OK, How Did 'Reality' Change? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kara DioGuardi

Hard to believe it's been so long. Oddly, up until the eighth season, the only major cast change to the show had been season 2's dropping of co-host Brian Dunkleman, who left Ryan Seacrest alone on stage (to become one of the most popular pop culture faces of the decade.

The three famous judges continued their tyranny through America in 2009, but this time they brought newcomer Kara DioGuardi with them (you didn't know her either...I know). Known as a fairly reputable songwriter and record production name, Kara wrote many songs over the years for "American Idol" winners and runners-up including Kelly Clarkson. Kara also judged on the failed reality show "The One: Making a Music Star" for ABC. Who competes with "American Idol" nowadays anyways?!

Answer: Survivor: Palau

Wasn't "Survivor: Palau" the mindtwist of the "Survivor" franchise? After years of successful seasons of the show (including one "All-Star" season in its eighth run), "Palau" began with twenty players, immediately brought down to eighteen players after a single night, and introduced the Exile Island staple to the show, during which a player would be marooned between challenges on a remote island (ironically, this usually happened to be during a storm or cold night).

The first and only player to be sent here during its debut season was Janu, who was eliminated from the show in the same episode. Exile Island typically contains at least one 'Hidden' Immunity Idol which may have a bearing on whatever happens at Tribal Council.

It can't be used when it comes down to the Final Four though, and often goes unnoticed until someone uses it.

Answer: Yield

Although "The Amazing Race" began with the wonderfully-designed 'Route Info', 'Detour', 'Road Block', and 'Fast Forward' tasks sending players to the far corners of the Earth, progressive seasons were ample opportunity to add new, exotic clue types (at least, according to writers). Yield appeared harmless enough in season 5, first appearing in the first leg of the race in Argentina. It wasn't used until Leg 11 of that season, essentially making the chosen team wait at that location while an hourglass timed their wait.
Intersection came next in season 10, forcing players to (in an elaborate series of events) team up with another team and perform tasks alongside them until told otherwise. At one point in the "All-Stars" season, two teams claimed a single Fast Forward on a relatively easy task. Clever job.
U-Turn and Speed Bump showed up in Season 12. U-Turn forces players to complete both tasks in a Detour (it's like a more physically-demanding Yield) while Speed Bump affected players coming in last at a non-elimination Pit Stop, forcing them to complete an additional task in the following leg (talk about salt in the wound, eh).

Answer: Each week, two players were voted out as opposed to one

Known for its unnecessary share of close-quarters drama, "Big Brother's" US show has gone through the years as one of those summer shows you either hate to watch or live off of, taking in live overnight feeds of "Big Brother After Dark" on their website or patrolling the forums for every single live update. Season 6 was particularly juicy. Every player went into the game knowing one other person, and if one of these predetermined sets of people made it to the final two, the winner would get double the prize money (and the runner up would get five times the cash).

This plan didn't succeed for anyone; the secret was outed within the first few weeks and of the seven pairs, only one made it to the final six before splitting. The secret room was found in the first few weeks containing a large bed and a locked safe. Eventually, when opened, it contained a 'peanut butter and jelly immunity', allowing the player in possession to be free of eating the dreaded sandwich. Kaysar, voted off fourth, was voted back into the house by an America's Choice poll, but he was voted off again the following week.

Answer: Denise Richards

Joan Rivers actually came out on top in the eighth season of "The Apprentice" beating poker player Annie Duke in the final episode and winning money for her charity. Melissa Rivers, her daughter, also competed, but found herself 'fired' in the tenth task. Tom Green also appeared in the same season, getting himself eliminated third. Omarosa, known for her stint on the first season of "The Apprentice" among other reality shows (see "The Surreal Life"...or don't- it's not that great), ended up returning to fuel more drama in the first run-through of "The Celebrity Apprentice", furthering one of the worst losing streaks in the history of the show (as she's made more appearances than any contestant).

The first season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" was won by "Britain's Got Talent"/"America's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan. Perhaps it was all for the best; the switch to celebrities slightly raised the show's declining ratings.

Answer: Host Joe Rogan would bring stunts to everyday suburban families

Known as 'Home Invasion', this momentous addition to the show (always completed after the winner had claimed their prize money, or not, in the final stunt) consisted of Joe Rogan and a crew arriving at the doorstep of your everyday American family (every one of them had kids...) to perform one disgusting stunt so that the family could win a total of $5000 on a prominently product-placed Capital One card.

These would involve numerous staples from the show's second, more gross-out-type stunts. For example, the family may have been required to eat blended Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (hey...if they're blended, they aren't hissing, right?) in one of those tall milkshake glasses. What people wouldn't do for a Capital One No Hassle Card, am I right?

Answer: No 'new' contestants

After two modestly-popular seasons of the comedy/reality hybrid, producers dropped the ball. Instead of producing a similar, third season of the show, they must have thought that the tap had run dry. Pulling from the top twenty-some odd contestants seen in the first two years of the show, they argued for a 'Best of the Best' competition which ultimately led to a ratings flop. That, and the show aired immediately after season two had ended. Two years later, NBC picked the show back up, dusted it off, and aired it in the original format, proving that some changes need not be made.

In season six, they shortened the length of the show by numerous episodes, providing only four live episodes on stage. Suffice to say, the show was canceled a second time. Funny, isn't it?

Answer: Gosselin

Despite the divorce and, as put by the couple, an unfixable marriage, the ex-wife and husband decided to continue filming the popular TLC reality show about the two raising their eight kids in a small Pennsylvania house. The show is based on the various different activities they do with the kids, some of which are quite unrealistic in modern lifestyles- some of these include visiting "Sesame Street", going on "Oprah", and getting a motorcycle from the cast of "American Chopper". Nearly eleven million people watched the episode in which they announced their divorce. Nothing like watching the reality of family fall apart, right?

Answer: Alison Sweeney

Known for her role on "Days of Our Lives", Alison Sweeney appeared on the ranch early into the fourth season replacing the previous host, Caroline Rhea, who was known for her roles in "Caroline in the City" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". Other than this, the show has repeatedly changed styles and formats over its numerous season run, often changing the backgrounds of its contestants from single players to teams of two to families to couples, and back again. Nonetheless, the basic premise has been the same. Using trainers, equipment, knowledge, and willpower, contestants must lose weight.

The player who loses the greatest amount of body fat in the end wins a lot of money to make up for it.

Answer: Four

The original "Trading Spaces", TLC's breakout interior design hit, two teams of two worked with a designer (each) and one carpenter to completely renovate a single room of their neighbour's house for under $1,000. The catch? The other team doesn't see their room until the end- finished or not- and sometimes it didn't turn out to expectations.

The family edition appeared in 2004 and featured two parents and two kids on both teams. The change didn't last; "Trading Spaces" continued filming its regular show long after "Family" ended.

The show's franchise also released a kids "Boys vs. Girls" edition, one show known as "Home Free" (where the house would be redone and paid off) and "100 Grand" in which teams got to spend $50,000 each on their rooms. Ty Pennington, the show's primary carpenter for most of the show's run, went on to host "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition".