UnREAL - Discussions - *Sleuthing - Spoilers*

wow good to know jc^ ^
Elan went off the wagon? meaning he lost it?? is Elan portrayed by Shiri/Rachael?

Generally, going off the wagon refers to resuming drugs or alcohol after a period of abstinence. link

Pretty sure Elan has been quite open about his past issues with alcohol especially. Unless he's been lying through his teeth for the past year he's been sober since last May.

I'm reluctant to make any specific comments about episode 2 and beyond because technically it hasn't be shown yet. I will say I found episode 2 to be less about the "man behind the curtain" and more about the members of the production team themselves and their developing storylines. Thus we learn less "inside baseball" info and more of the fictionalized story. It was good, but definitely less "shock and awe" regarding TB.

AllAboutLove wrote: ***snipped***

I think this show highlights something important: shows like Bach/Bette work best for those who don't take themselves too seriously and have a sense of humor while playing the "game" -- vital, imo, in not taking this show too seriously.
Without those two things, I don't see how contestants think they are going to be able to sign a contract that states they will be edited any which way and yet take this as just "words".
It's not a threat, it's a promise. TPTB have a show to make.

***snipped***

Interesting comment, AAL. For the contestant, while filming, I think this is especially true...which is why we get some of the most outrageous behavior out of some of the cast members. I personally felt that this was true about Nick V all during his ITMs from Andi's season. Yet even though it felt like he was having fun and was in on the joke, clearly from what we saw with the public's reaction to him, most of the public was not. The fact that most of the guys he ridiculed in his ITMs were friends of his post filming indicated to me that they understood the why behind his comments.

But then we have Kelsey from last season. Not only was she not liked on the show, but was still clearly not liked afterwards by the other girls. So is it a difference of male vs female? One gender is able to forgive and move on? The guys don't take it as personally?  

I know I'm deviating from the topic of UnREAL so I'll wrap it up, but it is interesting how one villain (Michelle M) can walk away so well liked, but another (Kelsey) is still seemingly despised, yet I do believe most of what we saw from each of them on camera was a "coached" reaction by a producer.

I've still only watched epi 1 so can't comment on later ones. Regarding MM vs Kelsey, MM was friends during the show and did their hair, etc but Kelsey didn't seem to be friendly with others.

Something to reflect:
Italy doesn't have own version of TB because they already have a very successful show running for years that I used to watch. It's a day-time talk show - description here - , which is very different from The Bachelor franchise and has evolved over the years and changed some format, but still has the "reality" and "romance" as a selling factor. Despite part of the show is filmed in front of a live-audience and so people are more aware of what is going on between the contestants (who is the frontrunner and who just for "the number"), it is very much managed, produced on a high level and edited.

Last year the fans created an uproar, because the show threw very nasty rumors on air about the "frontrunner girl" and fan-favorite at the very end of the journey when the guy-lead was supposed to choose, which caused him to almost walk away from the show alone/single. But the fans were convinced that he was absolutely in love with this girl and she was in love with him (they had been dating on the show for 6 months - and yes, there is no FS and sex involved, so one might think that it's pretty innocent and contained, but Italians compensate that with their passion and loud fights) ... and so they kinda "begged" him to give her a chance, after the accusations by some 3rd party were made that she was "cheating" on him. The show host was onto the "lie", but pretended to be oblivious to it all and for the first time in history of the show gave "one random girl" in the audience (read: a girl who beforehand told everyone to watch the show) a microphone to talk to the lead and against other "paid-commentators".

The whole nastiness was in the production ... because the show producers were very much aware that the story was invented and didn't hold the proof, but they didn't care about those lies, they didn't care if the guy was honestly in-love already and was heartbroken after hearing the lies, they didn't care that he was crying on air - which is pretty bad, for an Italian man from the south to cry publicly, they didn't care about this young girl's reputation being "tarnished on the national TV", they didn't care to shut down the people that kept attacking her verbally in the studio (for things that she didn't even do), they didn't care when she was crying and begging them to help her (when her accusers were calling in the studio and publishing faked SM chats online), because she didn't know what to do to prove the lead that she was being honest... all they cared about was ratings, the fact that they got some extra episodes out of that (meaning few more weeks of the show on air) and people talking (everyone suddenly had an opinion about it).

The end was "unexpected, romantic and the most dramatic ... ever" (for real - she actually chose him, she asked him on her knees) ... despite it all, he chose her ... and 1 year later, they are married and are expecting. (well, what can I say, Young love! and being Italian traditionalist it's nothing strange) ... Still some viewers believe those rumors were real and they call him names and shame her.

The executive producer later gave a statement in one interview, saying that their job is not to find a love for the lead, neither to prove the girl's love for the lead, that they don't even believe that we could be talking about love at all. Their job is to procure the story, choose a good lead, find great girls, organize efficiently their time together to get to know each-other enough to be able to make eventually a decision and to produce the whole show from start to finish, by securing that everyone and everything is in the right place and order. So basically she openly stated "scr*w love .. it's all for the show you want".

Oh, and BTW, the lead and his F1 remain in great relationship with the producers and the host, they even filmed additional things with them and had their wedding televised ... so ... now you're wondering why the ex-contestants remain in contact with TPTB despite all the manipulation?

Anyone having issues watching?? I am Canada and it isn't working for me.

sbolduc wrote:Anyone having issues watching?? I am Canada and it isn't working for me.

Use www.hola.org

sbolduc wrote:Anyone having issues watching?? I am Canada and it isn't working for me.

Use www.hola.org

Yay! The Possessionista continues her Q&A for episode 2 (see link provided below). I love that Dana seems to be doing this for every episode. It will help put things into perspective for us. I felt that episode 2 was more fake than fact. The answers from her source seem to bear that out.

UnReal episode 2: How real in UnReal

If you’re like me, then you spent a good chunk of this weekend holed up with your laptop and three uninterrupted hours of Lifetime’s new show UnReal. Like its fictionalized reality show, the endgame is ratings, so the Network for Women released the next three episodes of the new scripted drama online in order to (hopefully) generate viewers. It’s only fitting that a show about a fictionalized reality show that’s willing to do anything for ratings is doing just about anything for ratings.

Let’s hope this gamble pays off.

If you’re totally old school, and you only watched last night’s episode, then you know that Quinn offered a bounty for whichever producer could create her newest villain. It makes for an interesting watch – how some contestants knowingly position themselves as the “bad guy” for increased camera time, while others fall into it accidentally, thanks to trusting producers and some clever editing.

I wanted to know just how much of this week’s episode was truly UnReal, so I asked a few friends from that other show to break down just how real this week’s episode really is.

Source: UnReal episode 2: How real in UnReal

I found episode 2 to be a bit depressing.

Me, too. I did not enjoy it so much this week.