May 05, 2004
what these teens did last summer
there are a lot of things wrong about this show. the reality sucker in me refuses to let go of the show, though, so i have to bear with both its strong points and its flaws alike.
strong points:
1. it's a reality tv show, so that's definitely a plus. (there have been rumors of this being a totally scripted show, with pre-announced winners and all, but i don't find any merit in that accusation. i'll still assume that this is a bonafide reality tv show.)
2. the jurors rank them from weakest to strongest, making me, the interested viewer, aware of how all the contestants stand. this also enables me to make use of excel in tabulating their ranks and in predicting who will go next. i know this strips away the excitement come judgment day, but what the heck.
3. it also pleases me to see that the jurors are very reasonable in their criticisms, without having to ape simon cowell of the american idol fame. simon's unique, and besides, he makes perfect sense. no one must copy him. most local reality tv shows nowadays (at least those which require judges) have judges who bitch about the contestants only for the sake of bitching. some of them make no sense at all.
these are three of the strong points which compel the reality freak in me to continue watching this show. now for the criticisms, which compel the reality non-freak in me to just change the channel and watch strangebrew instead.
flaws:
1. luis manzano sucks in hosting. the way he speaks and pronounces words bother me. instead of saying it with a short i sound, like mittens, kit, or luis, he pronounces it with a short e sound, like bell, felt, or mellow. he also has facial expressions which annoy me to no end. why can't he learn from edu manzano? his father blows him off the water, runs over him down the ground, beats him by a thousand miles.
2. the eliminations often become anticlimactic and insensitive. these two adjectives don't often go together, i know. insensitive shows milk the drama for whatever it's worth, and drama is always climactic. but not in star circle teen quest. first, the "anticlimactic." the eliminations fail to bring the excitement that is present in other reality tv shows (like survivor or the amazing race) for the simple reason that it is poorly executed. the timing seems to be always off, the hosts don't know what to do, and the jurors are not informed beforehand when the commercials start and show begins. hence, the whole process becomes chaotic, and the insensitive drama is drowned in the confusion that occurs.
3. next, the "insensitive." after getting booted off, the person eliminated is required to remain onstage. the whole audience stares at him, the viewers stare at him, the cameras stare at him. and he does nothing but stand there and stare back until the show ends and everyone is finally allowed to go say their final goodbyes. i don't know, but that seems unnecessarily cruel to me. and to add to all that misery the obviously senseless question that the hosts ask: "how do you feel now that you've been booted?" my goodness, shut. up. just end it already. cut. snip. ta-ta.
alas, i've just given a review of star circle teen quest. hee. anyway, basing from my tabulation, i have a feeling that michelle or errol are the ones to go. hero will be saved by his votes, and neri will be doomed by hers. what do you think?
update: i was right. michelle got voted out, hero saved by his votes, neri doomed by hers. errol was a shock, though. maybe his mentors gave him a high grade.
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