Wondering about how a certain reality show pulled something off? Have a question about a certain contestant?
Whether it's "Survivor," "American Idol," "The Apprentice," "Real World" or another show, . Andy Dehnart, msnbc.com's Television Editor and creator of ,will try to answer them.
Q: Exactly how short is Ryan Seacrest? He looks like about 5-foot-1. How can such a small man succeed so fast? I thought people don't care for such short celebrity men.
— Liz, Las Vegas
A: According to imdb.com, the 32-year-old host of “American Idol” is 5-foot-8. Other reports have placed him at 5-foot-7.
On CNN's “Larry King Live,” Ryan said he's 5-foot-9. Responding to a question about rumors that he's gay, he said, “Doesn't bother me. I mean, whether it be that or I'm 5-foot-9 and people call me short or hey I don't like the color of your eyes.”
The average height of an American male is 5-foot-10.51, so he even if we assume his number is accurate, he's slightly shorter than the average male.
But while height may be entertaining to joke about — and Ryan frequently makes fun of his own height — do you really think height matters that much? According to imdb, Tom Cruise is 5-foot-7 and Dustin Hoffman is 5-foot-6.75, and they're not exactly unsuccessful men in the entertainment world.
Ryan's success certainly suggests that height and success on TV are unrelated. He's the host of the most popular TV show in the country, never mind a host on E! and on multiple popular radio programs. And he signed a three-year, $21 million deal with E!.
Even if he was, say, just five feet tall, that's more than $4 million a foot.
Q: I've been watching “America's Next Top Model” reruns and have noticed that there doesn't seem to be much about the first winner — Adrianne. At the beginning credits of one cycle, there are pictures of all the past winners except her. On another cycle, the apartment the models are staying in has pictures of the past winners on the wall but still no Adrianne. Did she do something to piss off the creators of the show? — Debbie Hill, Virginia Beach, Va.
A: Yes, and the show's producers did something to annoy Adrianne Curry. After the first season aired in 2003, Adrianne did make a guest appearance during the show's second season, but since then she's publicly talked about “America's Next Top Model’s” failure to deliver on its promises to her.
Slideshow 26 photos
Celebrity Sightings
That bad blood remains today, which is why she's ignored by the series. On Sunday, WE TV aired “Chris & Adrianne Do Russia,” a special that followed he travels to the country with her “Surreal Life” co-star and husband Christopher Knight, and even while promoting that show, she talked about how she's still upset by her experience with “America's Next Top Model.”
“What was promised was not delivered. What I did get I still haven't been paid for, and that was in 2003,” she told Orlando's Real Radio 104.1 show The Monsters in the Morning last Friday. “I was promised a Revlon campaign,” she said. “Instead, I went to a convention with five people and got lipstick put on my face — and I still haven't gotten paid for it.”
Adrianne noted that “every season after me, they delivered,” but she was caught in the middle of a dispute between a modeling agency (that was originally supposed to represent the show's winners) and the producers. “For two years, I really wasn't allowed to work. Tyra and them wouldn't help me get out of this agency,” she said.
As a result of all this, Adrianne now says she's openly hostile toward Tyra Banks. “Anything I can (say) to really upset her, I'll say.”
Q: How do they handle feeding the contestants on Amazing Race? I assume they are eating well because despite the physical challenges, you never really see any of them losing weight (like on Survivor). — Tamara, Alabama
A: Actually, the teams don't get to eat except during mandatory 12- or 36-hour pit stops (some are longer to give the crew a break).
Obvious exceptions include food-based challenges or flights that include meals or snacks, but otherwise, they have to wait until pit stops to be guaranteed a meal.
Teams can certainly stop for food, but they are in a race to the finish, and they aren't given money for food, either. Some teams have said in post-race interview that they took food from the pit stops in their backpacks so they'd have things to eat along the way — if they have time to stop.
is a writer and teacher who publishes , a daily summary of reality TV news.