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Stop me if you've heard this one. There's a reality show called The Bachelor, wherein a handful of women compete for the heart of a rich, handsome, white guy. The winner gets his hand in marriage, as well as a sizable dowry. The losers get to be lonely, though the runner-up might come back for The Bachelorette There's obviously a lot that can be (and has been) said about the concept, and the way it commoditizes and reduces the beautiful complexities of love and affection by preying on the culture's fascination with "fairy tale romance" and perpetuating a myth that's disingenuous at best and psychologically dangerous at worst. Going beyond the concept, there are questions. Chief among them: How do you create a dramatic, easy-to-digest narrative using 20 or so non-actors with naturally complicated personalities? Do we even want to know? The power of dating shows like The Bachelor/ette is such that there are plenty of smart, thoughtful people who have asked those questions, are fully aware of how the sausage is made, and will keep loving eating regardless. Somebody said, "Wouldn't that make an awesome TV show in and of itself?"  UnReal is created by Marti Noxon (Mutant Enemy veteran who bounced around a bunch of different writer's rooms, notably Mad Men) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro. It's inspired by an award-winning short film Shapiro made called Sequin Raze (you can watch it for 99¢ here: http://sequin-raze.squarespace.com/sequin-raze-movie/), which in turn was based on Shapiro's experiences as a producer on The Bachelor, so this is as legit as it gets.  The show takes place behind the scenes of "Everlasting," a hugely popular reality dating show. On the left of the picture is Rachel (Shiri Appleby, Roswell), introduced to us wearing a jacket over a tank top that says "This Is What a Feminist Looks Like." At the end of Everlasting's last season, Rachel - a producer for the show - had an epic on-camera meltdown that generated a lot of controversy and sent her to prison for a few months for vandalizing the production's property. She's invited back for two reasons: 1.) Her meltdown generated crazy-high ratings, offsetting the cost, and 2.) Her job is to essentially wrangle the talent and push them into directions and choices that the executive producer can milk for drama, and she is an absolute loving superstar at emotional manipulation. (In episode 3 it's revealed that this may or may not be a byproduct of Borderline Personality Disorder.) On the right is Rachel's boss Quinn (Constance Zimmer, Entourage). Quinn is the type of Executive Producer who, upon hearing from the on-set psychologist that one of the contestants has PTSD relating to her time with an abusive husband, exclaims "That's why we cast her! For the crazy!" Quinn knows that the show can only work a certain way: People want to see a specific amount of metaphorical blood spill. The bitch needs to stay ahead to keep the poo poo stirred, the women need to stay on edge so fights can happen, "sluts get cut," and women of color aren't "wifey" material. She's accepted it, she's leaned into it, and she demands her underlings make it happen, never mind how it makes her "look." This leads to some hosed up, repugnant poo poo going down, on and off camera: A contestant whose father just died gets manipulated into the role of the show's villain without her knowledge, another contestant gets date raped by the bachelor's douchebag friend, a closeted contestant is pressured to sleep with the bachelor to prove she's not gay, and the PTSD meds of the aforementioned abused contestant gets switched out with placebos. Yet interestingly enough, Quinn doesn't come off as much of a villain. What makes this show fascinating is that everybody seems to have some form of conscience, right on down to Chet (Craig fuckin' Bierko, crushing it as he does), the douchebag creator of the show. UnReal gets a lot of mileage out of respecting the humanity of these people instead of just writing them off as soulless assholes. In fact, it gives the show even more of a horrifying edge. UnReal airs Mondays at 10 ET on Lifetime. The official site has the last four episodes available to watch (Episode 6 aired last night at the time of this writing), leaving you to get the first two by any other means you wish.
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Jul 8, 2015 03:24
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Episode 6 spoilers. Holy poo poo.Like switching out that poor woman's pills was bad enough, but then they surprise her and force her to confront her abuser and she kills herself? I know the whole narrative is that the protagonist is actually a terrible person despite what she tells herself, but man, that was bad. More generally, I like it, though the problem with such a big cast of contestants is that a lot of them seem to just disappear for whole episodes.
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Jul 8, 2015 03:40
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yay, finally a thread for this. I'll have more to say later, and when I watch episode 6, but first I gotta say it is super-refreshing to have a deeply flawed female antihero leading a show. It's also great how Quinn gets way more development than you'd expect from that character type. Also the show is a very effective criticism of the ways in which media degrades women, and beyond that the way men use and abuse women. There are many slimy characters on the show, but I'm fairly certain the bachelor will turn out to be the slimiest of them all. He's already done multiple extremely shady things, he has a singular talent for bullshitting women, and he's been coming onto Rachel really strong.
