by Corine Labarr

Created on: February 22, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Paradise Hotel, a social experiment? I recently saw interviews with the creator and producers of the show and they were asked if their social experiment had succeeded. They were offended! This was just a TV show, they were doing what they were doing to get viewers and make money, bottom line. Anyone who actually watched the show and has more than two braincells to rub together knows that. (And yes! I watched and I have at least three.)

This show involved taking single people to an expensive luxury hotel and making them couple up or they would be voted out. The producers and creator manipulated the game from not too far behind the scenes, you could see the strings in this not so masterful puppet show. If things got too comfortable (read- boring to viewers) the hotel was shook up by a number of twists. Twist were coming at you fast and furious and it seemed like the winners had been picked and the game was being manipulated to allow that person or persons to win.
The show included themed parties like toga nights and a King and Queen pagent. There was the roomate selection night, the night one guest checks out of Paradise... Forever! And the nights a new guest was selected live via satalite from a studio audience. This was the best part of the show in my opinion. Perhaps another reality show will take this idea and use it. Pandora's box was a truth or dare Q&A held once a week where you were asked to submit questions to be asked of the rest of the hotel guests in a public forum.
Any of you who are reality TV fans will remember that Tony Ferrari came here after Love Cruise, and then tried to intimidate everyone with her huge buggy eyes and her incessant "Game on". Other note worthy guests were Tara Gerard, a nice-ish girl who jumped beds quite often and was accused of "sleeping her way to the top". (If this is the top I am scared to see the bottom) Charla Pihlstrom, a withdrawn manipulator who struck up a fiend ship (not a typo) with the "average Joe" of the bunch after figuring out he had a crush on her. Dave Kerpen plays said average Joe, he has big ears, a goofy smile, and trails Charla about like a love sick puppy. He is brave in facing the high school antics the other group throws at him but I believe he must enjoy it somehow because he continues to go back for more time and time again. Then there is Keith Cuda, nice guy, nice to look at, easy going attitude. Scott Hanson another easy going guy who just rides along, he is not a part of either group but no one calls him on it and so he goes far in the game. The other group consists of many nameless faceless nasty mouthed, hard body types trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. Tom with his stuffed Monkey, Amy and Zak, true love? Beau and Alex, somewhat interchangeable in my mind, Andon. Ah.. Andon. Huge, tattooed, thought he was going to turn the game on it's ear. Oh Andon! It is Reality TV! If you say it on camera and they don't want you to do it they are not going to let you! In the end the game was a mass of twisting confusion and convoluted manipulation. The winners won but not those two, but maybe three, could be four.
Ah well.. I mean it is not rocket science. Good for a mind numbing guilty pleasure, TiVo it at 1 am and then watch it when there is nothing else on.

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