Steven Spielberg gets real?

Maybe he just really needed the money.

For whatever reason, what I keep hoping beyond hope is a dying TV genre got a big boost today when It was announced that Steven Spielberg will team up with Mark Burnett for "The Lot," a reality series for Fox aimed at discovering the next big Hollywood director.

It's due to premiere next winter or spring, with 16 finalists competing for the big prize: a development deal with DreamWorks.

I, and I know I'm far from alone here, consider Spielberg the reigning master at storytelling that builds suspense to its height, with his worthy successor being Peter Jackson. To see the master pimp himself out like this is as shameful as it is just downright depressing.

Maybe I would watch more reality TV if it was about reality. Go to McDonald's and hold a competition to see who can deep-fry the most taters without splattering themselves with scalding hot oil. Or, even better, a grave-digging competition in which the losers all have to be buried alive. And go ahead and make Paris Hilton one of them.

I won't even get into this as a method for discovering new directors because, it's early, and I can't get that depressed before a busy Friday.


In much better news, Kris Benson was stellar in his debut for the Orioles Thursday night, even though they lost 2-0 to the Devil Rays. Despite his on-again-off-again marital problems, Benson kept his head in the game long enough to yield just four hits in seven innings. If that continues, expect him to win a lot more than 10 games this year with that lineup behind him.

Tonight, young Daniel Cabrera takes the mound against Matt Clement and the Boston Red Sox in a battle of teams tied for first place in the AL East. Man, does that sound good to me.