I grew up watching reality television. I became hooked on the many TV shows of people competing to win a prize - it may have been the reason I grew my love of TV and lead me to where I am today. Like, for instance, I write this blog!
When I was a child, I spent most of my time watching cartoons and young adult shows like Digimon, Power Rangers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But, as I grew into the double digits, reality TV was just being introduced and I couldn't help but follow shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and The Mole. UnReal on Lifetime sounded like a great concept and a perfect show to recap for its first season.
This week on UnReal, the hit reality dating show Everlasting begins production on another season, Rachel returns to set after last year's breakdown, and the production crew pick early favourites.
THE QUEEN OF DRAMA RETURNS
It's lights, camera and action for another season of the popular dating show, Everlasting. As the production crew watches from their office, a carriage arrives bringing the first contestant - Shamiqua, a clerk for a Supreme Court Justice - to meet British bachelor (and hotel-chain heir) Adam Cromwell. Quinn, the executive producer, calls cut as she is in disbelief that the first contestant revealed is African American; she thinks the first girl should be "wifey" material and she doesn't think Shamiqua has a chance. She wants to see the remaining girls for potential.
Rachel, the disgraced former producer who had a nervous breakdown last season, returns as a freelancer with five more girls. Everyone on set has seen Rachel's breakdown on TV and they're shocked she's returned, even her competing producers Shia and Jay and her former boyfriend Jeremy are surprised she's back. Quinn has faith in Rachel and agreed to drop the charges if Rachel came back to work. Unfortunately, Rachel has no choice in the matter - she needs to work and not go to jail.
RUNAWAY PRINCE
There is one thing clear as the cameras film: Adam doesn't look happy. Adam is bored with the reality show process; it's beneath him and he's doing it merely for an image improvement. As the cameras turn away for a split second, he makes a run for it and leaves the set, abandoning everyone in disbelief. Quinn pulls Rachel and forces her to find Adam - it turns out that their bachelor didn't sign the season contract, which means EVERYTHING they filmed is useless and they can't force him to film. Rachel is shocked, but she knows she has a job to do.
She finds Adam sitting next to a lake; he's refusing to return. Rachel calls him out for his media reputation and knows why he's really doing the show - it's not to find love but to restore his image for his family. She bluffs about having a back-up bachelor ready to take his place and reap the rewards. However, after a quick negotiation, Adam signs on board for the season.
THE GAME BEGINS
With Adam returning to the set, the competition resumes with the remaining girls meeting the suitor. Quinn and the production team have early season favourites for inciting drama: there's Britney, their potential villain, Grace the vivacious model, Mary the cradle-robbing mother, and obvious first elimination Faith. The team has (for the most part) planned out the rest of the night for the first episode.
With a little bit of manipulation, the producers (Rachel, Shia and Jay) start interacting with the contestants to cause some TV-worthy drama. Britney takes the idea and comes onto Adam a bit too strong, openly flirting and seducing him sexually in front of everyone. Rachel coaxes Mary into sharing her daughter's bear while Shia upsets Faith by discussing her virginity. Rachel ends up saving the day and gets Faith some alone time with the British beau.
A WRENCH IN THE PLAN
Before Adam begins his first elimination of the season, he strolls out for a chat with Rachel. He can tell that the production team is merely using Faith as a joke character for the first episode; he isn't a fan of that. Rachel comes up with an idea to stick it to Quinn and the entire show.
As the first Everlasting elimination commences, Adam must eliminate five girls from the show. The drama is really between Faith and Britney (sorry unknown extras!) - the team is positive Britney will be saved while Faith will get the boot. Unfortunately for them, Adam saves Faith and eliminates Britney from the show - Quinn is pissed! She heads onto the set and confronts Adam and Rachel, knowing full well that they planned something. Now that their villain is eliminated, they NEED footage from Britney to save the first episode.
WHO'S THE REAL VILLAIN?!
Britney is upset and nearly in tears from her surprising boot. Rachel pulls the camera crew and tries to get her to do her exit interview, but Britney isn't taking the bait - she isn't saying anything mean about Adam. In a feat of pure manipulation, Rachel convinces Britney to have a few drinks with her and starts saying negative comments about her. Britney, now aware of Rachel's true intentions, calls her out with vile words and spits in her face. Everyone is shocked (but impressed) that Rachel could get the dramatic scene they needed. It's going to be a great first episode.
