughn, the mother and son team who were eliminated. Seven teams remain, with a special two-hour race set for Tuesday.
AMAZING RATINGS: Last week (March 14-20), The Amazing Race scored 3,043,000 viewers across Canada on CTV. American Idol took the No. 2 and 3 spots with Global's Survivor: Palau down to No. 4 with 2,821,000 viewers. Rounding out the Top-5 was CTV's CSI with 2,268,000 (all figures BBM Canada).
Surprisingly strong rookie Medium was No. 6 with 1,955,000 viewers. A rerun of Desperate Housewives (a new episode finally airs this Sunday) was way down to No. 19 nationally with 1,271,000, edging Global's once mighty The Apprentice in the No. 20 spot (1,258,000 viewers). Amazing Race was also No. 1 in Toronto last week with 743,000 viewers, well ahead of the Idols and Survivor.
VAN GO: "The castle lights are growing dim/There's no one left but me and him ..." If you remember those words, you'll want to attend Frightenstein Fest, a salute to the bizarre, Canadian-made '70s series The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein. The May 14 Toronto event, dreamed up by local filmmaker Stacey Case, will feature surviving crew members, plenty of memorabilia as well as a salute to the late, great Billy Van, the former Sonny & Cher clown who played everyone from Dr. Pet Vet to Bawana Clyde Batty on the series. As well, Van's pals from the legendary CH charades series Party Game, Dinah Christie and "Captain" Jack Duffy, are planning to attend. Look for more details here in the Sun and at frightenstein.ca.
MORE O.C.: Despite lower ratings, Fox has renewed The O.C. for a third season. The U.S. network has also finally scheduled Tru Calling to return for a second season on Thursday, March 31 in place of Point Pleasant.
CORRECTION: There was an incorrect address attached to that win-a-role-on-Godiva's contest mentioned last week in this column. Restaurant workers looking to score a recurring acting gig have until Monday to send photos, resumes and proof of eatery employment to CHECK PLEASE, c/o Jenny Lewis Casting, 201-10 St. Mary St., Toronto, ON, M4Y 1P9. For more details, visit bravo.ca.
