So its basically Milgrim's banned experiement, in fact so much so that the first work shifts are a pretty literal a replica, but instead of men with white coats, its men in suits and instead of 'science' being the lever its the possibility of maybe getting a little bit of money - so kinda more like the IRL horror that led Milgram to design the experiments following WWII - but for TV.
Its nothing new, pretty predictable and whilst some of the casting is good and somewhat understandable, it also kinda feels like the UK has run out of complex driven people and producers are left having to pick from pretty unpleasant sociopaths who are lying before they begin (surely not even Ramona's surgeon thinks she can pass for 35!?)
I love reality TV, and people watching, cultures and communities are my passion but I don't think I'll be able to see this one through as it is derivative, dull and discomforting all at once.
Greg James is, I am sure, a perfectly nice fellow but to say he is vanilla would be to suggest vanilla has no flavour, noooo is an anti-flavour, a flavour neutraliser - perhaps this a choice as if the presenter of this show had too much personality or presence them conducting a handful of greedy eejits to enforce what are essentially extremely cruel, dubiously required and (as demonstrated by the fact that Milgram had to drop his shiz) ethically unacceptable experiments/tasks/jobs would seem really dark and machiavellian.
One of the most interesting, probably accidentally, symbols central to the show is the location - a beautiful deco central London building, built to house and allow the development of a public transport system in London and SE UK in the early C20th, was the home of Transport of London for many years (so effectively a public building open to the public doing work for the public) but then once the tube was part privatised it was sold off to be developed into a 'luxury hotel' - but has had to become a set for a reality TV show as there are more luxury rooms in cities like London than there obscenely wealthy oligrachs/Emirati/yankie tourists/Chinese party members/Old Etonians/Instahookers. Short sighted greed, bailed out by tax payers, having to be used for something flippant so as not to sit empty whilst homelessness is rife and workers have to live in zone6 and commute for hours to sweep the floors.
