Remember about 12 years ago when a TV show hit the airwaves called "Survivor"? It quickly became a phenomenon and pretty soon everyone was standing around the water cooler speculating on who would win the show and more often they were discussing who would be voted off next. The next thing you knew, "Survivor" spawned about 17,000 imitators and we saw shows coming along where people were being voted off for everything from not being able to sing well, not being able to cook right and I even saw one the other day where people were voted off for creating crappy looking monster make-up. The worst, of course, was "Big Brother". In that one, people were voted off for, I guess, not being able to live in a house properly.
This was the way the reality TV boom began. Oh, yes, we had reality TV before this but around this time every new show was a reality show. And when the reality show "creators" didn't feel like imitating "Survivor", they came up with wild innovations like "Undercover Boss" which, basically, shows people working. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to watch on TV after a hard day's work is a show where people are going to work. But, with the unemployment rate what it is, maybe the show goes over well with people that wish they were working.
Now, my wife has me hooked on a show called "The River". "The River" has taken the reality concept to a new level. It is not a reality show, it is a fictional show. However, the premise is a group of people wandering about the jungles of Brazile and making a reality show about their search for the star of another reality show. Two big surprises here in that Steven Spielberg is involved (even though it is not as good as the stuff he usually does) and so is Zach Estrin (even though this show is much, much more interesting than that toilet clog called "Paranormal Activity". At least with "The River" stuff actually happens.
To be honest, plot-wise "The River" isn't all that fresh and new. I often times feel like I'm watching a longer version of "The Blair Witch Project". I mean, really compare the two: in one a group of people heads off into a wilderness in search of something and the story is told by piecing together their "found" footage. I would tell you the plot of the other one, but I don't like cutting and pasting all that much. Besides, I can't tell which one I described first.
It is at this point that I'm going to warn you that if you continue reading this review you will encounter what we call "spoilers" here on the Internet. I have seen the first seven of the eight episodes filmed and I don't see how I can go on explaining the show without talking about what I've seen. So, if you have not seen this show and don't want to be told anything about Dr. Emmet Cole being found in a coccoon in the middle of an old outpost guarded by some kind of zombie-like creatures, this would be the point to stop reading.
If you're still reading, then I will tell you that if you have watched a few horror films in your life, you probably won't see anything in this show that you haven't seen before somewhere. Creepy dolls, Tarot readings that keep coming up with the same card repeatedly, human flesh used for food (or at least it is hinted at), a medical research facility that is conducting unethical experiments, a creepy child that makes drawings of things that later come true. Okay, there hasn't been a creepy child making any sort of drawing. It is one modern horror cliche they haven't tapped, yet. But, it is coming. I know it is, because there is a creepy child right here in my office drawing a picture of it.
In writing this review I had a hard time coming up with a reason I like this show. But, I think I have found the reason. I make little films for YouTube and this is a fantasy of mine: one day my obsession with filming things might lead me to filming something interesting enough for anyone else to watch. And I think that might be the draw for a lot of people: several characters run around carrying cameras in this show - it's a show that you, the audience, could possibly end up filming yourself if you're ever lucky enough to know a reality show host that comes up missing in a mysterious jungle. It could happen!
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