'Chained' in the search of love on reality TV
2001-03-20 12:42
London - Chained together in search of
love - reality TV is set to deliver yet another twist with a
new dating show in Britain where contestants are handcuffed
together day and night.
Chained will have cameras following the six contestants
as they shop, socialise and make merry together. Privacy will
be at a premium as they sleep together in a specially
constructed bed.
The programme, made by the producers of the hugely
successful and globally syndicated Big Brother, has been dubbed
the most extreme dating show ever by newspapers.
One contestant, the picker, will decide each day which
companion to unchain. That person has to leave the show and by
the end of the week, the picker will be left chained to his or
her ideal date.
The make-up of the group will vary from week to week. There
are plans to have teams of one man and five women, one woman
and five men, six lesbians and a mixed bi-sexual group.
"Chained is great fun, uniquely bizarre and definitely
addictive," presenter Melanie Hill said last December when
Channel Four announced the show, to be broadcast on its
recently launched entertainment offshoot E4.
Hill has first-hand experience of life as reality TV
contestant. She was a member of the UK's Big Brother team,
which had its every move filmed for 24 hours a day and
broadcast on the Internet during their 10-week stay in a sealed
house, with snippets broadcast on TV.
Millions of viewers saw her plucking her Bikini line in
front of the camera, photocopy her breasts and kiss two of the
other inmates.
Getting Really Real
Chained promises to be brasher and go a step further by
showing a couple having sex in front of the camera. But the
scenes will not be too revealing as the action takes place
under the sheets, newspapers said.
The prospect of real-life intercourse on TV has proved too
much for some though.
A similar show, House of Love, was panned by moral
watchdogs in Germany for having one man share an apartment -
and a waterbed - with five women.
The success of Big Brother, has sparked a glut of similar
shows in many parts of the world.
Millions of Britons followed the antics of six celebrities
last week as they were locked up in the Big Brother house in
London during a week-long charity event.
In the Netherlands, twelve dieters are competing to win
their weight loss in gold in a new gameshow called Big Diet.
But a fridge stacked with their favourite food will tempt them
throughout the contest.
There are also signs that viewers are tiring off the
endless exhibitionism of such shows.
In Germany, where Big Brother was a huge hit, a new
fly-on-the-wall show, Girlscamp, is already being revamped
due to falling viewership in its first week. The show places 10
scantily clad beauties in a Canary Island villa, competing for
a "boy of the week" and $100,000.
TV channel RTL also had to tinker with Big Brother to
keep German viewers tuning in. It now forbids residents to
shower in bathing suits, ensuring more on-camera nudity.
The show also decided to guarantee amorous action from the
onset by including a young couple among the contestants.