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| The TV TeenWatch continues with ‘Flatmates’ |
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| Talk,
Jerry Carpenter,
16 January 1999 | |
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Hey – who doesn’t like watching those funny monkeys mucking about in the zoo? Now just imagine if those monkeys could speak and were dressed up in clothes and put in their very own swanky flat in London. Well you’d either have the best big budget PG Tips ad ever, or you’d have ‘Flatmates’, yet another Teens-in-the-house documentary series.
Ten years ago, MTV knocked out ‘The Real World’, the first example of this sort of pseudo fly-on-the-wall documentary making. Five young things holed up in an expensive Manhattan apartment under strict orders to interact and socialise for the entertainment of the masses, all zappily edited to make a horribly watchable experience. The Beeb had a crack at the same format (in the days before they started stealing TV concepts off us) and came up with a drearier version set in a Manchester household full of whiny students – it bombed, while the US original still draws viewers today.
These shows really bring out the misanthrope in everyone – the most entertaining ones to watch are always the most frightening egotists, and when they break out the camera for the personal interviews (where individuals get to bitch about their roomies ) these guys and girls supply some of the most frightening TV around.
This latest spin on the genre adds an extra touch of meanness. Taking the lead from the film ‘Shallow Grave’ it sets up a string of hapless individuals who have to prove themselves to four Brixton flatmates in order to get themselves a room in the house. The psychological tortures this will involve will become apparent this week when the show begins, but I know a guy who went through the process on the show. He lasted five days before he was given the thumbs down, and the only real stardom he’ll get is that his cock will make it onto Channel 4, as they filmed him in the shower. Was it worth it? I asked him - would he do it again? Against all his better judgement he still says that he’d go back for more – and as long as there’s suckers like him who’ll take the carrot then we’ll always have fresh meat for shows like these.
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