Bret Michaels hits reality road again

Bret Michaels is back with his 'Rock of Love' competition shows.

Los Angeles: Rock `n` roll is absurd, exciting and hyper-real --all ingredients for a fascinating reality TV series, as Bret Michaels (former frontman for Poison) proved with his "Rock of Love" competition shows.And the plan for VH1`s new "Bret Michaels: Life as I Know It," premiering Monday, was that cameras would follow him as he tries to be a better dad to his young girls and a better boyfriend to his long-time girlfriend and baby mama Kristi.

But Michaels suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage right as cameras began to roll, putting the series on hold. He recovered, as most everyone knows, and grew his audience with a winning turn on NBC`s "The Celebrity Apprentice." But with his health still in play (he`s also a lifelong diabetic), "Life" becomes a very different type of reality series. Every mundane gesture he makes -- to say nothing of his leaping onstage to belt out the 8 millionth rendition of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" -- can be seen in a new light. Can reality TV actually transcend peeping Tom trash and evolve into genuine art? OK, let`s not get in over our heads. Michaels is a genuinely charismatic presence, likable even for nonfans of his music. Watching him interact with his mom, who drops by on tour, is a hoot; you`d have to be a stone not to feel for his youngest as she stands nose-to-glass watching him walk down the driveway to hit the road again; and his boneheaded generosity -- who invites 20 roadies home for breakfast? -- is sincere and warmly hilarious. But without Michaels onscreen, the light on "Life" dims enough to turn it into an ordinary, plain brown wrapper. Put it this way: On her own, Kristi is no Sharon Osbourne. Bureau Report