Stars Earn Stripes

*Stars Earn Stripes*
Stars Earn Stripes
Genre	Reality
Created by	Dick Wolf ; Mark Burnett ; David Hurwitz
Presented by	Samantha Harris ; Wesley Clark
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	4
Production
Executive producers	Dick Wolf; Mark Burnett; David A. Hurwitz
Running time	60–120 minutes
Production companies	Universal Television ; One Three Media; Wolf Reality LLC; Bill's Market & Television Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	August 13 –; September 3, 2012

Last updated October 16, 2024

Stars Earn Stripes is a reality television program that aired for one season on NBC beginning August 13, 2012. Produced by Mark Burnett, the series follows a group of celebrities, accompanied by current and former members of the United States Armed Forces and law enforcement, competing in various challenges for charity based on training exercises used by the U.S. military. The series is hosted by retired NATO Supreme Allied Commander and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark and former Dancing with the Stars co-host Samantha Harris. The title is a reference to how the stars would earn stripes on their uniforms when they advanced to the next round of the competition.

Participants

The cast of Stars Earn Stripes was unveiled by NBC in June 2012. Each celebrity will represent various military and veterans charities, and their winnings will be donated to these charities.^[1]

Dean Cain – Actor, playing for Wounded Warrior Project
Dolvett Quince – Trainer for The Biggest Loser , playing for Got Your Six
Eve Torres – Three-time WWE Divas Champion and 2007 WWE Diva Search Winner, playing for USO
Laila Ali – Former boxer and television host, playing for Military Child Education Coalition
Nick Lachey – Singer and actor, playing for Badge of Honor Memorial Foundation
Picabo Street – Winter Olympics downhill skiing medalist, playing for Hiring Our Heroes
Terry Crews – Actor and reality TV star, playing for the Pat Tillman Foundation
Todd Palin – Outdoorsman and former First Gentleman of Alaska, playing for Armed Services YMCA Alaska

Each celebrity was paired with a special operations or law enforcement professional who trained them in weapons and combat tactics. These "operatives" include:^[2]

Chris Kyle (Navy SEAL) – paired with Dean Cain
Andrew McLaren (Marine) – paired with Dolvett Quince
Grady Powell (Green Beret) – paired with Eve Torres
Talon Smith (Navy Corpsman) – paired with Laila Ali
Tom Stroup (Orange County Sheriff's Office SWAT Commander) – paired with Nick Lachey
Brent Gleeson (Navy SEAL) – paired with Picabo Street
Dale Comstock (Delta Force) – paired with Terry Crews
JW Cortes (MTA Police/Marine) – paired with Todd Palin

Summary

Pairing of Stars and Mission One

The season started with the stars and the operatives meeting in a clearing where General Clark assigned the teams. The first mission was called Amphibious Assault where the cast members would be dropped from a helicopter. Most of the missions were completed with two teams of a star and an operative to form a squad. The first squad was Dean Cain's and Laila Ali's teams with them completing the mission in around 13:20. The second squad consisting of Todd Palin, Dolvett Quince, and their operatives started the mission, but Quince could not swim adequately enough to the raft. The Rescue Team picked Quince up and Todd completed the mission with the help of the two operatives in a time of 20:54. The third squad of Nick and Eve completed their mission in a time around 10:02. The fourth squad of Picabo Street and Terry Crews started the mission, but Crews experienced similar swimming difficulties as Quince did. Street finished the mission in a time of approximately of 17:07. Back at Mission Control, General Clark announced that Nick and Eve had the best time. Gen Clark also announced that the two stars that failed to complete the mission would compete in the elimination shootout (instead of the normal slowest squad). Dolvett Quince and Terry Crews competed in the shootout with Quince being eliminated. Quince earned a small amount for the ‘Got Your Six’ charity.

Bonus Shootout

Due to an odd number of teams, a Bonus Shootout was held where the team with the fastest time in the first mission would compete for immunity in the second mission. Eve won immunity over Nick. The second mission was called Search and Destroy. The first squad consists of Todd and Laila with a finish time of 6:26. The second squad consists of Dean and Picabo finishing with the fastest time of 4:50. The final squad of Nick and Terry finished a time slower than the mark set by Todd/Laila. Nick completed the elimination shootout faster than Terry Crews. Terry Crews received the seventh place prize for his charity – Pat Tillman Foundation.

Mission Three

The third mission was called Rapid Detonation with the first squad of Eve and Dean with the fastest time of 5:30. Picabo and Todd was the second squad finishing in 7:19. The third squad of Nick and Laila finished the slowest time of 8:55. Nick survived his second elimination shootout and Laila was eliminated in sixth place. Her charity was Military Child Education Coalition

Finale and Special Shootout

The finale consisted of two missions and a special shootout. The final five competed in a special shootout where they competed simultaneously. The first star would get to pick their Mission Four squad mates and the last person with an undamaged target would be eliminated. Dean Cain was the fastest to complete the shootout. Picabo, Todd, and Eve finished second to fourth respectively with Nick Lachey still remaining. Nick earned the fifth place prize for Badge of Honor Memorial Foundation.

