You’d have to cut off my electricity to stop me tuning in to an ‘older Love Island’ | Barbara Ellen
I'm partial to a television dating show but is it all getting out of hand? The routine proliferation of different formats is turning into a veritable infestation of the schedules. Soon, we won't be able to move for pushy, pouting desperadoes trying to find love or the best camera-hogging storyline" - whichever comes first and makes the heart beat faster. Beyond that, could it be true that the dating TV tsunami has a real-world effect on how ordinary British people romantically relate to each other?
The Love Island franchise has a well documented dark side: not least the suicides of people connected to the show (presenter Caroline Flack and contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis). Still, generally, dating TV appears to be experiencing a gold rush featuring myriad shows. Love Is Blind (people bond unseen in pods). The Ultimatum (put bluntly: marry me or do one). Married at First Sight (the clue is in the title). Temptation Island (couples are tested"), Naked Attraction (starkers and ready for love), Sexy Beasts (icky flirting in bizarre masks), The Love Trap (evictees sent crashing through trap doors). And many more. This excludes formats I've decided are too lowbrow/depraved even for me - shows, usually with hot" in the titles, that make you want to weep for the human race while simultaneously spooning out your own eyeballs.
Continue reading...