As I've mentioned previously, there is a dearth in quality English programmes on TCS 5, and the only ones interesting enough to watch are those real-life re-enactment types such as CrimeWatch, True Files and Full Circle. These programmes, however, cannot really be classified as reality tv shows. So far, shows in the latter category, seem somehow, to be sorely wanting.
Sure, Singapore Idol was a huge success (eventually turning Taufik Batisah, Sylvester Sim and even Maia Lee into recording artistes) but that little venture has come to a standstill. Eye For A Guy is a local (not to mention cheapskate) knock-off of The Bachelor/Bachelorette series, but who really wants to see an emaciated female model flirting with a dozen guys over a couple of months' worth of episodes, only to find out that she has chosen the most obvious contender in the end?
And judging by the prettily packaged "talents" in Project Superstar and Anugerah, I can't help but wonder if these shows are serious about producing a credible singer-celebrity or just out to suck the dollars out of the masses of sms-sending teens, who unfailingly follow the progress of their wannabe-idols.
Then, along came the trailers for Villa Wellness, and after watching the first episode, I knew that this is the first locally-produced, English reality show that might be able to touch the raw nerve of the everyday, typical, Singaporean. The premise is quite cliched; a dozen overweight women come together to live under one roof as they go through a fitness cum weight-reduction programme.
But this is something I can relate to -- almost half of all my friends and acquaintances (male and female) have griped about their weight at some point or another. It certainly beats watching a bunch of people singing unrequited love songs week after week, or some snotty model choosing the guy she most wanna snog with.
I think it's really admirable that these women dared to bare a part of their souls to the cameras. As such, there were many scenes that tugged at the heartstrings (albeit rather manipulatively) -- a housewife tearing as she confesses that she is missing her young son; an undergrad reflecting pensively about her ailing mother; an indignant career-woman bitching about an unreasonable participant...
It's highly likely that some very smart editing have made certain situations more dramatic than they actually were, but still, the whole feel of the show is very raw and unadulterated. I can actually sense the tense and nervous determination of these women as they braved David Gan's blunt comments (and atrocious grammar) or watched, with guarded eyes, the skeletal frames of judge Junita Simon and host Desiree Siahaan as they recited their lines in clipped accents.
However, I wonder if this show is simply just feeding the obsession of the mass public with the latest slimming fads and only reinforcing the myth that fat-is-bad and skinny-is-good. Furthermore, the show's producers and sponsors should have used celebrities who aren't so anorexic-looking. I think Irene Ang as host would have been an inspired choice. Then again, she wasn't under Expressions, was she? ;-)
PS: When I was in Sec Two, I actually attended a week-long SRT drama camp with Desiree Siahaan and even back then, she was quite the hottie! LOL. I strongly suspect, however, that she would never be able to recognize me at all if we were to meet, seeing how I was such a geek last time and someone not worth remembering. *sob*sob* But who cares lah~!!
PS2: There are a handful of educated and successful women in respected professions taking part in the show. Just goes to show that, EVERYBODY (from the frumpy secretary with straggly hair to the bitchy lady-boss with a bad perm), wants to look beautiful, if given the right opportunity.
PS3: In a recent Straits Times article, David Gan admitted that "when I was younger, I wanted to be a girl but now, I wouldn't want to change anything.. " I almost died laughing! Talk about brutal honesty...
