This review may contain spoilers
An Inspiring Dating Show, Best of the Lot!!
I never thought that I could get addicted to a reality dating show, but “Sparks Camp” proved me wrong!Black Sheep and ABS-CBN Studio’s “Sparks Camp Season Two” ended on a high note and I’m already suffering from the withdrawal symptoms. Honestly I really loved the contestants this season, it could be the quirky Miggy Ruallo, brave Pipoy Oreiro or the fabulous Ejay (doesn’t mean, I didn’t like the other contestants). Each camper bought a different flavor to this potboiler that was wildly exciting and spontaneous. The sparks were sparkling yet meaningful, “Moment of Truth” was honest and insightful while Mela Habijan as Mother Camper was a soothing presence. Directed by Theodore Boborol (whom we recently interviewed), the show was bigger, bolder and more versatile; and we are not just talking about the contestants who were from different walks of life. They had stories to share; some endearing, others remorseful. We are going to talk more about the intricacies of this show in our review, so buckle your seatbelts!
Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/08/15/sparks-camp-season-two-series-review-ep-3-to-8/
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joyful, emotional & drama-filled (reality m/m dating series)
Overall: Sparks Camp contestants bare their souls, get hurt, heal, laugh, cry and love. 10 episodes 45 minutes each. Aired on Black Sheep YouTube channel. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87uyU6xM7Lft-Lpwbv5G3ZQJZDvxC9_p&si=gVVHvglgds-tTvix Here is my review of season 1 https://mydramalist.com/profile/blcompilations/review/278749Content Warnings: past death, grief, trauma, past coercion
Reality Series Note: with any "reality" series I keep in mind that what the audience sees doesn't necessarily reflect what actually happened. There can be guidelines the audience doesn't know about, parts are edited out or ordered in different ways to show a certain narrative. I read in the YouTube comments of season 1 that the director said it wasn't scripted, but I always take that with a grain of salt. My goal for reality dating series is for people to have a good time and maybe make a new friend. Any actual pairings at the end of the show are icing on the cake.
What I Liked
- really good diversity with the cast, it wasn't all actors/models/influencers
- that the guys had name tags on which was helpful to remember who was who
- the initial game of guessing who the items belonged to was much better than the oil game from season 1, they made items easy enough they were guaranteed to get a few correct but not super easy so there was a bit of a challenge
- the deepest darkest secret game was fine, I'm assuming the guys knew it would be recorded/aired publicly
- Mother Mela is a good emcee*
- the trivia game
Room For Improvement
- the platinum gay thing was cringey
- having them repeatedly draw the sparks publicly was really sad and they should figure out another way to accomplish this (like write letters and the production crew see who has matches and then sends them on 1 on 1 dates)
- a contestant asked to sit something out and the emcee* said no, people should have the right to pass in situations like that
- putting 1 person on the spot to answer all questions was definitely to make things messy/drama-filled
Comparison to other m/m dating shows
1. The Boyfriend (Japan) on Netflix. Guys run a coffee van and live together for 1 month.
2. His Man (South Korea) on iQIYI, currently on season 3. Anyone can date anyone. Beautiful production and conventionally attractive guys.
3. Boys Like Boys (Taiwan) on GagaOOLala, had a very similar aesthetic/vibe to His Man
4. Love House seasons 1 & 2 (Vietnam) on YouTube (most have English subs, this is ep 1 of season 2 no subs though https://youtu.be/TKzT_nHfVTA ). I liked this set up more than Bromance because the guys could all pursue one another. I didn't like the "secret couple" aspect and dividing them up based on sexual position seemed odd (can't they discuss that in private???) Season 1 was also the most brutal "rose ceremony" I've ever seen in any dating reality show. Season 2 was better.
5. Bromance (Thailand) is also on Gagaoolala. This is the typical Bachelor/Bachelorette set up with a bunch of people competing against one another to be with the 1 bachelor. I didn't like this because they could have all been hitting on each other and we have multiple couples! I got kind of bored and skipped a bunch.
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For the friendships we formed along the way
I've come to find that I'm more invested in the friendships formed in dating reality shows than I am in the relationships, which is a beautiful paradox but the friendships are just so pure!!I will also always maintain that what the audience sees is probably less than a quarter of what happened and that we have no way of telling what exactly happened behind the scenes and to what extent, and at the tip of it all, these people were just trying to find a good connection.
So obviously we'll laugh and cry with them, get annoyed at times and relate to them at others, as I'm sure the contestants themselves did. And this was a genuinely surprising experience, watching this, because I got to witness some incredible people tell their stories and share their experiences and I got to see them develop incredible connections with everyone else.
The sensitive topics were handled with care, and the host was genuinely wonderful at being supportive of the contestants. And despite a few ups and downs, I'm hoping they got something good out of their time on the show.
There was some romance, a lot of drama (a lot) and even more amazing friendships, which was definitely my favorite aspect. Whatever they choose to take forward, I hope they choose to take those friendships forward.
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