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Jul 8, 2015 03:40
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Spatula City posted:I gotta say it is super-refreshing to have a deeply flawed female antihero leading a show. Only if you convienently ignored 7 years of Nurse Jackie, over a decade of Shonda Rhimes shows (most notably Scandal), Homeland, etc.
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Jul 8, 2015 05:55
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Xandu posted:Episode 6 spoilers. I mean it was left somewhat ambiguous if she's dead or just gonna have a fun traumatic brain injury. Holy poo poo 
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Jul 8, 2015 08:44
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Glad there's a thread for this, I've been enjoying it. I was impressed at the start by how completely rock-bottom they made Rachel, and Appleby has been outstanding all season.
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Jul 8, 2015 08:52
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I've only seen up to ep 5. Interesting show and it's changed the way I watch the Bachelorette because after Unreal you can't not notice the ways production manipulates, edits and uses footage to influence the viewer.
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Jul 8, 2015 11:46
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Episode 7 was tremendous. I'm honestly impressed with how the characters initiated a cover-up of something so horrible without getting me to completely turn on them. (Though I'll understand if I'm a man alone on this because God drat.)
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Jul 15, 2015 15:55
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DivisionPost posted:Episode 7 was tremendous. I'm honestly impressed with how the characters initiated a cover-up of something so horrible without getting me to completely turn on them. (Though I'll understand if I'm a man alone on this because God drat.) I'm just wondering where we go from here. I mean they (arguably) murdered someone and it's not even the season finale.
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Jul 15, 2015 17:30
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UnREAL is the greatest show you probably aren't watching. It's dark, it's intense, it's smart - and it's not very popular, thanks to its titular subject matter. Saying that it's just a piss-take of The Bachelor is disingenuous. The fact that it's on Lifetime is unfortunately going to keep a lot of people from watching it. It's not made for only fans of reality TV. It's just a drat good show that happens to be on a network "for women". It's not even really about reality TV. The show is all about flawed human beings doing what they need to do for money. Nobody is truly "likable" in the whole show, but everyone has positive characteristics. Even the shallow reality-TV actresses are humanized.
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Jul 15, 2015 18:41
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I agree with everything you said, though I don't feel the subject matter is as much a detriment to the show's popularity as if being on Lifetime is. If this were on Netflix or AMC or something like that, I feel like it would be getting the popular acclaim it deserves. Lord knows it's getting plenty of critical acclaim already.
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Jul 16, 2015 04:29
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Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi posted:I agree with everything you said, though I don't feel the subject matter is as much a detriment to the show's popularity as if being on Lifetime is. If this were on Netflix or AMC or something like that, I feel like it would be getting the popular acclaim it deserves. Lord knows it's getting plenty of critical acclaim already. I was trying to pitch this to friends on IRC by explaining episodes 5 and 6 to them, and the reaction was largely "You mean this show dares to claim that Reality TV is produced by sociopathic bullshit artists? I'm SHOCKED, I tell you, shocked!" Admittedly there were only two people listening at the moment, but I'd say the concept is limiting.
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Jul 16, 2015 04:57
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I'd think the pilot and the 2nd episode would be better hooks. Rachel's manipulation of Britney in the pilot is as good as the reality tv stuff ever got, and the 2nd episode's the best exploration of Rachel (and she's really the elevating element of the show).
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Jul 16, 2015 08:24
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DivisionPost posted:I was trying to pitch this to friends on IRC by explaining episodes 5 and 6 to them, and the reaction was largely "You mean this show dares to claim that Reality TV is produced by sociopathic bullshit artists? I'm SHOCKED, I tell you, shocked!" Admittedly there were only two people listening at the moment, but I'd say the concept is limiting. That's like saying, "You mean this show dares to claim that politicians are sociopathic bullshit artists? I'm SHOCKEDD, I tell you, shocked!" in reaction to the plot of House of Cards. What I'm saying is these folks need to look past the surface and give the show a chance before brushing it off, but I know I don't have to tell you that. Just spinning my wheels.
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Jul 16, 2015 16:22
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Yeah; the obnoxious thing is, I'm sure nobody will. drat shame. It's a good show.
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Jul 17, 2015 08:24
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I just watched the first episode and this show is marvelously dark. 
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Jul 17, 2015 09:17
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I watched the first two episodes of this last night (and part of the third before I finally fell asleep) and...I think I like it? But wow, I don't think I've ever watched a tv show, besides maybe current-episode Game of Thrones, where I've loathed almost every single character as a person, and even then most of them are so fascinating that you can't look away. Except for Shia and Jay; I just cringe whenever they're the focus of a scene because they're both so drat unrepentant about the lovely things they've been getting people to do (so far).
