REVIEWER RATING: 75I can't say I was a huge fan of the US reality show
The Cut, which recently ended on SABC1.
Tommy Hilfiger is not my cup of tea, and I'm talking about the man - not the brand.
He's got what I fondly refer to as a "smackable face" and his sleek, marketing-laced patter didn't impress me.
Besides - the show was at 22h00, which is round about when I'm up to my ears in work for the next day. So it never really worked out.
But I made a point of watching the
South African version of the show, which premiered on SABC1 on Tuesday night (29 August) at 21h00, because I was intrigued to see how a local crew (in this case the experienced Urban Brew) would put it together.
The first thing I saw was the show's logo, which was beautifully-designed. Funky. Then came the title credits and I was blown away - so often South African shows neglect their opening credits, but The Cut got me on its side immediately with the stylish, edgy graphics.
The title sequence and graphics were created by Candice Wainwright (not Wainyright as the show incorrectly credited her). She is a graphic art graduate from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (Class of 2005), and one helluva talented artist.
And I have to say - the more the show progressed the more impressed I became. There were annoying blemishes along the way but overall it moves quickly, has
interesting characters, looks great and shows no mercy.
The cherry on top was the Style Council, for which I have one word: magnificent. It had a truly original set and had class written all over it.
Then came the best part yet - when the judges turned the contestants on one another, in true time-honoured reality spirit.
Clearly the producers have watched and noted the success of other reality 'councils', in particular the
Survivor and
Apprentice councils. The common thread between those two shows is reality guru Mark Burnett, who created both.
Burnett understands what makes riveting reality television: protagonists, antagonists, drama, tension, victory and failure - all the key ingredients you need for stirring up a storm.
Nobody likes reality contestants loving each other - we want them in each other's faces.
Survivor built its success on two things, one of which was Tribal Council and the other I will deal with a little later.
The very first ever season finale Tribal Council featured
Sue Hawk's infamous "Rats and Snakes" speech, delivered to the final two -
Kelly Wiglesworth and ultimate winner
Richard Hatch.
From Wikipedia:
"In her speech she said there are only two things on the entire island: rats and snakes. Richard was a snake and Kelly a rat, and Hawk told the Jury members that they should obey the laws of nature by letting the snake eat the rat.
"She also told Kelly that if she ever saw her in a desert, dying of thirst, she would not stop to give her a sip of water and that she'd like to see the vultures get her.
"The 'rats and snakes' moment is arguably the most remembered moment in Survivor history, as the season one finale was the highest rated episode of Survivor to date and it was the first (but not the last) time in Survivor that anyone ever expressed such bitterness and anger."
The Cut hardly met the lofty heights of Rats and Snakes, but Style Judge
Felipe Mazibuko - ably assisted by
Nathan Reddy - cunningly turned the contestants on each other using tried and tested (and proven) methods:
"So, Odysseus - who do you think is the weakest contestant?"
"Tell me Lerato - who, in your opinion, contributed the least?"
Etcetera. The moment you force someone into trashing someone else the sparks start to fly, and we get a whole lotta flame.
I was worried the contestants would get all sweet and sickly on us - not a chance. They're an ambitious lot and when you mix ambition with a key characteristic of the style industry - cutthroat self-preservation - you get some cringeworthily lovely telly.
As the end credits rolled up, wiping
Sihle Magugu away, I found myself nodding in appreciation. It was thumbs up for the most part.
For the most part.
I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth after the announcement of the prizes during the end credits, when it was revealed that the winner would be getting a car ... but on loan, for one year.
They get a job at Woolworths and some Woolworths food and a car - all only for one year.
So in essence they disappear into a huge company straight after the show, wiping them out of public awareness, at the end of which they have to say cheers, go back to eating sardines on bread and give up their nice car before looking for a new job.
Doesn't sound so great to me.
Which brings me to my second point about Survivor, and why it is such a successful show: the prize.
It was the first time someone had offered a million dollars for a reality competition and it was just such a huge sum we had to tune in to see what someone would do to win a million dollars.
Since Survivor everyone offers huge prizes, but back then it really sold the show.
I don't expect local reality shows to award prizes of that magnitude (although big up to M-Net for offering a million bucks to the winner of
Survivor South Africa), but I do expect there to be a decent prize.
A borrowed car is just cheap, and it cheapens the show.
For more on the issue, read
The Cut: Cool Show. Crap Prize. by Tashi Tagg.
A few other gripes:
InformationMidway through the show two people suddenly arrived where everyone was working on their banners, and a woman told the contestants they had to hurry up as time was running out.
Nowhere was it explained who that woman was, or what her role in it all was.
It's a major bugbear of mine with local reality shows - too little information. You can't introduce a speaking character and not tell us who they are - one simple info box and all would have been explained.
EditingMuch as I enjoyed the Style Council I did not enjoy the announcement of Sihle as the first evictee.
Hostess
Claire Mawisa asked the judges to decide on who should be eliminated between Sihle and
George Matsheke, but we never got to see their deliberation and thus I have no idea why Sihle was eliminated.
In a moment of editing madness Mawisa asked the judges: "So, is it George or Sihle?", the camera focused on each contestant's face, then cut back to Mawisa, who said: "Sihle - you did not make the cut."
Uh, excuse me?
Why did Sihle not make the cut?
Before the announcement of the loser Felipe Mazibuko said the judges felt it was a cutthroat industry and that you need to be able to sell yourself in it - was that why Sihle was cut? Because he doesn't sell himself?
Or was it because you don't like his face, his attitude or his mother?
I'll draw on another hit reality show to illustrate my point:
Project Runway. The designers are all told to leave while the judges deliberate, and we get to see those deliberations.
They don't give away who they're going to eliminate, but they discuss each contestant and say what they don't like about them.
So when a contestant is told "Auf wiedersehen" and is given an air kiss by
Heidi Klum at least we know why they were the one to get the boot.
I am still in the dark as to why Sihle was cut and to me the whole point of each episode is to find out why someone failed and why others succeeded.
Social InteractionA final gripe - we never got to see the contestants moving into their digs in Corner House, which is a crucial part of the storyline.
A press release before the show started said the contestants would not be living together, yet when the show started it was clear they were all moving in together. Indeed, Sihle had to pack his suitcase as he mumbled his goodbyes.
If they're living together we have to see some of that interaction - it would have been nice to see a fight over beds or some early social politics.
All that being said, I don't think the negatives weigh the show down too much. I couldn't rate it as highly as I wanted to because of those key errors I mentioned, which was disappointing.
But with a tweak or two here or there I think The Cut has all the right ingredients to be South Africa's best ever reality show.
As it is I rated it 75, which according to the TVSA rating scale puts it midway between 'Good' (70) and 'Excellent' (80), which I suppose is Very Good.
Yup. That's what it was. I'll definitely be tuning in for the second episode.
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Visit the show page: The Cut: South Africa