S Reignite

Channel 4's lateset reality show adventure,presented to the contestants as a popularity contest called the Favourite instead was rigged by it's celebrity panel to ensure the show's underdog Josh, won.  And if Josh wins everyone wins. Across the eight episode series - British reality TV alumni; Love Island's Amber Rose Gil,  I'm a Celeb's Vicky Patterson and TOWIE's Pete Wicks worked with Radio DJ Nick Grimshaw to manipulate the show to ensure Bournemouth wrestler Josh won the series. Unlike the othe contestants on the series Josh was quiet , understated and didn't desire to be centre of attention. Making him the obvious underdog in the show. Poised as a show aiming to change the narrative of what a reality Star is, each day the celeb panel worked to put the game in Josh's favour which meant give him an upper hand in challenges or making ti harder for other contestants. This is a less Truman Show version to Amazon's Jury Duty which too sees a ki...

  After watching the first British series of Married at First Sight, I thought it was one of the most authentic dating shows. The reality show aims to scientifically match applicants with someone they believe could be a suitable partner but the two only meet for the first time on their wedding day. From this day they attempt to build a connection and see if they can make it as a married couple. Married at First Sight UK series seven cast The selection process for the first season took over a year, there were only three couples, whose relationships were supported by five experts. I then went on to watch a couple of the early American seasons and the format was similar, although Americans reality TV stars seem naturally better at creating drama than the Brits. But as the show continued to expand globally, with more couples getting involved each season, it became less clear how authentic the selection process was and I became less interested in the programme. It doesn’t help th...

  When I went to watch an early screening of The Woman King , one of the trailers they showed before the movie was for Sky Atlantic’s new six-part series This England which satirises the actions of the British government during the pandemic. Poster for This England. Credit: Gadgetonus Firstly, the trailer has confirmed one of my long-held beliefs – when they say that the previews have been selected based on the movie you are watching, that is a complete lie. Secondly, I question the industry’s desire to rush to produce media about recent current affairs. The government flouting their own Covid-19 guidelines in incidents which included Dominic Cummings driving to Durham while experiencing Covid symptoms and the revelation that the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, attended multiple large gatherings, one of which was to celebrate own birthday, are recent events from within the last two years. This means that these incidents are still fresh in the minds of the British public...

'You can't turn the paparazzi on and off ' As always, the paparazzi choose not to see the impact of their intrusive tactics on those in the spotlight in HBO Max documentary The Princess. The Princess poster Credit: Yahoo News Prior to Diana Spencer being formally engaged to Prince Charles, the press was at her door questioning her closely about what marriage to the Prince of Wales would mean. Even then Diana knew not to tell the enquiring journalists much. 25 years after her unfortunate death there are an inordinate number of documentaries focused on the life and death of Princess of the Wales. Spoilt for choice and questioning the motivations behind every documentary, I choose the one I saw first, The Princess directed by Ed Perkins. Perkins film unsurprisingly has no interviews with people in or close to the royal family sharing their love for Lady Di, instead it is crafted from paparazzi footage (obtained at all costs) and public appearances by the royal family. The over...

  In Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum chose to wear a Lakers purple and gold armband with the number 24 on it, as an homage to his favourite player Kobe Bryant and to channel the Hall of Famer's skill during the final game of the series. The Celtics went on to win the series and Tatum was awarded with the inaugural Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award. Tatum has always been open about his love and admiration for the late Laker. This isn’t even the first time he’s worn Bryant’s armband during a game. He also wore it in the NBA bubble during a match against the Philadelphia 76ers. However, since this most recent show of appreciation for the late Bryant, American sports channel ESPN have been consistently and shamelessly made unnecessary connections between the young Celtics stars and the 5-time NBA champion. On the fifth of June, ESPN posted a picture on Twitter of both Bryant and Tatum wearing Boston Celtics practice g...

On Monday, I finished watching the second season of I Love a Mama’s Boy and quickly did my routine Google search of the cast to see what they’re up to now. The show follows several couples where the male part of the relationship has an overly close relationship with their mother which constantly threatens their relationship. Surprisingly, I found, barely any articles about what I am calling TLC’s new hit show, so I’m here to give share my opinion on how things ended for each couple. Kim, Matt and Kelly First of all the fact that I have to include three people in each of these relationship sub heading tells you even without watching the show the messed dynamic for most of these couples. My biggest problem with the mama’s boys on the show is not that they are in fact mummy’s boys but the lack of support they give their partners, the women they claim to love and want to marry. They allow their mothers to undermine their girlfriends and expect the women to get on board with it. That b...

  After being out of reach for Americans for one year, The Office (US  ) is now available for Americans through NBC owned streaming service Peacock. Based on Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s short lived British original , the mockumentary style show is centred around colleagues at Dunder Miflin Paper Company and all their office antics, spearheaded by their loveable but unqualified manager Michael Scott.  Each character having their own quirks is one the many things that has allowed the US version to out live its inspiration and have a large cult following since its inception. Every aspect of the show is well thought out and laugh out loud funny. The details they choose to remember and emphasise are ones that we are accustomed to other shows forgetting. Casually, Meredith mentions that her son Jake has a face tattoo in season eight and this detail is remembered for the rest of his scattered appearances on the show. This is a detail that may not have been notic...

With less than two weeks left of the summer show and this season racking up the most viewers for the ITV2 programme it begs the question; can we complain about the lack of diversity on Love Island if we persist to watch it? Season one of Love Island started in 2015 For seasons there has been complaints from Love Island viewers about the lack of racial and body diversity on the show. At the beginning of the fifth season viewers once again complained about the lack of racial diversity especially as black British contestants Yewande Biala and Sherif Lanre struggled to find love. Sadly, Yewande similarly to Samira Mighty from the 2018 season of the show broke down in the confessional about not being wanted for who she is. And the little racial diversity that the show had didn’t last too long as Sherif ended up leaving the villa for breaking rules and Yewande was the first girl to leave once she was left single by Danny Williams who choose to couple up with Arabella Chi. An...

‘successful people hate their admirers’ - Katherine Newbury Captivating from the start, the Mindy Kaling written and produced film, Late Night tells a good story while poking fun at many, if not all, of the social problems in the TV industry. Late Night sees Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) attempt to revitalise her late night show, that has been running for two decades, with a fresh writing perspective from inexperienced female writer Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling). Unfamiliar with Mindy Kaling’s work but well aware of her success on TV with her show the Mindy Project I was quite excited for her film writing debut. On Newbury’s redemption journey she is able to shine a light on the prominent issues of diversity in the workplace, the #metoo movement, slut shaming and even poking fun at the idea of a white saviour. The film is rather enjoyable as a story whether you look at it from the perspective of Kaling’s character or that of Thompson’s. This along with the well-...