Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Thanks for the memories!

How sad is this?

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I'm here to defend this programme. I consider myself to be a somewhat intellectual and thus by all reasoning should detest this programme. But I still watch it every week and every week it makes me laugh. I never try and feel for the characters or become particularly involved in their story lines, but it's a great programme for 'people watching'. If you take into account the fact that they all must have some idea of what they're doing and they are definitely aware the cameras are there, you notice that all of them react in different ways. And despite that, it's also good if you enjoy watching fairly stupid people do and say fairly stupid things. If you are looking for an award winning fly on the wall documentary then i advise you to... well, just give up and definitely don't watch this. If you're looking for something light hearted which has the potential to pull in a lot of viewers depending on how you watch it, then TOWIE is for you.

Following the mould of MTV reality shows like "Jersey Shore" and "The Hills", "The Only Way is Essex" follows the supposed lives of a group of nouveau-riche twenty-somethings in Essex, adhering to the common stereotypes of the respective county - big yet tasteless houses, huge nightclubs and wild parties, tarty blondes coated in fake tan (with a token gay friend at their side), manly men who enjoy doing manly things, and of course, a no-nonsense grandmother who's fiercer than an RAF division. In a departure from a good number of British reality shows, the scenes are almost all evidently staged and cut, with a perfect level of soap-opera histrionics and bad acting thrown in for good measure. As such, the show comes across as a parade of cardboard cutouts devoid of any personality against a set of sterile backdrops.It's little more than a piece of trash that makes everyone in Essex out to be superficial and stupid, but I have to question whether anyone thought it was going to be good in the first place. This type of programme hooks the viewer in its knowing awfulness; it's so appalling that it becomes morbidly engaging. To TV executives, this means good ratings and the chance to make money off a cheap franchise. Yes, it's depressing that shows such as "The Only Way is Essex" exist, but it's ultimately simply worth just ignoring.

I think that the introduction "pre warning" voiced by Denise is a very clever way of setting the scene for the entire programme. Highlighting the stereotypes of "Essex" in a tongue in cheek manner, and the fact that some of the scenes are set up for entertainment purposes is a way of enlightening the audience of what they're about to experience. The shine going over the text as it is voiced hints that there will be a lot of glamour and "vajazzleing". The music throughout the title sequence is fun and light hearted, the lyrics "the only way is up" can be understood as a reflection of the characters lives. The opening images are quick cut and fast paced, another reflection of how the programme will be. Please note - I am not stating here that the entire population of Essex is represented by the characters, just my own understanding through the people I've met and know.

When I saw the adverts for the show I initially thought, wow. The UK has collected in on the money train of a half reality/half fiction show, such as The Hills or The City. I have never been a fan of these shows but when they said it was based around the the lives of the Essex young I thought, yeah this could really work. Everyone I have ever met from Essex has always been fun, full of energy, classy with an extraordinary personality. In my mind the concept could not go wrong and initially I thought this type of show will spawn the next generation of young stars in the UK that girls will want to dress like and boys will fantasise over. Boy was I wrong......I understand that there is a certain amount of "making things up to create good tele" but at least with the Hills its sometimes believable. These girls and guys make Essex people look really dumb and shallow and I would be ashamed of myself if I was a native to the county. Yes of course there are elements in the characters that are true to real people but they are not defined by these ridiculous statements and poor decisions that these characters seem to live by? As with any bad show, one can sometimes find the "tongue in cheek" value that is sometimes contrived, but I genuinely believe the producers are trying to buy into the fact that these things happen on a day to day basis and they want us to follow their lives with real interest. If you have not seen an episode yet, do so with an open mind but I am sure if you have an once of decency and respect in your bodies you will come to similar conclusions as I have. This is not the sort of show I will be chatting about down the pub and that's what TV should be about. Please remove this terrible show from a valuable Sunday night slot and replace it with a show that doesn't make me angry about the world.