#SevenDays

We're onto episode three now and Chanell 4's new interactive reality documentary TV series is starting to really take shape. As the "characters" start to watch themselves and read what other say about them the show is beginning to get interesting.

It's fascinating to see them reacting to what people on the internet have said about themselves, and the way they have been perceived on TV. It's the one thing that Big Brother lacked - the only way we could show any opinion was through the eviction vote, but here we can watch and directly communicate with the characters.

Shame the "characters" are such vacuous idiots. No, I take that back. Moktar & Javan have some interesting things to say, but they aren't given nearly as much screen time as some of people being followed.

Screen time after all seems to be controlled by the amount that we tweet; give us more of who we've commented on because that's who we're interested in, right? But the thing is viewers are tweeting about and giving attention to the ones that piss us off most, and thus the circle continues.

But that's the problem with Channel 4 reality TV. They seem to believe that we want to watch annoying, vacuous, weird, irritating, argumentative, arrogant (have I made my point?) people - that's why the last few series of Big Bro turned from social experiment to hour long freak shows.

Perhaps I'm just being a grumpy northerner, but I don't find the lives of Notting Hill yuppies all that interesting. Given the economic crisis that the country is recovering from I don't much enjoy watching a bunch of rich people complain about how crap their life is. Perhaps a more interesting dynamic would be to contrast the lives of different people across the country, or certainly visit different areas in (potential) future series'.

The idea behind this show is really fascinating, but I don't think it's quite worked out the way C4 planned. The website asks us to "Tell Ben what to do next" via different interactive mediums, but instead people just seem to be bitching about his arrogance & sexuality, and the same goes for other characters. Instead of advising them on aspects of their life, people just seem to be criticising it. It offers an interesting insight into the psychological phenomenon of anonymity and the bating crowd; people are more likely to do something negative, such as commit a crime or encourage someone else to do something wrong, if they aren't going to be found out.

Despite some complaints, for some reason, I don't switch off, and that's because the idea of the show is intriguing. C4 have managed to come up with another addictive format that could reshape the way we view reality TV in the future.