Of course it's made up. It's so fake that they can't possibly cover it all up. In a way they incorporate it into the show. All the situations are made up. The places are set up. I wouldn't be surprised if everybody there is an actor. What makes it even watchable is Tommy Lee's innate charm. He is truly a likable person, and it shows through onto the TV screen. The people seem genuinely charmed by him. There is two problems. They need to get rid of this reality TV BS. It's not, so why bother. The other thing is that it does get hard to watch because we know it's fake. The pretense to being real does get a little bit tiring.
10 Reviews
A good show
forward31617 August 2005
Obviously this show is made up but it is fun and entertaining. The casting of Tommy Lee and his roommate and his tutor were impeccable. Although Tommy didn't get any credit for his classes he still new how to make it look like he was trying so that it keeps people watching the show. Tommy is a perfect casting for the show because he is a fish out of water. The comedy is on him and he thrives on that. It is fun to see how he does in school and also socially with partying on campus. Unfortunately no romantic relationships were allowed so we were not able to see Tommy and his tutor hook up. This show is going to help NBC's summer line up tremendously.
Welcome to Cliché High...
mdpomroy20 March 2007
As the title suggests, Tommy Lee goes to an American college in Nebraska. For those who don't know who Tommy Lee is, he's the drummer from Motley Crue and the human equivalent of a high five. He's also the ex-husband of Pamela Anderson, with whom he made an infamous porn video, allegedly gave her hepatitis C and spent four months in jail after pleading no contest to kicking his then-wife in the groin. Ahh, true love. Billed as reality TV there's actually no reality here whatsoever. Much of the footage is of students asking him for his autograph, kids gawping at the C-list rock star or frat boys shouting the word 'dude'. In fact, he didn't even enroll at the college, he just went to a few of the classes, looked bemused and was then given a hot, blonde personal tutor in the hope that he would hit on her we can only presume. Hardly reality. The producers tried to put him in lots of potentially comic set pieces, but he neither plays the fool nor makes an effort to show he isn't one. Tommy just bumbles about and what's left is edited into a bit of a mess. It's a shame because if you've ever seen interviews with the man you'll know that Tommy can be a funny and fairly entertaining person, (when he's not giving his wife a good kicking) but none of that comes through here. Soundtracked by cartoon slide whistles and thrash guitars (as if the clown from Slipknot was audio director) Tommy heads off to find a roommate and we're shown nothing but tired old clichés. Nerds, geeks, the Asian guy who works really hard and mock-horrified glances from Tommy as he finds out that one potential roomie is a gay. It would have been more worthwhile to see him actually enroll in the college, actually live on campus and try hard to see if a rock star who's scrambled his brain with the best of them could pass any of the classes. Then he may have shown us something original about life at an American University, maybe even confound of few of the stereotypes rather than reinforcing them. If you want college hi-jinks then hire out Animal House or American Pie, because there are none here. But, sadly, there's nothing to be learnt from the exercise either. D-minus.
Very Entertaining
BabyColts317 May 2006
This show is great to watch if you are a Tommy Lee fan. He is so funny and looks so hot. I wish he would come to West Virginia University! Buy this DVD. It is very entertaining. Tommy not only can sing but he is a down to earth person and this show is well worth watching. A lot of people don't like him but give him a chance he isn't that short tempered person many people play him up to be. This show lets you see how he handled college life and I think he does very well plus entertains the students and they really seemed to enjoy him being on their campus. He has a real talent for playing the drums and really has a hard time trying to play with the university band. It's just not the same as playing in a group.
Hilarious!
pixler17 August 2005
I loved this show. Obviously it's nothing deep and intellectual (even though it deals with college...) but it's hilarious and well worth watching. Finally we get a break from the string of reality dating shows they've been pumping down our throats .... guess what, nobody cares if the Bachelor finds a girlfriend!
This show is a definite guilty pleasure. Tommy is great - he messes up in marching band, correctly answers a question in Horticulture, and says "killer" a lot.
Give this show a chance. I guarantee you'll get a good laugh out of it, and maybe like me, you'll be immediately hooked.
9/10 (because nobody's perfect. and I hate the voice-over guy's voice)
This show is a definite guilty pleasure. Tommy is great - he messes up in marching band, correctly answers a question in Horticulture, and says "killer" a lot.
Give this show a chance. I guarantee you'll get a good laugh out of it, and maybe like me, you'll be immediately hooked.
9/10 (because nobody's perfect. and I hate the voice-over guy's voice)
Tommy Lee rocks
MovieAddict201628 August 2005
I like Tommy Lee. He's brutally honest and just happy with life and in the few interviews I've seen with him, he always comes across as a cool guy. He's had a rocky past and been involved in some drug abuse and physical abuse but he battled his demons and seems to be content nowadays. I mean, he took his ex-wife on a week-long vacation recently (which sparked the whole remarriage rumors) and I've never heard of that involving divorced couples - he could have acted like a jerk after Pamela Anderson claimed he gave her Hepatitis C (which is probably true anyway) but he didn't hold a grudge. He's also mellowed out a lot musically and his new album "Tommyland" sounds much softer than I ever imagined. (This is both good and bad.) So following suit with his "reformed lifestyle" (well, not really) he decides it's time to go back to college - and hence camera crew follow him around a Nebraska college campus and we get to see him make an ass of himself.
