I mainly watch it for THAT pair!!! (I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here)

Member Name: benniash

Product:	I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here
Date:	10/02/04 (418 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent format, Short and sweet over a two week spell, The presenters

Disadvantages: Not on for another year!

Today I?m at a loss. For the first time in two weeks I?m going to have to fish out the TV guide and check what is on tonight as for the last weeks my evening life has been dictated by the third series of ITV?s I?m a celebrity?get me out of here. Dinner, gym sessions and other social events have been moved to more convenient slots and the video recorder has done overtime so I don?t miss any of my other usual shows.

So what?s all the fuss?

Even if you hate the show, I?m sure you will be familiar with the format. Ten celebrities are placed into a jungle in New South Wales and basically have to rough it for two weeks, where they are deprived of their usual luxuries except one item that they are allowed to take in with them. In true reality style shows its almost Survivor meets Celebrity Big Brother. In fact the first two series were so successful that the basic format has hardly been changed.

For the first week the public are asked to vote each day who they would like to do a bush tucker trial. The trials varied from day to day but usually would involve bugs, snakes and spiders or some form of physical task. For each task the celebrity voted in by the public would have be trying to collect stars, with each star being the equivalent of one meal for the camp that evening.

At the end of the first week the system changed where by the public were then asked to vote in order to evict people. This is the one area that I dislike. Rather than vote for the person that you?d like evicted, you have to vote to keep people in the camp. I know that it is for charity and the producers are trying to encourage more votes but the system is flawed in that if you really wanted someone to leave then you?d actually have to vote for the other nine. Every day the person with the least votes would leave camp and return to a life of luxury. This happened everyday until the final day when the three finalists were cut down one at a time during the c
ourse of the ninety-minute show.

Also every day a pair of contestants were sent to retrieve a chest (insert your own Jordan pun here) and this usually involved something physical or a bit of brain power ? nothing too demanding. Once the chest had been located and retrieved they would take it back to camp where they unlocked it in front of their peers. Inside were two compartments, each containing a mystery clue from a celebrity as to what was inside. From this clue, and in more cases their perception of the celebrity, they would have to decide which side to unlock as their ?gift?. The findings were often ridiculous; Jonathon Ross sent them smoking jackets and cigars ? just what you need in the jungle!!!!

So what happened this year?

After a week of getting to know each other the celebrities started to be whittled down through the viewers vote and the first to go was Mike Read. DJ and former Saturday Superstore presenter, Mike was unlucky. Upon his eviction you could clearly hear his girlfriend declare the show a farce, aimed at the fact that Mike received little airtime. Although he was obviously disappointed at the early eviction, when he did receive airtime he came across well. Often the joker and group entertainer but perhaps not outrageous enough for the voting public. He did nothing wrong, but wasn?t likely to be significant enough to get the votes early on.

The only shock about the eviction of Diane Modhal was that it hadn?t come the previous day. You may remember Diane as the long distance athlete that had her career ruined by allegations of drug use, if she?d been the slightest bit interesting then she?d have done well. To put it simply she was a nice enough person but would have needed to get embroiled in some crazy antics to have any chance of even seeing the crown. Her last chance of survival came on what would be her last day, in the form of a bush tucker trial. The trial was basically having to catch stars
dropped with bugs and the like from containers, she was in a boat. Unfortunately she had a nightmare and even though the task was tough, her physical side was not apparent and her technique to catch the stars was laughable. Not only did she fail abysmally but became the first person to get no stars, resulting in the camp having just beans and rice for dinner. Not that it mattered for Diane in the long run, she was on her way out of camp the next morning.

The third eviction was the biggest shock, and well and truly rocked the camp. Ex footballer Neil ?Razor? Ruddock had stared the first few days on great form, joking around he was a joy to watch and his successful first day trial, where he wore a glass bowl around his head which was gradually filled with bugs, spiders, eels, etc made him one of the favourites for the show. Unfortunately he went into his shell, many speculated because of his big build that the lack of food got to him more than the rest, and his outgoing personality soon disappeared. Having said that he showed another side to his hard man image and came out of it very well. I except the offers of further TV work and promotions to follow for him ? had the hunger not got the better of him then I feel he may have come close to winning.

The forth eviction did not take place after former sex pistol John Lydon (better known as Jonny Rotten) walked off the show. On the first day he came across as annoying and I?m sure had he not shown a more caring and intelligent side, he?d have been the first to get voted out. The public showed their feelings by voting him to do the first trial, collecting seed stars whilst being pecked by a group of ostriches. From that moment on he endeared himself to the public but it was hard to tell whether his outbursts and swearing fits were Mr Lydon for real, or an act of Mr Rotten. When he decided to walk he was the bookies hot favourite, for me he let himself down. Why go into the show only to walk,
not when it is for charity. The highlight for me was his live outburst containing extreme swear words after being told he hadn?t been evicted. Those people who complained should take a look at themselves, why the f**k were they watching in it the first place ? this is what reality TV of this nature is all about. Jonny?s trip to the jungle was made all the worthwhile as sales of the sex pistols albums rocketed.

