Sparks Camp (2023)

a well done m/m reality dating show (ep 7 was the best)

Overall: I believe this was the Philippines first m/m reality dating show and I think they did a good job with it. 8 episodes at about 30 minutes each. Aired on Black Sheep YouTube Channel.

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 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.

Content Warnings: discussion of mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, homophobia

What I Liked
- the intros of the 10 guys to the audience and that they had name tags on most of the series (as someone who has trouble with remembering names, this is very useful and I'm guessing was useful for the participants as well), although it could have been something like a necklace with their name
- that they started with a game and there were two 1 on 1 dates (not really a fan of the twist though but it was okay)
- diverse personalities in the group
- the emcee was great, she was caring and empathetic
- defined pansexuality and emcee said she loved how they were being sex positive
- episode 7 at the pool party was my favorite episode
- excellent that they included a mental health hotline at the end of episode 7

Room For Improvement
- group games: the oil was unnecessary, the guys just met each other and they could have played the game without the oil part, should have had less physical games and maybe some where they pair up, go on a scavenger hunt or something? or maybe group get to know you games like "never have I ever"
- too much group sharing times, it bogged things down, although I think 1 group share is a good idea, I personally don't think it's great to discuss past exes, leave the past in the past
- would only have 1 secret spark exchange or have it more like a phone call or letter where they could write their name, but it's painful to see some guys not receive a spark multiple times
- background noise during the pool party

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Mixed bad as in any reality show

I must warn you that my perspective of this series is not all moonbeams and unicorns. I am not going to praise this series merely for the sake of praising it. Perhaps it is ground-breaking in the sense that it is a gay dating show in the Philippines and for that it deserves applause, unquestionably. As an outsider looking in, I did not understand its concept. I also had a serious issue as to how these 10 were chosen and more importantly vetted. I do not think it was random and my sense was that most were chosen based on social media connections and status in life. And some seemed relatively new to the whole concept of being gay or even if they were gay. I am not trying to negate in any way those who were chosen but with a country of nearly 114 million souls, there are not 10 out and proud unhesitatingly GAY guys from all walks of life, rich and poor, that are willing to be on a ‘reality’ show about finding a guy to ‘spark’ with? With no complications? And I cringe when I see the cavalier way we ogle and view people who share deeply personal secrets and vulnerabilities publicly. While it might be entertaining and, to some extent, hard not to watch, it is deeply personal and maybe cathartic but not necessarily therapeutic or healthy or always good to so freely share. Sometimes the whole world does not need to know or see our deepest vulnerabilities. I both liked and disliked this series, but mostly lean towards the latter. know the ‘good feeling’ we get from initially watching this series and for those participating in this series. But I am apprehensive it will be short-lived, unfortunately. For a whole lot of reasons.
You can read my full review at BLBliss.com.

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