My husband’s away for a few weeks, which means steering clear of shows we’ve earmarked to watch together. So I’m dabbling in Drive to Survive to perv at the beautiful men, old Outlander to perv at Jamie Fraser with his sword and Married at First Sight to perv at the chaos.
The first two still do it for me in the hotness diversion stakes, but MAFS could not be leaving me colder.
MAFS contestant Sara, pictured with “husband” Tim, has been frequently accused of “not taking the experiement seriously” and “not being here for the right reasons”.
What used to be a reliable guilty pleasure that was funny while simultaneously making me need a shower to rinse off the shame of watching has devolved into something that’s lost its grubby sparkle. (Not that most viewers seem too bothered – it’s still far and away the number one rating show right now.)
Eleven seasons in, it’s not just that the premise is predictable. It’s that the fakery which is the foundation of reality TV feels tired and tedious rather than terrific.
Every time I tune in there’s the MAFS gang, badgering someone in a massive pile-on for not being serious about “the experiment”. For those not familiar, “the experiment” is referenced constantly with reverence usually reserved for the Ark of the Covenant or Michael Bolton’s baritonal roundness.
Hey guys, it’s just the construct behind a TV show. You’re not discovering the secret to humanity. And we’ve twigged you’re doing this for social media followers, not for the “right reasons” – another thing everybody talks about ad nauseam but never explains what those reasons are or what the wrong ones would be.
Not that you can hear me, busy as you are giving a phony dressing down to the Colombian-Canadian bride and bagging the fella in the ankle-breezer jeggings who rates himself but doesn’t sexually rate his wife. But any producers out there, my 10 cents’ worth is that MAFS has lost its water-cooler status because its fakeness has gone beyond.
Historically, I like fake stuff. I have fake tits, fakeish hair colour, love fake whipped cream in a can and that $34.99 Costco cake which is like heavenly chocolate air. So much so that Chris and I had two when we got married, piped with “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Time Magazine’s Wedding of the Year” – yep, fake messages on fake-tasting cakes. Awesome.
It’s fine to be fake – just stop calling MAFS an ‘experiment’
12
1
15.03.2024
My husband’s away for a few weeks, which means steering clear of shows we’ve earmarked to watch together. So I’m dabbling in Drive to Survive to perv at the beautiful men, old Outlander to perv at Jamie Fraser with his sword and Married at First Sight to perv at the chaos.
The first two still do it for me in the hotness diversion stakes, but MAFS could not be leaving me colder.
MAFS contestant Sara, pictured with “husband” Tim, has been frequently accused of “not taking the experiement seriously” and “not being here for the right reasons”.
What used to be........
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