Stream or skip?

Stream or skip

by Joel Keller

The best show ever made is a three-part documentary about a group of British expats who left their jobs and living arrangements to take part in a year-long reality show in 2002 for a chance to win £100,000. However, it turned out that it was all a lie and that the series’ producer, Nick Russian, was a mysterious fraudster.

Opening shot: “In 2002, the world was obsessed with reality TV,” the words appear on the screen. “Overnight, ordinary people became huge celebrities. One man came up with the idea of ​​creating the greatest reality show of all time.”

Summary: Interviews with five participants: Lucy Miller, Jane Marshall, Tim Eagle, Daniel Pope, Rosie Barney and John Kamin, and a professional digital video that Tim purchased just before the “show” began. Through the images taken with the camera, we revealed the following: A picture depicting what was going on in the participants’ lives at the time and why they thought this was a good opportunity.

All five participants were in their 20s or 30s and felt stuck in their lives, as evidenced by the over-the-top reenactments of their younger selves. Lucy was a carpet saleswoman, but she wanted to be a TV presenter. Rosie was working a dead-end office job. Tim was (and still is) a clown. Jane was stuck in a cycle of going out with her friends and drinking heavily. John was a bartender. Daniel had just moved to London and he just wanted to join in the excitement of one of the most exciting cities in the world. When they saw the audition list for a reality show, they dropped their guard and applied.

The tape selected for the audition received a contract from a man named Nikita Russian, who was at the venue on a small island in the city. From among them, 30 groups of 10 people were selected. This group of six of her meets in a run-down area of ​​South London, and Nick and Lucy, who has been chosen as co-presenter, realize there’s a “game”. They give her one year to make her million pounds, but they choose to do it. . Oh, they have to find a place to live on their own. Certainly something seemed sketchy, and not just because it didn’t look like it. older brother.

Which show do you remember? In terms of style, The best show ever made Similar to documentary series like Pepsi, where’s my jet?.

Our view: What stands out The best show ever madeCreated by Liam Coutts, Emily Dalton, and Tom Dalton, the show grasps just how crazy this situation really was. The producers do a good job of capturing how dominant and relatively new reality TV was in 2002, and through stylized reenactments with participants playing their younger selves, they explore why everyone is the same. I understand what it means to put life on hold. A reality show created by a mysterious figure like Nick Russian.

At one point, producers only speak to participants outside of this core six, who decided to continue after most of the 30 participants quit, despite questionable circumstances. Not. They are also going to try to confront the Russians themselves, who fell off the face of the earth after this fraud was revealed.

What’s interesting about this story is whether these people are victims or, as you might scream at the screen while watching almost any reality show, “Nobody forced them to do this.” The question is whether or not there is. Yes, most of them abandoned their jobs and living situations to become homeless when the premise of the “show” was revealed. However, because there was no financial fraud, the Russians were never criminally charged. Still, he was never actually charged with fraud, so we look forward to hearing this mysterious man’s explanation.

Gender and skin: none.

Parting shot: A menacing shot of Nick Russian soaked in the rain.

Sleeper Star: Tim wins this match mainly because of his ode to being a clown and his willingness to try anything he wants to try. Do you want to become a camera operator? In that case, the obvious choice would be to buy a professional digital video camera. What else do you do?

The most pilot-like line: John’s reenactment of his audition seemed darker than the others. All he does is mop behind the bar. At least the others had to pretend to look at an old computer or, in Lucy’s case, set fire to a carpet sample.

Our call: Let’s stream. The best show ever made is a fun documentary about a scam that can only be believed to have taken place in 2002, when the reality TV craze was just beginning.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting, and technology, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV geek. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, rollingstone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company, etc.