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Jul 17, 2015 17:17
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xeria posted:I watched the first two episodes of this last night (and part of the third before I finally fell asleep) and...I think I like it? But wow, I don't think I've ever watched a tv show, besides maybe current-episode Game of Thrones, where I've loathed almost every single character as a person, and even then most of them are so fascinating that you can't look away. Except for Shia and Jay; I just cringe whenever they're the focus of a scene because they're both so drat unrepentant about the lovely things they've been getting people to do (so far). Wait till last you get to episodes 5 and 6.
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Jul 17, 2015 17:43
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DivisionPost posted:Wait till last you get to episodes 5 and 6. Shia is Ramsey loving Bolton, jesus christ. Most everyone else has multiple facets to their characters but she's just an unrepentant shithead.
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Jul 18, 2015 19:57
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xeria posted:Shia is Ramsey loving Bolton, jesus christ. Most everyone else has multiple facets to their characters but she's just an unrepentant shithead. There is a bit of a difference between swapping out PTSD meds to further your career and flying people. You could even make a good argument that Rachel is much worse than Shia.
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Jul 18, 2015 20:03
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GaussianCopula posted:There is a bit of a difference between swapping out PTSD meds to further your career and flying people. You could even make a good argument that Rachel is much worse than Shia. The difference I think is that, at least from what I've watched, Rachel occasionally has a burst of self-restraint (running around to keep Faith from being outed on television before she's ready), while Shia just flatly doesn't give a poo poo and is going to do whatever it takes to further her career. Like, I don't see Rachel taking that initial step to replace someone's very important BPD/PTSD meds with placebos just to get some good television. You could argue maybe that Rachel's random acts of conscience make worse the moments where she really doubles down on the manipulation, but somewhere in there at least is the shred of a decent person.
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Jul 18, 2015 21:15
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The key difference is that Rachel is certifiably insane. Meanwhile, Shia is just a horrible human being.
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Jul 18, 2015 21:34
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Rachel is a naturally gifted manipulator who is trying to be a better person but keeps getting smacked down and forced into her natural state by the world around her. Shia is doing everything she can to get on Rachel's level, and as a result makes huge mistakes and doesn't really know what she's doing. Of those two, I'd say Rachel is easily the more sympathetic, if only because she quite literally has almost no choice but to do this job.
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Jul 18, 2015 21:54
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this show is so good but no one believes me when i tell them that. 😔
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Jul 19, 2015 02:49
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ShakeZula posted:Rachel is a naturally gifted manipulator who is trying to be a better person but keeps getting smacked down and forced into her natural state by the world around her. Shia is doing everything she can to get on Rachel's level, and as a result makes huge mistakes and doesn't really know what she's doing. Of those two, I'd say Rachel is easily the more sympathetic, if only because she quite literally has almost no choice but to do this job. Hmm. I'd have completely agreed with you, prior to the most recent episode, but now my feelings on the character are mutating a little. The show's done a lot to compare the way Everlasting operates on its contestants to a cult environment, but I wonder if Shia isn't basically subject to the same kind of experience. She seems incredibly weak willed and easily controlled, works in a competitive environment where she has to compete with her peers for cash prizes, and has been locked into this bubble where her world-view has been completely absorbed by the show. The model performer in this world -- Rachel -- is guilty of performing vaguely illegal and incredibly immoral poo poo, and Shia is trying to live up to her standard (or take her place, whatever). I don't have much sympathy for her, but I don't think she's operating in a vacuum either. I really blame Quinn, Chet and Rachel for a lot of what went down, roughly in that order -- Shia's actions are a natural end-point of the toxic work environment they're created (though Shia is obviously awful). And yeah, I get why they her decided to (basically) fire her -- it's a coping strategy; just as much a way of massaging their guilt as Rachel's pangs of phantom conscience. But it also seems incredibly stupid, as there's really nothing stopping Shia from opening this can of worms again.
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Jul 19, 2015 10:35
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Super suprised this thread isn't a dozen pages deep. I'm rating it as good as Mr. Robot. Anybody who enjoys unREAL and hasn't taken the Sex House journey yet IT STARTS NOW SEX HOUSE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0App7QizQCU
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Jul 24, 2015 12:51
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This show is leagues ahead of Mr. Robot since it actually delivers instead of just showing promise. This summer in general has been trash when it comes to new shows and UnREAL sticks out. Just a shame that no one seems to be watching.
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Jul 24, 2015 13:18
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Xoidanor posted:This show is leagues ahead of Mr. Robot since it actually delivers instead of just showing promise. This summer in general has been trash when it comes to new shows and UnREAL sticks out. Just a shame that no one seems to be watching. And I also love how things actually happen in this show. I wonder if that's the soap opera side pushing through. It seems to be a cool balance of what makes Premium shows neat and 'dramatic drama' for its own sake.
