"Fat Club", Are you a Sadist? Why yes, I am.

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Have any of you seen this programme? It's on Channel 4 at 23.30 every Sunday as far as I know. It's about these overweight people who go to this sort of training camp every weekend. Maybe it's "Fat Camp", I'm not sure.

The main source of humour is the rather stereotypical fitness instructor. He ressembles a leaner meaner Dr Dre and wears a sort of mountee hat and constantly berates the "fat club" people". He makes me want to wet myself laughing because I keep waiting for him to physically threaten them. Also he keeps saying "enough of this goddamn trash talk, get in the goddamn pool, run the goddamn lap, give me your goddamn bags".

But anyway, it's all quite sad watching how badly the people want to lose the weight. It shows their weigh ins in front of everybody and sometimes they've put on weight, it's harrowing. But I still fucking love it. Er......sorry. Anyway what do you guys think?

― Ronan, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

First rule of fatclub thread, talk about fatclub.

Ho Ho.

― Ronan, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You won't really get the sense of the instructor from my half assed description but trust me. funny.

― Ronan, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It is ace, because it makes me think I am thin. I don't like the instructors talking about the fat people though. They're so harsh. I find it funny how they have to wear t shirts with 'FAT CLUB' written on them. I wonder if they wear them on the bus home?

― alix, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think they repeat it every Tuesday. I saw it round a mate's house last week. The six of us were in hysterics when one hapless chap broke the steps trying to get out of the pool. I think that's one moment in particular he would have preferred not to be captured on film.

Channel 4 have triumphed by turning heavy subject matter into light entertainment. Or is that the other way round?

― Trevor, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yes the guy breaking the steps was classic. you couldn't write comedy like that. Also the moment where they showed what one guy...er consumed in 4 days was good in a "wow" sort of way. In fairness lots of them have already lost a stone.

And yeah the fact that they have Fat Club t shirts is great I thought. the whole thing really operates on the "if we demean them, we can control them" hypothesis.

― Ronan, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yes, they do demean them. I think that's where the element of tragedy comes in, because it was quite clear from hearing their various accounts that obesity and low self-esteem go hand in hand. I'm certain that subjecting them to a barrage of abuse is the worst possible thing you can do to someone in that position.

Still, I think me and my friends managed to circumvent any guilt at watching by reminding ourselves that for whatever reasons, they consented to be filmed, although heaven knows why. A lifetime's supply of pies, perhaps?

― Trevor, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They. Get. On. TV.

― mark s, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Some of them are really hateable though. A minority admittedly, most of them seem like good people. But for some reason I find myself thinking the ones who don't lose weight somehow deserve to feel as bad as they do. I mean that's the thing also, it's pitting them all against each other in the public eye so you keep thinking "oh well if he can do it then why can't she". I could talk about it all day, it works on so many levels.

― Ronan, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

In the strees of their hometown ppl will be: "It's you, from what's it, FAT CLUB!! Sign this for my little niece!! Haha you broke the pool that was great!! That instructor what a utter bastard he was so out of order!! I'd have punched him if he said that to me. You looked much fatter onscreen but it adds a stone doesn't it?!! Blimey no one will believe when I say who I met in the High Street" etc etc

― mark s, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The people who will say that deserve to go to Death Club.

― Ronan, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Great idea for a series! For the follow up I reckon the TV people should send anorexics to Feast Camp. That'd learn 'em.

― Tom, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They could always do my elimination-style reality game called "Rehab". I think you can connect the dots on that one.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Kursk'. But I suggested that ages ago.

― dave q, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How about "Prison"? You win one of two ways: build the right alliance of strongmen and fuck buddies to shepherd you through your minimum good-behavior sentence, or successfully escape. Every week someone gets ADDED.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ha ha Tracer has described ACTUAL REALITY TV PROGRAMME well almost, i.e. stupendously unsuccessful "Jailbreak" show - people didnt get added but the idea was escape and get the prize, or stay and lose. There weren't fuck buddies either despite the best hopes of the TV execs. Of course 2 contestants got out of the "escape-proof" jail after two (of approx. 8!) weeks and the show went kaput.

― Tom, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

OF COURSE the the game's going to be out of whack if there's no guard willing to shoot the escapees dead! pah. as usual, someone who actually gives a shit has made some money by beating me to the punch with an inferior idea.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 14 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Wasn't there going to be a reality show based in a prison that was cancelled because the idea came dangerously close to being a repeat of the Stanford Prison experiment (I think that's right, it's a long time since I studied group behaviour) where two groups became the jailers and the inmates, with dark and sinister results.

― chris, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'Sinister results'? What happened??

― Sarah, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

All the contestants started going on picnics and shagging one another.

― Tom, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nope, that Stanford Prison exp TV show has been made by the BBC and will go out March - though this time it was done withpsychologists who understood the dangers involved.

― Pete, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's too EARLY for that kind of humour Tom! (Humour ho ho)

― Sarah, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tom, that was very funny, but far too quick for a morning. No, from what I remember the people who became guards turned into vicious sadists and wanted to start beating the "inmates" who in turn became very very frightened and institutionalized.

― chris, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

and here is a lovely website featuring cool seventies pictures of the participants

― chris, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

perhaps i am missing something by not watching reality shows.....

― Maria, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The prison story was interesting. It should be clear that we were trying to create a functional simulation of a prison -- not a literal prison. Real male prisoners don't wear dresses, but real male prisoners do feel humiliated and do feel emasculated. Our goal was to produce similar effects quickly by putting men in a dress without any underclothes. Indeed, as soon as some of our prisoners were put in these uniforms they began to walk and to sit differently, and to hold themselves differently -- more like a woman than like a man.

― maryann, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What about this: Guards also wore special sun-glasses, an idea I borrowed from the movie "Cool Hand Luke." ?

― maryann, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm not saying that's stupid

― maryann, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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