By Sarah Cattle, Keruschka Shunmugam, Erin Harkins and Rebecca Ojumu
After a hard day of lectures, sometimes we want to come home, snuggle up and watch some really bad TV. We all have our faves – shows that you know are trashy but you still love. You know you should hide your head in shame but secretly you take full pride in your viewership. Here are some of the Vision TV team’s glorious, guiltiest pleasures.
Snog…Marry…I’d rather Avoid
Fake nails, hair extensions and layers of foundation: Snog, Marry, Avoid takes orange to a new level! The show plays on society’s most formidable stereotypes, from the brash girl to the camp diva. It’s the choice of the public to decide whether they would rather “snog, marry or avoid” each of the scantily clad and distinctly orange guests. It’s no surprise “avoid” is often the most popular answer given. After this obviously crushing response, an exceptionally blunt ‘computer’, POD (Personal Overhaul Device), proceeds to inform them as to where they are going wrong with their look and in no time at all has given them a full ‘make-under’, erasing any sense of visible personality. Complete overhaul done, they face the public vote for a second time to a much kinder response. All in all, an unfortunate message is portrayed, but I can’t help but love it. The participants may be fake, they may even be thicker than Alex Reid, but these people living on the edges of acceptable fashion and skin tone certainly brighten up my evening viewing.
A Bit Too Desperate…The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Based on a group of wealthy wannabes in Atlanta, Georgia, they compete to be the bitchiest, most famous, most talked about ‘divas’ in the clique. There is always an obscene need for drama and conflict and their reaction to the smallest of offences is the reason why the Real Housewives franchise has become a global phenomenon. It gives you everything a good trashy television show should – sex, violence and lots of fake nails, hair, boobs and personalities! It’s just oh-so-easy to come home from a long day of lectures and take your mind off the stressful day you’ve had by watching the dramatic lives of the rich and nearly famous unfold.
Is it time to move on?
Daytime TV is littered with shows about finding that perfect place to up sticks to. My personal favourite, Homes Under the Hammer, glows when compared to its counterparts. It’s one of the few property shows you can actually tune in to knowing, with full certainty, that someone is going to buy a house; how often does that actually happen on Escape to the Country? Never, is the answer! Property hunters on these substandard shows aren’t there to find their dream home, in all likelihood they don’t even have the funds they’re laying claim to. Airtime is what they’re after, even if its just moments squeezed between the presenter’s constant whining about what a tough job they have. Well, way to go in stating the obvious; they’re not interested in buying a house, I would suggest your ‘job’ is impossible! Shows like this encompass the definition of a guilty pleasure.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
You may ask, why on earth would I want to keep up with the Kardashians? Possibly the most famous family for being famous, they earn most of their wages from images of Kim’s infamous derriere. But, boy, they sure know how to entertain! The recent news of Kim’s divorce to toyboy husband after a mere 72 days of marriage has only added to the hype. However overrated they may be, they portray the ultimate unconventional family. Who else has a mother that would persuade her reluctant daughter to pose topless for playboy? However crazy this family may be, you can’t deny the entertainment they provide, they really can brighten up a grey day. Regardless of their dim monotone voices, they continue to annoy whilst humouring their audience and will, I’m sure, continue to do so for years to come.