I spent many years sneering at reality programming. And it is fair, I think, to criticize the concept of something calling itself "reality" when it's often so contrived. That said, I generally watch TV for escapism as opposed to voyeurism... I mean, my favorite show has been Doctor Who since I was seven years old, and that's about as diametrically opposed to something like Jersey Shore or its kin as a fruit salad is different from a fruitbat. I just don't care to watch people acting like fools for the sake of acting like fools. I'd rather watch people acting like fools in the effort of rescuing the universe from the Daleks.
It shouldn't be surprising, then, that something related to Britain's favorite Time Lord got me to try on a reality program. In 2012, news reached Who fandom that Colin Baker, known to us as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor (1984-6), would be one of the contestants on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! For me, Mr. Baker is a sentimental favorite. Despite being treated poorly behind the scenes at the BBC during his TARDIS tenure, Colin Baker has remained loyal and dedicated to his many fans. On a personal level, I met Colin Baker at a convention in 1986. Baker had very recently been ousted from the role, in spite of the fact that he was in no way to blame for any of the show's problems at the time. (More on that another time, perhaps.) This American convention was one of the first (if not the first in this country) he attended after this blow, and there had been some speculation in local newspapers regarding whether or not he would attend. In America, we tend to expect entitled diva behavior from stars, demanding that candies be divided by color and so on. But Colin Baker showed up and, with cheerful wit and professionalism, entertained young and old and gave the fans a memorable afternoon. Being 10 years old, it left a lasting impression on me that someone who had been treated so unfairly remained so professional and good humored at what must have been a difficult time. I feel like I learned something important about being an adult that day.
This impression, more than mere fandom, is what made me curious to see Mr. Baker on I'm a Celeb. It's one thing to show grace under fire when you're the only one on stage, but what about dealing with an unfamiliar environment and diverse personalities? Not to mention the ridiculous and frightening games and challenges? Not to mention being separated from family and friends? Not to mention having nothing we take for granted, like plumbing, electricity, access to food, or soap? (For that last one, family and friends are likely happy to be separated from you.)
So, I started watching, hoping to root for Gallifrey, and planning to stop if and when Mr. Baker got sent home. What I did not expect was how much I was drawn into the program. Twelve celebrities, mostly known only to Britons and those who watch British television (with one or two American or International celebs), are send to camp out in the jungle, forgoing almost all of the comforts of home. Along the way, the British public vote to determine which campmate must take part in a "Bushtucker Trial," usually a somewhat difficult task in which the player encounters all manner of smelly and exotic animals in hopes of winning meals for the camp. This can take the form of a maze, a cage, an obstacle course, or a dinner table; in eating challenges, players are invited to ingest the unpleasant parts of unpleasant animals, usually in the form of a large bite of the animal's penis or anus, or a frappe made of insects. The object, of course, is to see the celebrity scream bloody murder in the face of what is really very mild danger or, at the very least, an unpleasant task. Snakes, for instance, are almost always constrictors rather than venomous, and the rats always look suspiciously clean. The player has the option of yelling "I'm a Celebrity... et cetera, et cetera" and getting pulled out, but doing so means they go back to camp without meals, meaning the campmates get nothing but rice and beans to eat.
While there is a certain game show drama in watching the trials and other side games, sort of like a sadomasochistic version of The Price is Right, the real enjoyment I get from the show is watching how the campmates get along. Colin Baker got along rather well, if a bit quietly. It's possible that he was too weak to speak, because campmate Helen Flanagan kept getting sent to the trials. At the time, Ms. Flanagan was best known as an actress on Coronation Street, one of the U.K.'s most popular soaps, in addition to having an impressive figure. She also seemed to be in possession of the widest array of phobias known to man, making the cockatoos and kookaburras deaf with her shrieking and weeping. The lack of food made the camp grumpy, even with a celebrity chef in attendance, as they lived on near starvation rations for weeks on end.
Eventually, campmates began to be voted out. By the time Mr. Baker left, I found myself rooting just as hard for the remaining campmates, minus Ms. Flanagan. At this point in the game, the public stops voting for Bushtucker Trials and the camp selects their own champions. Once her entertainment value diminished, Ms. Flanagan didn't last long compared to other attractive women who simply knuckled down and got on with the tasks at hand. By the end, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the program. It wasn't long before I started actually missing it.
The void was temporarily filled with the UK's Celebrity Big Brother, which appears on Channel Four. It had the same tension and silliness and is enjoyable, but in all honesty it's a cheaper and chintzier show, methadone when compared to I'm a Celeb's black tar heroin. It's a good thing that both networks are careful not to schedule their contests opposite one another, because I'm a Celeb would win handily.
Those familiar with the U.S. version of Big Brother will recognize much in the regular and celebrity versions of the U.K. version, though there are significant differences. The main difference is the fact that by airing between 21:00 and 05:30 means that they are "after watershed" and can get away with offensive language, subject matter, and even nudity. This difference makes the U.K. Big Brother a far more intense experience, as contestants openly argue and lust from inside their fishbowl. BB can never quite decide if it's a game show, soap opera, or psychological experiment.
The celebrity version typically has at least two American celebrities on hand. The 2014 edition included Emmy winner Leslie French and Oscar nominee and noted eccentric Gary Busey. Mr. Busey charmed the Brits with a strange combination of aggravating behavior and sympathy, topped with a healthy dose of unpredictable behavior. This bravura performance made Mr. Busey the first American to win.
While the regular Big Brother doesn't lack for drama, it also doesn't lack for minor celebrities. This summer, BB featured a number of contestants who could have almost passed for the celebrity version, including three models and a woman linked to a sex scandal involving a footballer. It's a very fine line, indeed, as many of the actual celebs on the celebrity version have zero international identification, and are even hard-pressed to call themselves celebrities when facing more experienced actors, athletes, and musicians. I enjoy the show, but it's very trashy; it's all a very ostentatious career move for many involved, and a rather cynical one at that. Unlike I'm a Celeb, the winner of Big Brother is usually the biggest and most entertaining personality, as opposed to someone who actually does something. It makes winning the show a very dubious distinction. It's no wonder few sensible people reach the final.
A notable exception to these criticisms was Edele Lynch, lead singer of the Irish girl group B*Witched, who followed up her win on the Irish Celebrity Apprentice with 6th place on CBB. On a Busey-free year, Ms. Lynch might have gone much further. I really came to admire her no-nonsense attitude and relative dignity, but it's very hard to shine with that in the middle of all of that madness. I really hope I'm a Celeb producers think of her for a future series, as she would be a wonderful contestant.
This gets back to the reason I've come to look forward to I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! every year. While you do get plenty of silliness with all of the screaming at cockroaches and bitching and moaning about who's cooking what and how, the winner is usually the person who gets along with everyone, pulls their weight, and treats the camp as a team that they can't let down as opposed to a bunch of strangers they'll never speak to again in a month's time. The 2014 winner, Carl "Foggy" Fogarty, is such an example. A motorcycling legend who earned an MBE after his third championship, he managed to be charming without being smug, amusing without being annoying, and took on trials and challenges with a sportsman's relish. That iron will and good grace made him tough to beat, in my opinion, but any individual with the grit to do it could accomplish the same without having medals and trophies already waiting for them at home. Rather than being a personality contest, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! actually rewards contestants for being better than the entitled, spoiled brats alluded to in the title. It's an exhilarating feeling, as opposed to an exhausting one, and that's a nice comfort to have in these colder months. Already looking forward to next year, though.
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