MTV's Jersey Shore and E!'s Keeping Up With the Kardashians , as well as its various spinoffs, are great examples of this . You don't have to like the characters or agree with their actions , but they have to make for intriguing television.
When Vuzu announced it was going to air the South African reality show Forever Young, starring three young studs, it was expected to be great viewing.
The three men in question are Siyabonga Ngwekazi (aka Scoop), radio and TV presenter; Lungile Radu (aka Lungsta), a former music channel presenter turned actor; and Thomas Gumede, comedian and actor. They're young, hot and famous so what could possibly go wrong? A lot, it seems.
Forever Young, like Vuzu's previous train wreck, Nonhle Goes to Hollywood, lacks drama. The only reason I tuned in to the show last week was because friends had told me how horrible it was.
In last week's episode, the guys travelled to Seoul for a fashion label on which Ngwekazi was working.
Radu and Gumede spent most of the time ignoring each other. I don't know why they were so moody because the show didn' t bother to recap what had caused the tension. The episode consisted of 25 minutes of designing a jacket , pouting, a few giggling Korean babes and a train station.
Apparently, in a previous episode, the dudes went grocery shopping in Brazil. Who cares?
As a friend observed: "Why do all these reality show people go overseas? Their lives in South Africa are boring, that's why. And that's why we don't give a damn."
The guys should have taken some tips from Ntando and Hlelo Masina's Blame It On Fame, which, while not being the best reality show around, is at least not a coma-inducing bore.
Radu, Ngwekazi and Gumede are lucky they're so good-looking. It's probably the only reason girls tune in.
'Forever Young' is on Vuzu on Fridays at 7pm
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