Yet another reality TV show where humiliation plays a big part, but this one's funny. A lot of the stuff is probably scripted - Tommy gets a hot tutor for example: a blonde girl, the chances of whom being a regular guy's tutor are probably 1,000,000 to 1. When he sees her he says, "You're my tutor? Awesome!" This show is a bit basic and juvenile, and some might find it pathetic to see a brainless, drugged-up veteran rock star acting like he's 20 years old - but that's part of the fun, because Tommy Lee is a kid trapped in an adult's body. He never grew up, and he probably never will. The show works because of him, not in spite of him.
Yet another reality TV show where humiliation plays a big part, but this one's funny. A lot of the stuff is probably scripted - Tommy gets a hot tutor for example: a blonde girl, the chances of whom being a regular guy's tutor are probably 1,000,000 to 1. When he sees her he says, "You're my tutor? Awesome!" This show is a bit basic and juvenile, and some might find it pathetic to see a brainless, drugged-up veteran rock star acting like he's 20 years old - but that's part of the fun, because Tommy Lee is a kid trapped in an adult's body. He never grew up, and he probably never will. The show works because of him, not in spite of him.
"Awesome" "Killer" "Rad"
fivejewels2dogs20 August 2005
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be a human magnet to women and men, watch, Tommy Lee Goes To College". Tommy Lee is in his forties and decides its time to go to college at Nebraska. The Nebraska corn fed beauties swoon and practically faint as he walks by them. The best part of the men is the ones who don't know who Tommy is. It's sort of like trying to find a juror who doesn't know who Michael Jackson is. "I'm Tommy Lee from the band Motley Crue"...pause...silence..deafening silence.
It's time for Tommy to master Chemistry, Physics and Literature. "The guys bananas", he says about one nutty Physics professor whom he visits for mentoring. The professor actually explains to Tommy Lee where the pop culture word "Rad" comes from. "Was crack'n?" he blurbs out walking into chemistry class late. Tommy tries out for the marching band with full knowledge he would have to conform to their music, which seems to go against the Tommy Lee grain. He fails to produce good drumming precision techniques and barely makes the band.
His room mate finally gets comfy with Tommy Lee while they do laundry and starts to probe Tommy about the sex tape. Tommy tales it like a man and tries to change the subject by asking his roomy, "how long does it take to do laundry". It's incredibly obvious that Tommy Lee has never done a single load of laundry in his life. Hilarious!
For who he is, and everything he's done in his life, NBC's reality show does show the charming and very endearing side of Tommy Lee, and how much fun it must be, not to conform, and enjoy life on your own terms.
It is must see TV.
**** Four Stars
It's time for Tommy to master Chemistry, Physics and Literature. "The guys bananas", he says about one nutty Physics professor whom he visits for mentoring. The professor actually explains to Tommy Lee where the pop culture word "Rad" comes from. "Was crack'n?" he blurbs out walking into chemistry class late. Tommy tries out for the marching band with full knowledge he would have to conform to their music, which seems to go against the Tommy Lee grain. He fails to produce good drumming precision techniques and barely makes the band.
His room mate finally gets comfy with Tommy Lee while they do laundry and starts to probe Tommy about the sex tape. Tommy tales it like a man and tries to change the subject by asking his roomy, "how long does it take to do laundry". It's incredibly obvious that Tommy Lee has never done a single load of laundry in his life. Hilarious!
For who he is, and everything he's done in his life, NBC's reality show does show the charming and very endearing side of Tommy Lee, and how much fun it must be, not to conform, and enjoy life on your own terms.
It is must see TV.
**** Four Stars
Charming!!!
bkmjludwig11 September 2005
Tommy's ventures make me smile! I look forward to watching it each week. He is so "likeable" sweet actually! Most of us enjoy having something nice to look at! This is a fun, refreshing, feel-good half hour! Tommy is a guy that most people can relate to, down to earth and non-threatening. I find myself cheering him on wanting him to succeed in the challenges he takes on. We know that he is a "great" drummer but fitting into college life is hard enough for normal people; I am sure there was a certain amount of pressure from many directions for him to do well as far a being able to fit in with the "Drum line" which is Totally different than being a drummer in a Rock band. I was "Screaming" with excitement!, when he Nailed his performance at the Football game! I love to watch any show that makes you pull for someone to succeed! We need more of that in our world today!
A delightful summer surprise, Tommy Lee makes "College" good, clean, stupid fun
liquidcelluloid-110 December 2005
Network: NBC; Genre: Comedy, Reality; Content Rating: TV-PG; Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);
Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. "Tommy Lee Goes to College" is a reality/comedy series done right - a balance struck rarely on network TV. It is a delightfully frivolous guilty pleasure and a perfect summer season diversion... well, actually, its better than a diversion.
The premise of the series is summed up in the title. Motley Crue rock star Tommy Lee, more famous for his off-stage talents then his music, puts the past behind him, puts on a letter jacket for the University of Nebraska and tries to finish up his final college credits and get a diploma.