With Jonny and Razor gone the camp seemed subdued and it was also about now that I noticed a new face in camp, Alex Best. Ok, she wasn?t new but she was so quiet that she made former contestant Nell McAndrew seem talkative. Alex is mainly famous for her marriage to former football legend, turned abusive alcoholic, George Best. In my eyes if Alex had been a bit more extrovert she would also have gone close to winning. She had the looks to win over the men and yet wasn?t as over the top with ridiculous ?I want to win, he?s a story? comments as others. He finest hour in the jungle was when she gained most of the stars in her trial. The trial was based around a glass tunnel where each compartment contained different bugs and she had to use her mouth to collect stars. She did extremely well considering the circumstances. Another one who will benefit from more work following the show.

Next to go was Katie Price (AKA Jordan). When I heard she was entering the jungle I questioned her motives. She was already well known and plenty of work was coming her way. The papers had already made plenty of her ample breasts and TV footage in her tight tops and thongs was just as ample. In fact for the best part of the show Jordan showed us that Katie Price and Jordan are as much a real person and an act as Paul Grady and Lily Savage. She made me laugh and yet still went into Jordan mode too much, ?secrets? from her forth-coming book were handily slipped out to improve the chance of sales no doubt. She came across reasonably well and her efforts
on several trials were very impressive. From having bugs around her head to eating them, she excelled herself for both the camera and for meals for her peers. She showed a better side to her than her page 3 persona represents, and sales of the book will definitely be up as a result.

The last person to get voted out before the final was Charlie ?Lord? Brockett. I have to admit that I only knew him for his infamous spell in Her Majesties Pleasure for fraud. For the first few weeks he grew on me and as the others fell by the way side I started thinking he could win it. Unfortunately for him his bitching and stupid behaviour got to the public and his time came. He reminded me a bit of the CAD James Hewitt ? his posh nature and constant touching of the girls, leaving us trying to decide whether he was perving or just friendly!? If I was unsure about his nature before hand, his interview after leaving the show proved he was a bit weird, perhaps it was the lack of food!

So down to the last three. Peter Andre was the Darius of the jungle. His constant singing and ?feel the love? routine either made you feel sick or endeared you to the former Aussie singer. Personally I think he is very naïve, and his obvious affections towards Jordan left me cringing like I do at the Office?s David Brent. However he came out of it well, another one who excelled himself during trials and conquered many a fear to allow his fellow contestants to eat properly. Rumours are that he is to re-release his number two hit Mysterious Girl could prove a good move for him. Overall he came out of it well, as I?ve said he was slightly annoying, very naïve, but seemingly genuine?a thumbs up in my book.

Somehow former royal correspondent Jennie Bond came second. No disrespect to her, she did well and I liked her, but against some of the personalities on show I was sure she?d be one of the first to go. I think she progressed through the early rounds as a process of el
imination meant there was always someone worse. Then she got all ten stars in her trial where she was buried and covered in rats. The big question is?who the hell voted for her to keep her in that long? Not sure what sort of work shell get now she?s on the outside, maybe presenting holiday programmes or something!?

And the winner is?Kerry McFadden. The former Atomic Kitten star and wife of the highly successful Bryan from Westlife had already pushed the mum of two into several presenting jobs. Personally she wasn?t my favourite and somehow avoided being voted off early on when he constant winging and lack of enthusiasm was far too apparent. I don?t think I?ve ever heard the word ?can?t? used so much in a ten minute spell when she accompanied Mike Read on getting the chest early on in the show. However she became a little tougher and her honesty and child like manner shone through. Her efforts in the eating of bugs trial with Jordan was there for everyone to see and she showed she was just like one of us by getting through the pain and tears. She was sometimes a little on the loud side but somehow too loveable to vote out. In the end she is a worthy winner and the first queen of the jungle after Phil Tuffnel and Tony Blackburn had been crowned in the first two series?.

The main part of the show was on for an hour and half every night at around nine o?clock and contained footage from the previous days show as well as interviews with the evicted contestants. Live footage follows at around midnight but constant sound cutting for legal reasons made it almost unwatchable. Several spin off shows talking about what was happening could be found on the channel as well as coverage and gossip on ITV2 for digital viewers, but these were not a patch on the main event.

So how many of you assumed the title were about Jordan?s breasts?? Well, it is actually reference to the real stars of the show ? presenters Ant and Dec. The two lads from Ne
wcastle have excelled themselves over the last two years and are now probably the most likeable presenters around. For this show they were at their best and regardless of what was happening in camp, it was worth tuning in just to listen to their constant banter. I think what makes them so likeable is the fact they always seem to say what is on the mind of the public. In doing this they don?t need to use verbal attacks or derogative comments, just a mix of humour and light jibes.

Overall the mix of the celebrities was just about right and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The fact that it is on for just two weeks makes it intense but means that it doesn?t take too much time out of your life like Big Brother. The show pulled in around ten million viewers nightly and was also a success financially, raising around £1 million for charities chosen by the contestants. I hear plans are already in place for a fourth series next year, which I?ll look forward to. Some people say that these people are not real celebrities but lets face it, they lead a much more luxurious life than the majority of us and seeing them deprived of these luxuries is what it is all about.

I?m sure all fans of the show will agree that the only real word to describe the show is that it is INSANIA!!

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