There's a new reality show on BBC Scotland that is causing quite a stir - it's called "The Scheme" and details life on a housing estate in East Kilbride. By "quite a stir" I mean it's getting a lot of people tweeting, blogging, kicking up a fuss and most of all laughing.
Is this a good thing? I don't know for sure but I don't think so. I have only watched the first episode (which was very hard to watch actually, even more so than some so called horror films) and the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Yes, it WAS funny, but also the worst kind of schadenfreude. I don't think I will be going back for more, and I don't think this is an honest or accurate depiction of life on a housing estate. Of course, we know now that "reality TV" is pretty far from actual reality, but The Scheme shows just how low editors and producers have stooped for the sake of getting ratings.
Our friend the writer Kerry Ryan has reviewed the show on her blog, and put into words what it was that I felt while watching the show. "Poverty porn" indeed. Read Kerry's review of the Scheme here.
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