Tommy Lee Goes To College (1 Viewer)

[Dave Morton]

Anyone see this gem? Tommy Lee goes to Nebraska and they film it. It is absolutely hilarious. Very entertaining. I recommend it.

 

[Charles J P]

I probably wont watch it just because I'm sure they'll edit it to totally misrepresent the midwest to the rest of the country.

 

[Sheldon C]

I am a husker, I went there during their football reign in the mid 90's. It was great to see all the places that I had been many times, and all the new buildings that weren't there a few years back.

I thought the show was great. I don't think it misrepresented the midwest at all, but maybe I missed something. I love how the band geeks could care less about who Tommy is and you can tell they resent the fact that he is there. I hope has some pride and really tries to learn the drumming parts, it's obvious he trying to learn it all on the fly which ain't happening.

 

[Kraig Lang]

I watched this sporadically while flipping over to BB. I thought it was great!! I'm seriously thinking about holding off on it until it hits DVD and buying it then.

I was really impressed with Tommy. He didn't come across pompous in any way and aside from a few typical rocker moments, came across like he was taking this fairly seriously.

I loved the look on his face when the Sub-Tutor came to the door and started nailing him on the seriousness of what he was doing.

 

[Alf S]

Well it is fully scripted so I guess it's easy to be impressed when he's just following a script.

 

[Kraig Lang]

I assume you can provide a source for this

 

[SteveA]

I heard on the radio this morning that Tommy's "dorm room" is actually an off-campus set and his "tutor" is an actress. Not sure of the original source of this information.

 

[Mike Graham]

Amusing few episodes so far, and I'm sure its very well scripted and thoroughly planned out, making it more of a sitcom which is fine by me. I wouldn't doubt the authenticity of the professors, as they seem much more sociable and tame compared to the ones I've encountered so far.

Who couldn't relate to the potential room mates in the beginning when Tommy came knocking looking for a place to "crash?"

 

[Sheldon C]

The tutor is legit. She is dating a former Husker player, I can't remember his name but he is known for throwing a completion to the quarterback a couple years ago, heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch.

 

[todd stone]

LOVE the show. Tommy whether you like him in RL or not, comes off as a nice guy and makes for great TV

 

[JamieD]

They state very plainly at the end of the show that he is not enrolled, not a student, and did not live at the university.. or at least they did.

 

[Antonio_G]

VH1 reruns it on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. and sundays at noon for people who miss it...

 

[Charles J P]

I did not see this, it may have only been in the first episode. They ran an article in the Omaha paper called 'Tommy Lee Show Short on "Reality"' which pointed out all the stuff that was edited/misleading. For example, they said he picked up the marching band drum content very quickly and everyone was impressed but they edit it to make it look like he was struggling even though he didnt. They also said when Dr. Gay calls for the tutor there is no one on the other end of the phone etc. (i.e. I think the tutor was already lined up and they just filmed that fake scene for back story). It doesnt bother me, and I like this particular show, but this is why in general, I despise "reality" TV with every fiber of my being.

 

[Charles J P]

Here is the text from the World Herald article.

After the first week of "Tommy Lee Goes to College," some of the mystery surrounding the show is gone.

It isn't a raunchy rock 'n' roll romp through the heartland, as some had feared. It doesn't give the University of Nebraska-Lincoln a black eye. All in all, Tommy's pretty tame.

But here are a few questions viewers might have after last week's hourlong premiere.

Q. Did Tommy really live in a dorm room?

A. No. Edits make it appear that Lee and roomie Matt Ellis lived in Neihardt Hall. They actually lived at an off-campus location constructed to look like a dorm room. In reality, Neihardt's rooms don't look anything like Lee's pad. The older rooms are tiny and some include sinks. The newer rooms, in the Love wing, are small and sterile.

Q. Did Lee and Ellis actually live together?

A. According to Ellis, yes. They slept, studied and hung out together. Lee, though, didn't stay in Lincoln for a solid period of time. He traveled across the country promoting his book, "Tommyland."

The way Lee chose his roommate wasn't as portrayed on TV. Producers met Ellis at Iguana's Pub, where the Scottsbluff native worked. They told him they were looking for people to appear in a reality show and asked him to attend a casting call. He didn't show up, but they still asked him to be in the program. Producers told Ellis only that he would be a roommate to a celebrity. They set him up at an off-campus location and gave him vague times when the celeb would show up. Ellis said his reaction upon meeting Lee was legit.

Q. Was Lee enrolled in classes for a full semester?

A. In promotional interviews, Lee claims he was at UNL for a full semester. That isn't reality. He was there about a month last October and part of November. He also was not officially enrolled in classes. He was auditing them and did not receive credit.

Q. Did Lee really have a lot of trouble learning to play with the marching band?

A. No. The scenes of him doing poorly in the first few episodes don't tell the whole story, said Nate Campbell, who was Lee's direct superior on the drumline. Although playing a marching drum set is much different - and usually more difficult - from playing on a rock 'n' roll setup, Lee did quite well early on, Campbell said. But producers didn't show that footage. They chose to show only Lee's struggles.

"I was impressed with how quickly he picked it up," Campbell said.

Q. How real is the show?

A. It depends on whom you ask.

Lee, Ellis and "hot tutor" Natalie Riedmann all said in interviews that some of the situations were set up, but the events that transpired were real. For example, producers told Riedmann, who was cast for the series after a talent scout noticed her on campus, to show up at a certain location to tutor Lee. Aside from blowing her hair with a fan and adding dramatic lighting and music, things happened naturally, she said.

Professor Tim Gay's role, though, was almost totally contrived. After Lee attended his class, producers looked at daily cuts and decided they needed more of Gay in the show. So they asked him to be Lee's adviser. Lee and Gay met in Gay's lab and ad-libbed scenes. In the first episode, Gay pretended to call the chemistry department to set up a tutor. In reality, no one was on the other end of the phone.

 

[todd stone]

all fake. o well. :frowning:

 

[Mike Graham]

Tommy Lee is only auditing? Nooooooooo!

Ah well, its amusing at least.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Sounds like Michael Moore is involved.

 

[Marc_Sulinski]

Now that I know he is only auditing, the whole thing just seems lame to me. I also thought that it sucked that they had him come in what is obviously mid-semester. Why not start him out at the beginning of the year so he actually has a chance? I don't know if anyone could do well in college when thrown in to classes that have been going on for months.

 

[todd stone]

still pretty funny as a comedy

 

[JamesED]

Man, I thought the idea of the show sounded interesting. It is very disappointing that it is nearly all fake.