Will Faith survive the next episode? Who will be the villain now that Britney is gone? Is Rachel doomed for another dramatic Everlasting season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
In honour of the day that spans the galaxy, I'm going to be doing a short post today for Trailer Madness. It's May 4th and all the Star Wars fans out there are sharing their favourite pictures and tweets on social media. This is going to be a big year for Star Wars fans! Everyone is excited for the latest installment set to premiere this year. I'm a fan of the movie series, but there are definitely large quantities of people who are more ingrained in the fandom and nuances.
Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens isn't coming out for a while now. But, for all the fans out there, here's the latest teaser trailer again to relive the magic.
Today's edition of Tuesday Tunes will be a short one. Instead of the usual format of showcasing three videos that are inspired by music, I will simply be using one video. It could be my love of TV or the nostalgia I'm feeling at the moment, but I've been having random singing fits of old TV theme songs. I'm constantly humming or singing a song to myself that pops into my head. Trust me when I say that I'm not the best singer!
The one that is currently playing the most is the theme song to Hey Arnold! Never heard of the show? Hey Arnold! was a cartoon about kids living in the city and the adventures surrounded a football-headed kid, named Arnold. It was one of the cartoon I loved to watch when I was younger. There unfortunately wasn't a real ending to the series, except for a movie, but even then it didn't tie up all loose ends. It's the downside of the TV world: Potentially never getting an ending to a show. But that's in the past...
For the time being, you can enjoy the theme song and hum along to it like I am. Have fun!
A good multiplayer video game can be so hard to find. Sometimes it's simply tacked on to a primarily solo story game with little care or it holds a multitude technical problems that prevent the experience from growing. I've played plenty of multiplayer video games through my console and PC gaming history. But when I find a really great game with an amazing multiplayer experience, I always come back for more. And the video game I will be reviewing today is definitely on of those games. On this video game review article, I'll be reviewing the first-person shooter multiplayer video game: Evolve.
The Story: Set on the distant planet of Shear, dangerous monsters have attacked the human settlements and nearly wiped out the population. No creatures are more so dangerous than the titans. They are the most powerful on the planet and they prove to be evolving at a rapid rate.
Players can take on the role of either a Hunter or a Monster. Hunters are from a crack team of military exterminators, specializing in roles like Media, Trapper, Support and Assault. There are plenty of different characters to choose from while Monsters, the sole competing enemy, is one of three different types of titans.
Where To Play: Evolve is available to play on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The Good: Evolve sets its sights on delivering a good multiplayer experience, and it does it pretty well. The concept is simple: you're either the Monster plotting to defeat the Hunters or vice versa. Evolve features a collection of unique characters and roles to choose from for each match. Instead of the stale monotony of playing the same five characters over and over again, each role has at least three different characters with unique weapons, powers and features to help take down the competing side. Plus, each role and character is styled differently, such as one female Trapper has a pet animal who tracks the Monster down while another Trapper is basically a cowboy. Variety is a big strength for Evolve.
The environments in Evolve are also a big takeaway. Each location is visually beautifully and offers something different for the players competing in that specific location. Also, each location contains their own set of mini-monsters and obstacles that could kill a Hunter. You wouldn't believe how many times I did from being eaten by a plant!
The Bad: With any multiplayer-based game, there are always some technical problems and glitches around that could be fixed. Evolve has its few issues where I've noticed that it impacted my online experience. Sometimes a game would lag or crash and I would need to restart a match. I've had my character miss several important hits because of a technical snafu where my character turned around or attacked on its own. The issue wasn't because of my internet connection as I was able to reconnect in the next match. Those small little things just added up as the game went out.
Another point which I want to bring up, which could be viewed as good or bad, is that Evolve is a hard game. Whether you're a Hunter or a Monster, winning a match isn't easy. Depending on which Monster or which Hunters you're facing, it could become really difficult to win the game. I groan whenever I notice I'm facing against a Wraith or a certain Medic/Trapper character. It takes a lot of determination, evolving, team coordination (an absolute must!) and evolving to win.
The Results: 9/10!
I really liked Evolve. Evolve offered a change of pace for a multiplayer game and didn't over-complicate the experience with complex mechanics. The environments were beautifully created and each character was designed differently, albeit sometimes on the stereotypical or cliche side. The video game does have its fair share of tiny technical glitches that could ruin a good online match. However, these barely occur few and very far between. Evolve is a perfect game for gamers who love a first-person shooter or enjoy playing against other gamers online.