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Jul 24, 2015 13:58
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Nice to see the therapist expand her role a bit.
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Jul 29, 2015 04:08
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Who ever thought mousy little Liz from Roswell would ever become such a great, amazing actress as she is in this? Like, dang.
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Aug 1, 2015 08:18
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drat that finale was sooooo good. I was really worried that we get "Royal Renovations" with more "will they, won't they" between Rachel and Adam in season 2, because that arc plopped up right when the show was renewed, but I had to little faith in the showrunners. Can't wait for season 2. If this were on another channel so many more people would watch it.
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Aug 4, 2015 08:14
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Yeah it was definitely a good finale. It almost seemed to me like they were setting up a Bachelorette-style season for next year, with Anna as the star, but Rachel and Quinn were both talking like they were completely done with Everlasting. Either way, looking forward to next season.
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Aug 4, 2015 08:23
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I just marathoned this whole show over the last 24 hours and I can't believe I missed it when it was airing. This is one of the best opening seasons of a show I've ever seen, and it's a genuine bummer no one seems to be watching this or that this thread hasn't even crossed to a second page yet. I'm screaming at everyone I know to watch it, though, and so far at least a few have agreed to. I'm hoping this is one of those shows where the post-finale buzz and the ability to binge-watch will build an audience between now and the second season.
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Aug 6, 2015 20:31
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I watched it, thought it was brilliant. I liked Shiri Appleby's performance in Girls, so I knew from that she was capable of pulling off a role like this. One thing puzzled me from that last scene where they were saying "let's try to not kill anyone again shall we?" and that ominous music started playing, did I miss some between the lines meaning in that? Because I couldn't work out what if anything it was alluding to; I was half expecting Rachel to be recording the conversation or something in order to screw over Quinn, or at least have something to hold over her but nothing happened. Then that "I love you" ... "Weirdo" seemed to be doing or saying something very specific and deliberate but then it just ended. Cactus fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Aug 6, 2015 |
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Aug 6, 2015 22:15
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Just caught the season finale, and drat--what a great ending. Rachel and Quinn are the lifeblood of the show and that "I love you" scene right at the end was believable in the sense that they are the only people on this show who can actually trust and rely on each other. I'd frankly watch any tv show if those two were the main characters so I can't wait to see what they do with season 2. Also, I actually really like Adam so I'd love to see him next season but I realize that might be more or less impossible plot-wise.
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Aug 7, 2015 02:13
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Cactus posted:I watched it, thought it was brilliant. I liked Shiri Appleby's performance in Girls, so I knew from that she was capable of pulling off a role like this. I figured that was just Rachel giving Quinn a chance to come clean about scaring Adam off, and Quinn not taking it. That "I love you" seemed like Rachel washing her hands of Quinn and preparing to betray her (which I imagine will play out next season).
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Aug 7, 2015 05:16
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Quinn may not have outright said what she did, but it was pretty clear from the conversation that they both knew what they were talking about, and that Quinn was basically saying "yeah, now get over it", with Rachel accepting that this is just how people like herself and Quinn roll. Anyway, I thought that was a really good finale and I enjoyed the dual revenge plots; Rachel and Quinn are great characters because they're horribly broken and not good people, but you actually find yourself rooting for them. As someone who has nearly zero tolerance for television dramas, I found UnREAL very strangely compelling.
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Aug 7, 2015 06:42
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Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi posted:Rachel and Quinn (...) are the only people on this show who can actually trust and rely on each other. Did you even watch the show at all? They screw each other over every chance they get, how is that trust and reliability?
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Aug 7, 2015 13:58
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less laughter posted:Did you even watch the show at all? They screw each other over every chance they get, how is that trust and reliability? Yeah, actually when I woke up this morning and thought back on it, that was a pretty asinine comment. I think I meant they can trust and rely on each other in the context of running and producing Everlasting and actually getting good television out of it, when basically everyone else seems out for themselves in one way or another. Chet bringing back Britany as basically a "gently caress you" to Quinn being the prime example. From a personal perspective, yeah, Quinn and Rachel are toxic to each other, but when it comes to Everlasting, they're partners in crime. That dynamic is what makes the relationship so interesting, I think.
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Aug 7, 2015 15:05
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less laughter posted:Did you even watch the show at all? They screw each other over every chance they get, how is that trust and reliability? It's a very dysfunctional relationship but the only relationship they are able to maintain for a longer period of time.
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Aug 7, 2015 15:05
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