BRAT CAMP -- Oh, this looks delicious!

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Two hour premiere tonight! Unfortunately, the second hour is on at the same time as Veronica Mars. Suffice it to say, I'll be hitting the VCR, none of your fancy Tivo for me, no thanks.

But the upshot: a horrible bunch of kids are sent packing to a boot-style camp in the wilderness -- one mother tricks her daughter into arriving at the place and ditches her! -- and they're supposed to reform their horrible ways.

I see a couple appeals here:

1. Stupid kids getting a rude awakening.
2. Transformative reality television, this side of surgery, is by its nature appealing.

Anticipate!

― Leeeeeee (Leee), Thursday, 14 July 2005 00:53 (twenty years ago)

springer? montel? five years ago?? hellew!!

anyway, i've read som dept of justice research claiming that these were bullshit. same rescidivism rates as reg'lar juvie hall stuff, same success rates among former inmates. stuff like this just pulls at some mass freudian tough-love jones, yuck.

― g e o f f (gcannon), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:03 (twenty years ago)

"these" = teen boot camps, not reality shows

― g e o f f (gcannon), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:05 (twenty years ago)

dude, they weren't tough. they were hippies!!!! they all had earth-names. i'm quite fond of Little Big Bear. Not sure how I feel about Glacier yet. I'll watch it again. pretty suburban bunch of kids though. no rough tough inner-city kids.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:07 (twenty years ago)

now this sounds like something i can sink my teeth into. i'll be on the lookout for torrents.

btw has anyone read louis sachar's holes? i listened to the audiobook on the ride out to arizona!

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:09 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, but in the reality tv context (as distinct from the talk-show genre), Brat Camp is tapping into a tv goldmine, even if it is just repackaged from earlier iterations. But it's the packaging that is key here, and I really don't care if the kids really make it -- i.e. the ugly truth about reality tv and its haha 'fraudiences' is that we/I approach it fundamentally as storytelling, and everything is a fiction, or that what is 'real' is what is televised, things that fall outside the scope and/or schedule of the series is automatically less real.

xpost - ah, we can be friends again g e o f f.

― Leeeeeee (Leee), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

haha jody, use one s1sk!

― Leeeeeee (Leee), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:12 (twenty years ago)

they don't really have tv shows on slsk.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:13 (twenty years ago)

(haha, torrent typhoon brings up no brat camp but does bring up ernest goes to camp, ss hell camp, and something called lesbians having sex at summer camp.)

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:16 (twenty years ago)

did anyone actually make it thru this?? i couldn't do it

― jones (actual), Thursday, 14 July 2005 01:51 (twenty years ago)

i did. er, kinda. i was on the computer too, so i mighta missed some stuff.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 14 July 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

I only watched the last half-hour or so. There was a lot of teenage whining sounds, which I find very off-putting, but there were a couple actual real emotional breakdowns on the parts of the contestants, er, children. This series will get MUCH better as it goes along.

There was one point at which they came back from commercial and there was a shot of a mountain and the score was this uplifting string swell thing and I was like "WTF DID LOST START ALREADY!?!?" and then they cut to THE PHANTOM DOOKIE.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

I think my favorite was the kid who tried to stab his brother.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

I have to admit I was suckered by Compulsive Liar at first, believing she didn't belong there with them. I hope she simmers down. I love that she was the Phantom Dooker.

How many times did they remind us how well-trained the staff was? The therapists are respected professionals, mind you, despite the silly earth names.

I would never trust my parents again if they did that to me.

― Maria :D (Maria D.), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:41 (twenty years ago)

wait, i watched this last night! so many tears streaming down dirty faces!

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Thursday, 14 July 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

i watched, i sort of enjoyed it too. my parents wanted to send me to one of these joints back in the day....except it was called the marine corp.

― Lupton Pitman (Chris V), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:28 (twenty years ago)

haha

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

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