Independent Perspective News

Translation by Carolina Friszman.

Meet my folks

Concept: Three suitors spend time at home with the same date and his/her mom and dad.

Highlight: Possibly the most awkward dating situation imaginable.

Lowlight: Overloaded with gimmicks—visits from exes, game challenges, lie-detector tests—that leave almost no time for the actual dating experience.

Link: http://www.nbc.com/Meet_My_Folks/index.html

The Bachelor (ette)

Concept: A man (and next year, a woman) chooses one of 25 dates to propose to.

Highlight: Hearing contestants explain how being part of a TV harem is "empowering".

Lowlight: Frighteningly, some of the participants seem genuinely desperate to find love and meaning.

Link: http://thebachelor.warnerbros.com/

Blind Date

Concept: The first of the breed of date-and-dis shows boils down a date to its most embarrassing moments.

Highlight: The trademark snarky comments.

Lowlight: Fame-seeking exhibitionists often grandstand too obviously (and offer way too much info on body piercings and shavings).

Link: http://www.blinddatetv.com/

Shipmates

Concept: A couple is paired up for a three-day, two-night getaway on a cruise ship.

Highlight: Over three days and two nights, a hot date can get really steamy, and a fractious date can get positively Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Lowlight: A dull date can get really, really boring.

Link: http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/shipmates/

The fifth wheel

Concept: Two couples double date, then switch dates; then an extra man or woman is added to the mix.

Highlight: 2.5 times the daters = 2.5 times the fireworks.

Lowlight: Lame special-effects jokes—belch sounds dubbed on the soundtrack, etc.—make Blind Date seem like Frasier.

Link: http://www.the5thwheeltv.com/

And in Argentina...

"The great proposal": couples playing on Telefé channel.

Finally, this Saturday from 22 to 24, Telefé channel is screening "The great proposal", a new reality game show by Endemol, the company responsible for "Big Brother". In the program to start on Saturday, conducted by Claribel Medina, there will be three couples competing in different games. Before playing each of the three boyfriends' marriage proposals will be shown. The winning couple will be entitled to a live wedding on TV.