Whilst eating my brunch, I landed up doing the normal thing at the moment, of having Come Dine with Me on in the background.
Come Dine with Me is one of those programmes that I originally chose to watch of an evening and these days, just land up watching whilst doing something else.
What is it about this programme that people like? Initially, I would have said to get ideas for new things to cook. But over time, it is just to watch the relationships of 4-5 people (depending on the episode/season), who are pushed together for a week and have to cook for each other. Some of them don't even cook their own meals or have never cooked the dishes they have chosen to do that night - it's the weirdest rules ever.
My brother has filmed the Iranian version before and he said it is completely different. It is filmed in London, but with arabic speaking contestants. He said it is about the social experience and the food, but less bitchy. It's hard to imagine this, as in our version, people expect the contestants not to get on with each other and if they are all nice, we seem to enjoy it less.
Who can forget the women in one of the first seasons who gave everyone 4 or less points because she obviously wanted to win and landed up re-scoring (cos she was told to) and cried her eyes out on camera (this became one of those episodes that was repeated all the time - how embarrassing for her, lol). Or how about the celebrity versions. One of the most awkward ones being where Donny Osmond had a dwarf dressed up as Elvis to sing at the dinner table. What spurred that idea?
Come Dine with Me has now been on since the start of 2005, so I suppose they have to choose funny contestants and people that will clash, otherwise we may stop loving it and thus, it will stop airing. But what else keeps us watching?
I suppose the other thing is, is that we all like to see an everyday person mess up - we all mess up at some point or another and it always feels better when someone else is involved. I mean we have had people throw things on the floor, burn things to a crisp and even one episode where someone undercooked their egg dish and someone ran up the stairs to throw up - yes, apparently, this is entertainment!
I have to say though, for me, it has now lost something. Its not that I don't like watching people in this kind of show, it's just there are other shows that give me more enjoyment. For instance, Dinner Date, where three people cook separate meals at their homes, in order to try and secure a 2nd date with the 4th person or Four in a Bed, the programme where 4 B & B owners visit the other establishments to decide between them, which one is the best.
The thing is, Come Dine with Me has opened the doors to newer, fresher programmes, that offer us the same amount of bitchy and cringeworthy TV. So for many of us, we have just moved on.
I don't think it's over for CDWM yet (as it still has so many fans) but I think the competition is getting stronger from other programmes and can they really continue serving up a good TV dish - only time will tell!
Post title comes from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI
Come Dine with Me is one of those programmes that I originally chose to watch of an evening and these days, just land up watching whilst doing something else.
What is it about this programme that people like? Initially, I would have said to get ideas for new things to cook. But over time, it is just to watch the relationships of 4-5 people (depending on the episode/season), who are pushed together for a week and have to cook for each other. Some of them don't even cook their own meals or have never cooked the dishes they have chosen to do that night - it's the weirdest rules ever.
My brother has filmed the Iranian version before and he said it is completely different. It is filmed in London, but with arabic speaking contestants. He said it is about the social experience and the food, but less bitchy. It's hard to imagine this, as in our version, people expect the contestants not to get on with each other and if they are all nice, we seem to enjoy it less.
Who can forget the women in one of the first seasons who gave everyone 4 or less points because she obviously wanted to win and landed up re-scoring (cos she was told to) and cried her eyes out on camera (this became one of those episodes that was repeated all the time - how embarrassing for her, lol). Or how about the celebrity versions. One of the most awkward ones being where Donny Osmond had a dwarf dressed up as Elvis to sing at the dinner table. What spurred that idea?
Come Dine with Me has now been on since the start of 2005, so I suppose they have to choose funny contestants and people that will clash, otherwise we may stop loving it and thus, it will stop airing. But what else keeps us watching?
I suppose the other thing is, is that we all like to see an everyday person mess up - we all mess up at some point or another and it always feels better when someone else is involved. I mean we have had people throw things on the floor, burn things to a crisp and even one episode where someone undercooked their egg dish and someone ran up the stairs to throw up - yes, apparently, this is entertainment!
I have to say though, for me, it has now lost something. Its not that I don't like watching people in this kind of show, it's just there are other shows that give me more enjoyment. For instance, Dinner Date, where three people cook separate meals at their homes, in order to try and secure a 2nd date with the 4th person or Four in a Bed, the programme where 4 B & B owners visit the other establishments to decide between them, which one is the best.
The thing is, Come Dine with Me has opened the doors to newer, fresher programmes, that offer us the same amount of bitchy and cringeworthy TV. So for many of us, we have just moved on.
I don't think it's over for CDWM yet (as it still has so many fans) but I think the competition is getting stronger from other programmes and can they really continue serving up a good TV dish - only time will tell!
Post title comes from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI
