Ex on the Beach

At first, it was interesting to see the cast members interact in what supposedly is a "reality show." As time progressed, it was clear that the program was a poorly orchestrated farce. Clearly there was something (money, fame, threat of contractual penalties, etc.) motivating cast members to stay. Most people of substance (perhaps no one of substance would be involved in such a show) would have simply walked away when faced with the program's orchestrated situations. As just one example, a woman, Marie, so denigrated herself by throwing herself at a man who was initially mildly interested; yet, when exposed to Marie's abusive demands, wanted nothing to do with her. Marie's mental state degraded to a point where it appeared she might resort to physical violence. On multiple occasions, Marie expressed her strong desire to leave; however, something undisclosed to the audience clearly motivated her to remain on the show. At many points, the utter stupidity of the orchestrated situations made me want to stop watching; yet, I made a commitment to watch season 3 in its entirety. After watching, I followed up to see if anyone really stayed together. Turns out that NO ONE stayed together and most broke it off almost immediately after the show ended. Their final "Crush Ceremony" was a farce clearly orchestrated to enhance ratings. Once again, NO ONE stayed together. If any of the interaction between cast members was genuine, all cast members appear incapable of thinking beyond their next sexual "fix;" let alone enter into a committed relationship. Perhaps these cast members have so destroyed their personal integrity and public reputations by appearing on such shows, that they have no choice but to continue appearing on them. Typically, these shows feature attractive cast members which draw in viewers. Few of the cast members were either physically or otherwise attractive. Among other things, I don't understand the purpose of inserting a cast member -- Aubrey -- who was clearly at least twice the age of the eldest other cast member and, in a bad way, cosmetically enhanced. It was painful to watch a young bodybuilder cast member pursuing Aubrey who could have been his rather large and unattractive mother. I found myself having to fast forward through these parts because they literally grossed me out. It was also confusing why Coffee, who purports to be attracted to personal character, kept throwing herself at Aubrey who continually demonstrated her utter lack of character. In doing so, Coffee became uninteresting. These were just two of countless other issues which made this show extremely difficult to watch. There is one positive lesson to this program. It demonstrates the utter chaos and lack of substance in the lives of those who have not learned boundaries and/or have rejected all higher (higher than themselves) moral compasses. It would be interesting to follow up with the lives of these "reality stars" years later: 1) Are they in fulfilling relationships? 2) Are they truly happy? 3) Has their performance in reality shows forever damaged their prospects of gainful employment? 4) Can they function without the constant attention (good or bad) from others? 5) What ill effects of cosmetic surgery have they experienced? 6) Looking back, do they regret appearing on such shows?

It's strictly for adults, no question. But if you are not offended by heavy sexual content, this is a very entertaining watch with a young, attractive cast.