Mission Four

Dean chose Eve to be his squad mate, thus Picabo and Todd were paired together. Eve and Dean completed their mission in a time of 9:43. The other squad finished with a slower time. Picabo advanced to the finals by winning the final elimination shootout. Todd earned the fourth place prize for Armed Services YMCA Alaska.

Final Mission

The final mission, Harbor Demolition, was completed only in teams of two (unlike the typical squad of two teams). Dean Cain and his operative Chris Kyle completed the final mission in a time of 6:46. Eve Torres completed in a time of 5:10, thus eliminating Dean. Picabo and her operative Brent Gleeson completed the mission in a time of 5:37. Eve received the first place prize for the USO, while Picabo and Dean earning the second and third place prize (for Hiring Our Heroes and Wounded Warrior Project) respectively.

Mission results

Celebrity	Mission One	Mission Two	Mission Three	Special Shootout	Mission Four	Final Mission
Airdate	8/13/12	8/20/12	8/27/12	9/3/12 ⁴
Eve Torres	1st	Immune ²	1st	4th	1st	Winner
Picabo Street	3rd	1st	2nd	2nd	Safe-Shootout	2nd
Dean Cain	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	3rd
Todd Palin	4th	2nd	2nd	3rd	Eliminated	Out
Nick Lachey	1st	Safe-Shootout	Safe-Shootout	Eliminated ³	Out
Laila Ali	2nd	2nd	Eliminated	Out
Terry Crews	Safe-Shootout ¹	Eliminated	Out
Dolvett Quince	Eliminated ¹	Out

Note: Several rounds had two celebrities team up with each other, resulting in more than one celeb placing first place. The first three missions were assigned by General Clark, where Mission Four was special shootout winner's decision. The final mission was an individual pair mission.
¹Note: During Mission One, Dolvett Quince (paired with Todd Palin) and Terry Crews (paired with Picabo) failed to complete the mission due to swimming difficulties. Both were selected for the elimination shootout instead of lowest-placing squad.
²Note: Before Mission Two, a Bonus Shootout was held to determine who would be immune and not be assigned to the mission. The first place squad (from Mission One) of Eve Torres and Nick Lachey participated in it with Eve winning immunity.
³Note: Before Mission Four, there was a special elimination shootout held where all five remaining celebrities will pitted against each other simultaneously. The first celebrity to knock out all four targets would be able to choose their squad partners. The last celebrity with a target up would be eliminated. Dean Cain was the first and chose Eve Torres (who placed 4th in the Special Elimination shootout) to be squad mates. Picabo Street and Todd Palin (2nd/3rd respectively) were paired up for Mission Four.
⁴Note on Final Episode: There were two missions (Operation LifeLock and Harbor Demolition) shown on this date.

Color Key

Team won 1st place
Gained immunity through bonus shootout
Came in 1st in Special Shootout and picked Mission Four's squad mate
Safe during shootout
Eliminated during shootout
Eliminated in a previous episode

Reception

Allegations concerning Jack Osbourne

On August 6, 2012, Sharon Osbourne announced that she would be leaving fellow NBC program America's Got Talent due to allegations of discrimination by NBC and the producers of Stars Earn Stripes surrounding her son Jack Osbourne. On CBS's The Talk (where Sharon is also a panelist), Jack had revealed that two days before filming began, he was removed from the cast of Stars Earn Stripes after disclosing that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Sharon felt that NBC "badly handled" the situation, and that allowing him to participate could have proved inspirational for others diagnosed with the disease. Producer David Hurwitz disputed these allegations in a press event, stating that the show was only in talks with Osbourne to participate, and that he was never officially part of the cast.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Calls for cancellation

In August, eight Nobel Peace Laureates (Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams, Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Shirin Ebadi) signed an open letter calling for NBC to cancel the program. They wrote "It is our belief that this program pays homage to no one anywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence. Real war is down in the dirt deadly. People—military and civilians—die in ways that are anything but entertaining."^[6]

US Nielsen ratings

No.	Title	U.S. air date	Rating	Share	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)
1 / 2	"Amphibious Assault"	August 13, 2012	3.2^[7]	5	1.7/5	5.24^[8]
3	"Search and Destroy"	August 20, 2012	2.2^[9]	3	1.2/3	3.62^[10]
4	"Rapid Detonation"	August 27, 2012	1.8^[11]	3	1.0/3	3.09^[12]
5 / 6	"Stolen Intelligence / Harbor Demolition"	September 3, 2012	1.7^[13]	3	0.9/2	2.88

NBC has removed Stars Earn Stripes from its list of current shows, though no formal announcement of the programs status has been made.