But the show has its tongue planted firmly in cheek the whole way through. In true wacky sitcom style, ensnared in this adventure is his mismatched roommate, Matt, and his model-hot tutor Natalie. If that isn't enough Lee's antics keep raising the eyebrows of the school's Dean who insists he shape up or be thrown out. All the while, off-screen narration is delivered with a perfectly hilarious thick-as-molasses, nose-in-the-air high society voice compliments the wackiness perfectly.
The show stumbles on a gold mine when Lee, sick of scrubbing toilets with toothbrushes, start his own fraternity - hilariously titled the "House of Lee" where he assembles all the other house rejects to create more staged, over-the-top mischief. The "Animal House" spirit is alive and well in "College" and the show's frequent dips into unbelievable fantasy (like Lee's wild physics project) only match the light-hearted sitcom tone - well established by the show's intro, "Good Times" from Tommy Lee's own album.
Audiences will probably be more on the edge of their seat, wondering if, at any moment Lee will bed that tutor, then on whether or not he gets his diploma. But Lee, himself, comes off surprisingly well. A likable goofball of a character, the show knows it can put Lee in a situation and not only will he make the most of it, but the resulting juxtaposition with his childlike enthusiasm and 80s lingo is funny. Fitfully, stupidly, funny. I laughed in spite of myself.
The premise allowed for only one season, but I really wish they could have found a way to get Tommy Lee back in college for more fun. While it runs way to short and doesn't quite match the greats of this odd hybrid genre (including "The Osbournes" and "I'm With Busey"), "Tommy Lee Goes to College" is agreeably entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and, best of all, has no pretension about its purpose in the world. It doesn't even try to get us to like Tommy Lee, it is just good, clean, stupid fun.
* * * / 4
Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. "Tommy Lee Goes to College" is a reality/comedy series done right - a balance struck rarely on network TV. It is a delightfully frivolous guilty pleasure and a perfect summer season diversion... well, actually, its better than a diversion.
The premise of the series is summed up in the title. Motley Crue rock star Tommy Lee, more famous for his off-stage talents then his music, puts the past behind him, puts on a letter jacket for the University of Nebraska and tries to finish up his final college credits and get a diploma.
But the show has its tongue planted firmly in cheek the whole way through. In true wacky sitcom style, ensnared in this adventure is his mismatched roommate, Matt, and his model-hot tutor Natalie. If that isn't enough Lee's antics keep raising the eyebrows of the school's Dean who insists he shape up or be thrown out. All the while, off-screen narration is delivered with a perfectly hilarious thick-as-molasses, nose-in-the-air high society voice compliments the wackiness perfectly.
The show stumbles on a gold mine when Lee, sick of scrubbing toilets with toothbrushes, start his own fraternity - hilariously titled the "House of Lee" where he assembles all the other house rejects to create more staged, over-the-top mischief. The "Animal House" spirit is alive and well in "College" and the show's frequent dips into unbelievable fantasy (like Lee's wild physics project) only match the light-hearted sitcom tone - well established by the show's intro, "Good Times" from Tommy Lee's own album.
Audiences will probably be more on the edge of their seat, wondering if, at any moment Lee will bed that tutor, then on whether or not he gets his diploma. But Lee, himself, comes off surprisingly well. A likable goofball of a character, the show knows it can put Lee in a situation and not only will he make the most of it, but the resulting juxtaposition with his childlike enthusiasm and 80s lingo is funny. Fitfully, stupidly, funny. I laughed in spite of myself.
The premise allowed for only one season, but I really wish they could have found a way to get Tommy Lee back in college for more fun. While it runs way to short and doesn't quite match the greats of this odd hybrid genre (including "The Osbournes" and "I'm With Busey"), "Tommy Lee Goes to College" is agreeably entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and, best of all, has no pretension about its purpose in the world. It doesn't even try to get us to like Tommy Lee, it is just good, clean, stupid fun.
* * * / 4
Tommy Lee should go back to... well, anywhere but TV...
munkittrick16 August 2005
I just saw the feed of Tommy Lee's new "reality" show where he rejoins his defiled youth in an obvious stunt to be interesting to people half his age again. To put it bluntly, the show is not real. Second, the show is not funny. And Finally, the show is an excellent example of why ex-rockers should NEVER be allowed out in public without a leash, a 'lude and a security detail...obviously to protect us, not him.
It's a sad sight that a respected university allowed him to make light of all of the themes that create the need for the institution to exist in the first place, but much of the clearly edited footage leaves a lot to be explained, a lot to be answered for and nothing remotely funny about college, Tommy, NBC or "reality. After that, I'm looking forward to the new Survivor...and I hate that crap!!! Nitey-night.
It's a sad sight that a respected university allowed him to make light of all of the themes that create the need for the institution to exist in the first place, but much of the clearly edited footage leaves a lot to be explained, a lot to be answered for and nothing remotely funny about college, Tommy, NBC or "reality. After that, I'm looking forward to the new Survivor...and I hate that crap!!! Nitey-night.
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