Reality TV

I am NOT a TV-watcher at all (Ted Lasso and Paper Girls were literally the only shows I had seen all or most of in... maybe 8+ years?) but surgical recovery comes with a lot of TV time (which is nice in that it's a thing the Wife and I can do together). Having finished all available seasons of Only Murders in the Building and Schmigadoon, the collective of me, Plush Pink Pengin, and Wife and Link Pengin have turned our attention to a reality show my wife watches a lot with her best friend, Below Deck; she and I are working our way through Below Deck: Down Under, because we love Australia. We're currently in the middle of the second Aussie season. I can't say the best thing about this because it'd be a spoiler for anyone else unforunate enough to be sucked into this mess, but a next-tier good thing is that I love seeing the Australian coast scenery.

Also good are today's cards:

- Thank you so much for the great rainbow cat postcard! I know you said you don't need a thanks post but writing these gives me something to do that is NOT getting sucked into reality TV, LOL. You are wonderful and I am glad to report I go tomorrow to hopefully get my stitches out and see what my return-to-work plan will look like.

- Thank you for the great Christmas handmade in July postcard!

- It was so nice to hear from you, my friend! I am starting to heal up enough that I should be able to write soon. Thank you for the beautiful get-well card you made. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened the following day - I will actually be writing more about that because something similar happened to me a couple years ago!

- Thank you for the postcard of a place that just keeps getting scarier and scarier. Canada looks better all the time, eh?

I hadn't listened to any if their podcast until today (because i didnt think it would be interesting), when this episode from a couple weeks ago showed up in my YouTube suggestions. The title was intriguing enough and I was curious how much they would share. I was really surprised how well they did! They haven't been interesting or very articulate on the show for a very long time, but the conversation flowed really well. I was also surprised at how candid they were being about filming and their experiences. Like they admitted that the producers actually set up the backyard surprise for Zac did for Tori a few seasons ago, along with basically every party/celebration shown over the years. I'd always expected that to a degree, a lot is staged for tv, but it was more than I even understood, like the producers would come in to something Zac had actually planned and say "this is not nice enough to show on tv" and redo it. I've never listened to Jer and Auj's podcast, but I'm gonna assume these two are much more honest and natural than they've ever been. I doubt I'll listen to most episodes, but this was more actual behind the scenes insight than I expected and probably the most we've ever gotten from anyone on the show.

I feel like Owning Manhattan definitely read the Vanderpump Rules playbook.

I can’t explain further than that lol but maybe because I’m more of a VPR/Below Deck girly.

as the title states, i think many people online (LI newcomers especially for this season) need to remember that “villains,” (in quotes because production edits islanders how they want to edit them, and we see what the production wants us to see) are so crucial to what makes GREAT reality tv.

in all of my personal favorite seasons, there‘a islanders who based on edit, are annoying, frustrating, angering, but also keep the LI plot moving forward. based on what’s presented, does the general public like the way our “villains” this season are moving, no lol. but we should also understand that they make the show more interesting!!! imo those two things should exist at the same time. there’s a LI formula that is consistent in every season, every franchise, and any great season of LI has fantastic “villains” that challenge the “protagonists” and i feel we lose the plot of good villains in reality tv shows when fans think that what they see is exactly how the person is, nothing more. and when those fans make it personal (e.g commenting nasty things on their socials, threats/comments to their families/friends, etc) we lose the right to good reality tv and rightfully so imo because especially with LI, people have lost their lives to their experience on LI or people don’t ever want to be associated with it again because of fans. LI UK has become extremely conservative over the years and it’s because of people not recognizing that imo.

so let us remember this show is meant to be fun, dramatic, and while these islanders have beef with each other, thats ultimately between them and they usually always hash it out. at the end of the day the frustration really lies on the production team. the islanders cannot help that they are in an ultra controlled environment where they are encouraged to move the way they do. should they get held accountable for their actions? yes!! should we take it out on the islanders when that doesn’t happen? imo, no because production only lets them see what they want them to see. so it’s really a production issue sometimes. 99% when these LI shows end, the cast is all good, beef squashed, and love is there despite their quarrels that quite frankly, we don't need to take on ourselves. they all learn soon enough after leaving the villa. so voice your opinions but remember this cast has been SO GOOD at giving us reality tv.

p.s i have least fav islanders (rob, aaron, kendall) and i think that’s ok!! but it’s about having limitations and not making it too personal. that can also be said about our respective favs too (i love all the girls, even when some frustrate me lol) anyway peace and love 🙂‍↕️✌🏼 this season is SO good!!

edit: this post is NOT to justify or protect certain islanders (aaron/rob) and how production is protecting them from being held accountable for their actions while also making other islanders (leah) look bad despite the fact that she has been fucked over by rob and now production.

I don’t know who is exactly in on it but this might be the situation. They were allegedly getting a show last year but never did. So they decided to take it upon themselves to do it and play it out online.

I could be wrong and I’ll gladly take it back if I am but we’re dealing with two flat broke women with zero way to fame. No network wants individually OR together but if there’s marital drama? Plus vague near death experiences? They’re attempting to tick all of the boxes off right now.

Basically what the title says. We all know that Total Drama is a parody of Survivor and RR is a parody of the Amazing Race. So I personally would love if, in the future, they make parodies of other shows to shake things up with newer formats. Examples that come to mind are Big Brother, The Mole, or even a newer one like the Trust in Netflix. What are your opinions on this?

I was reminded that, in the first season of Top Chef, there was a challenge at a sex shop. That season played heavily into reality TV tropes, but now I see the show as having more prestige, with contestants who have won Michelin stars and worked for some of the best chefs around.

I'm not talking about a fall off in quality or questionable choices in character development later in the show. What show started out with a concept and strayed from it the most?

I don’t think any of the international couples are going to last at all after the show ends. I know this is reality TV but it’s also a dating show, I feel like they should’ve thought more about this before putting a couple islanders from the UK with all US islanders. The only couple I can see realistically staying together are Serena and Kordell because they live in the same city. They are just setting them up for failure I think.

I feel like we need to recognize influencers, like reality TV starts, are often just acting. They remain friends and create videos together because this is their job and they are COWORKERS. They are creating content for the public just like kardashians do. We shouldn't take their "we are exes that are friends" bit too seriously. We don't even know if they interact that much when cameras arent around. They take trips together becuase these are locations to film content for they're job. There is literally someone with a camera following them around when they're together. It seems like they post more content together now than when they were together, becuase it gets views.

Do you think they are getting therapy while on the island? Iirc I read somewhere that the UK version has them talk to a therapist for specific instances I think (eg if they’ve engaged in sex). Ive been really impressed with some of the emotional maturity/intelligence and conflict resolution. Yes, far far from perfect and certainly not all of the islanders but having read that blog about the UK and seeing the latest round of apologies and vulnerability, it makes me wonder🤔

That would be a great trend in reality tv: therapy, encouraging healthy friendships, discouraging toxicity. One can hope.