Related Research Articles

Laila Amaria Ali is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female super middleweight titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight title. Ali is widely regarded by many within the sport as one of the greatest female professional boxers of all time. She is the daughter of boxer Muhammad Ali.

Nicholas Scott Lachey is an American actor, singer-songwriter, producer, TV personality and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees and later starred in the reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released four solo albums: SoulO, What's Left of Me, A Father's Lullaby, and Soundtrack of My Life. He also had a recurring role on the television series Charmed. He hosted NBC's The Sing-Off, co-hosted VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live from 2014 to 2015, and Nickelodeon's America's Most Musical Family, and co-hosts the Netflix shows Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum with his wife Vanessa Lachey. He is also the sole host of Perfect Match for Netflix. In 2021, Lachey won the fifth season of The Masked Singer.

Picabo Street is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. She won the super G at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the downhill at the 1996 World Championships, along with three other Olympic and World Championship medals. Street also won World Cup downhill season titles in 1995 and 1996, the first American woman to do so, along with nine World Cup downhill race wins. Street was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 2004.

Vanessa Joy Lachey is an American television host, model and actress. She was named Miss Teen USA in 1998. She has been a New York–based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and hosted Total Request Live on MTV. She has starred in two network sitcoms and hosted various competition and reality shows. Lachey portrayed the lead role in the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Hawaiʻi (2021–2024) for three seasons.

Andrew John Lachey is an American singer and occasional actor. He is known as a member of 98 Degrees, the winner of the second season of Dancing with the Stars, and the younger brother of Nick Lachey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Burke</span> American dancer, model and television host (born 1984)

Cheryl Burke is an American dancer, model, and television host. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She was the first female professional to win the show and the first professional to win twice and also consecutively. She has participated in 26 seasons. She came in second on the NBC series I Can Do That. She replaced Abby Lee Miller on Dance Moms in 2017.

Jessica Ann Johnson is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, Sweet Kisses (1999), sold two million copies in the United States and was led by the Billboard Hot 100-top three single "I Wanna Love You Forever". Simpson adopted a more mature image for her second studio album, Irresistible (2001), and its namesake lead single track peaked within the top 20 of the chart. The album received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Simpson's third studio album, In This Skin (2003), sold three million copies in the United States.

Philip Peter Dalhausser is an American former professional beach volleyball player, who played as a blocker. He and his former playing partner, Todd Rogers, were the 2007 AVP Tour and FIVB world champions.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> parodies of Sarah Palin Television comedy sketches

The sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live aired several critically acclaimed sketches parodying then Alaskan Governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election. The sketches featured former cast member Tina Fey, who returned as a guest star to portray Palin. Fey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.

Todd Mitchell Palin is an American businessman who was the first gentleman of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. He is the former husband of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee with John McCain.

Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin is an American public speaker and reality television personality. She is the oldest daughter and second of five children of Todd and Sarah Palin.

<i>Dancing with the Stars</i> (American TV series) season 11 Season of television series

Season eleven of Dancing with the Stars premiered on September 20, 2010, on the ABC network.

The Biggest Loser: Battle of the Ages is the twelfth season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize, which was awarded to John Rhode, the contestant with the highest percentage of weight lost. It premiered on September 20, 2011. Along with existing trainer Bob Harper, two new trainers joined this season. The 15 contestants this season were divided into three groups of five by their ages: those who are 30 and under were initially trained by Quince, those who are between 31–49 were initially trained by Harper, and those who are 50 and over were initially trained by Kournikova. This season marked the first time since season 5 that America did not have to vote on who would become a finalist. For the first time ever in Biggest Loser history, all 3 finalists were men.

The Biggest Loser: No Excuses is the thirteenth season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize, which was awarded to Jeremy Britt, the contestant with the highest percentage of weight lost. It premiered on January 3, 2012. Alongside veteran trainer Bob Harper, Dolvett Quince returned for his second season. The contestants come to the ranch in family pairs, but are split up with one person training with Bob and one with Dolvett and the teams competing against each other and their loved ones in challenges.

Andrew McLaren is a U.S Marine Corps veteran, turned American film and television actor. He appeared on the NBC television program Stars Earn Stripes and played Captain Sampson in the dramatic film Battle For Haditha. As a U.S. Marine he attained the enlisted rank of sergeant. McLaren served in Iraq and Liberia and, at one point, was assigned to the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST). Andrew is the executive producer of the feature film titled Sugarfields.

<i>Grimm</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the NBC American supernatural drama series Grimm premiered on August 13, 2012, and consisted of 22 episodes. The series, created by David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf and Stephen Carpenter, follows a descendant of the Grimm line, Nick Burkhardt, as he deals with being a cop, and trying not to expose his secret as a Grimm.

The Winner Is is an American singing competition television series which aired on NBC. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the seven-episode series featured singers of all ages competing for a chance to win $1,000,000. The concept of the show revolved around a series of "battles", in which two contestants compete for the votes of a jury consisting of 101 music professionals. The show premiered on June 10, 2013.

The Biggest Loser: Temptation Nation is the 17th season of The Biggest Loser which premiered January 4, 2016, on NBC. Dolvett Quince and Jennifer Widerstrom returned as trainers, while former trainer Bob Harper takes over Alison Sweeney as host. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize which was awarded to Roberto Hernandez, the contestant with the highest percentage of weight loss.

"The Kiss" is the 2nd episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 24th overall, which premiered on August 20, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by series creators Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, and was directed by Terrence O'Hara.

"Bad Moon Rising" is the 3rd episode of the supernatural drama television series Grimm of season 2 and the 25th overall, which premiered on August 27, 2012, on NBC. The episode was written by Richard Hatem, and was directed by David Solomon.

References

↑ de Moraes, Lisa (June 19, 2012). "Todd Palin among those competing in NBC's reality series 'Stars Earn Stripes'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
↑ ""Stars Earn Stripes" Brings Military Combat to Reality Television!". Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
↑ "Osbournes vs. NBC: This means war". Philly.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
↑ "#NBCFail? Sharon Osbourne split latest in network's series of gaffes and controversies". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
↑ Daly, Sean (August 6, 2012). "Sharon Osbourne is quitting 'AGT' after NBC axes Jack". The New York Post. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
↑ Serjeant, Jill (August 13, 2012). "Nobel laureates call for end to TV's 'Stars Earn Stripes'". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
↑ "TV ratings: 'Grimm' gets a small Olympic bump Monday while 'Hotel Hell' has an OK start. Zap2it". Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (August 14, 2012). "Monday Final Ratings: No Adjustments for 'Hell's Kitchen', 'Hotel Hell', 'Bachelor Pad' or 'Grimm'". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
↑ "TV ratings: 'Hell's Kitchen' leads Monday for FOX as 'Grimm' slips a little - Zap2it". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
↑ Bibel, Sara (August 21, 2012). "Monday Final Ratings: 'Grimm', 'Stars Earn Stripes', 'Hell's Kitchen' Adjusted Up; 'Bachelor Pad', 'The Glass House' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
↑ "TV ratings: Gordon Ramsay gives FOX a Monday win while 'Grimm' is steady for NBC - Zap2it". Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
↑ "Monday Final Ratings: 'Hotel Hell' & 'Stars Earn Stripes' Adjusted Up; 'Hell's Kitchen' Adjusted Down". August 28, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
↑ "TV ratings: 'Hotel Hell' finale and 'Bachelor Pad' top a quiet Labor Day - Zap2it". Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[wapo-tv-ses-1] Moraes, Lisa (June 19, 2012). "Todd Palin among those competing in NBC's reality series 'Stars Earn Stripes'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.

[2] ""Stars Earn Stripes" Brings Military Combat to Reality Television!". Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2018.

[philly-ses-osbourne-3] "Osbournes vs. NBC: This means war". Philly.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.

[fox-gaffe-4] "#NBCFail? Sharon Osbourne split latest in network's series of gaffes and controversies". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.

[5] Daly, Sean (August 6, 2012). "Sharon Osbourne is quitting 'AGT' after NBC axes Jack". The New York Post. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.

[6] Serjeant, Jill (August 13, 2012). "Nobel laureates call for end to TV's 'Stars Earn Stripes'". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.

[7] "TV ratings: 'Grimm' gets a small Olympic bump Monday while 'Hotel Hell' has an OK start. Zap2it". Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2018.

[8] Kondolojy, Amanda (August 14, 2012). "Monday Final Ratings: No Adjustments for 'Hell's Kitchen', 'Hotel Hell', 'Bachelor Pad' or 'Grimm'". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.

[9] "TV ratings: 'Hell's Kitchen' leads Monday for FOX as 'Grimm' slips a little - Zap2it". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.

[10] Bibel, Sara (August 21, 2012). "Monday Final Ratings: 'Grimm', 'Stars Earn Stripes', 'Hell's Kitchen' Adjusted Up; 'Bachelor Pad', 'The Glass House' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.

[11] "TV ratings: Gordon Ramsay gives FOX a Monday win while 'Grimm' is steady for NBC - Zap2it". Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.

[12] "Monday Final Ratings: 'Hotel Hell' & 'Stars Earn Stripes' Adjusted Up; 'Hell's Kitchen' Adjusted Down". August 28, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2018.

[13] "TV ratings: 'Hotel Hell' finale and 'Bachelor Pad' top a quiet Labor Day - Zap2it". Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]