Villa-fied! - An Introduction to Love Island 2021

MICHAEL:

Is this the support group? I’ll take a seat. Hi there, I’m Michael, and I… have never seen an episode of Love Island.

I wouldn't call myself stuck up or close-minded or anything like that, but I've genuinely never really seen the appeal of it. No reality show ever has mind you. Okay, granted I can comprehend the idea of following along with something week by week or daily or whatever the schedule is and all that, but that's just how good television should function. Despite never seeing one, I’ve always been of the mindset that reality shows are somewhat evil - they damage the self esteem of people - especially young women, they promote stupidity through banal comments that end up becoming talking points on Good Morning Britain or wherever the next day, and they force narrow mindsets on audiences with the generalisation of the people on the shows through manipulative editing which can have dire consequences. Believe me on that last one, I'm from Essex - I know far too well my county's reputation.

Here's an admittedly rather short list of the few actual genuine facts I know about Love Island without having to check Google:

The main setting is in a villa - hence the puny pun of a name this blog has.

• Iain Stirling off of CBBC when I was a kid is, or maybe was, the narrator
• There was a contestant who is a doctor called Alex (affectionately known as Dr. Alex) who appeared on the show. He is now a mental health advocate who has worked with the government on mental health matters - how successfully, for how long, or how important his role is I don't know.
• Some of the contestants have tragically committed suicide after appearing on the show - the only one I know the name of off the top of my head is one called Mike.
• Caroline Flack used to have something to do with it. She also tragically committed suicide in a case unrelated to the show, but still tragically nonetheless.
• Once on April Fool’s Day I read an article about a celebrity version of the show being launched and it took me until reading the fact Miranda Hart would be a contestant did I remember what the date was.
• The couples on the show tend to break up shortly afterwards.
• Danny Dyer’s daughter was a contestant on the show - and her name is also Dani Dyer. The second half of that fact will never cease to amuse me.

So, not the best of first impressions to be frank.

With my disgusted pre-conceptions on reality TV shows firmly in place and the little I do know being tinged with suicide, you’d probably think Love Island seems like a show I’d never watch in a million years - except maybe if it had Miranda Hart in it. And yet, I’m doing this blog because god knows why, Love Island has a massive appeal. When it’s on, it’s event television of the highest order. It’s been running for going on seven seasons now in its current iteration - and that’s not even covering the spin-offs and remakes. It’s even listed as a passion you can list on the dating app Tinder - the only TV show on there. With this blog I intend to watch, review, and scrutinise the show to find out what that appeal is - even if it doesn’t appeal to me. Surely it’s got to be more than just sexual tension disguised as romantic tension between good looking people? Then again, some American sitcoms ran on that premise for years.

Before I hand you over to Mia, my co-writer for this blog with an eenie bit more Love Island knowledge than I, I should probably lay out some predictions for what my thoughts on the show are going to be by the series finale:

• I’ll probably think almost everybody is a twat to some extent
• I’ll end the series being glad I did this in the first place
• I’ll probably finish with only a minor bit more appreciation for the show
• My opinions on reality TV shows in general will only slightly change

Over to you Mia.

MIA:

Thanks Michael! While I’m no Love Island expert, I have certainly enjoyed the show in the past, with a steady decline in interest over the years, as I have grown up and come to the conclusion that the show is a little... bonkers.

The principle of Love Island is simple; half-naked men and women meet each other in a sunny villa with their primary goal being to fall in love and meet the man/woman of their dreams, however the show is not entirely successful in this regard. Only 11 couples remain together to this day (as of June 2021), with Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen from Season 2 being the first pairing of the show to tie the knot in September of 2018. Considering that 6 seasons of Love Island have aired, the show has not produced a successful number of lasting couples, yet people continue to watch this show, being drawn in by the unnecessary amount of drama between the contestants and the ups and downs of their complex relationships.

I started watching the show in 2018 and was instantly hooked, like so many others. Contrary to the rest of Love Island’s viewers however, I was not intrigued by the mind-numbing conversations or the drama between these new couples, but rather a particular contestant by the name of Dr. Alex - I think it’s safe to say my eyes were glued to him for the entirety of Season 4. However the next season showed no sign of a sweet 27-year-old doctor who just wanted to steal the nation’s hearts, so I swiftly gave up on the show.

In saying this, I would like to try and get back into the show, despite my distaste for meaningless hook-ups and an attraction based solely on the appearance of your body, which is mostly what Love Island is all about. The reason for my sudden interest is down to three reasons:

1. I would like to get back into writing, so Love Island is the perfect place to start with.
2. I have high hopes for another doctor to swoon over.
3. I am very bored.

Before I wrap up, I will say one thing about the show that is of a very serious matter; Caroline Flack, Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis were all featured on Love Island and have tragically committed suicide within the last three years. Therefore, it is in the show’s best interests to provide a plethora of support for all those involved with Love Island from now on, which I believe is already set to happen, what with counselling sessions for all contestants upon departing the show. Both my co-writer and I take these issues very seriously and therefore will do as Caroline Flack once stated before her tragic death: “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

My apologies for the sudden mood change here, but of course these matters have to be covered. I’m very unsure of what this new season will bring for both UK viewers and fans from across the globe, although I am certain that some hot topics of conversation between the Love Islanders will include the coronavirus pandemic, how England is “definitely” coming home, and the fact that Matt Hancock has had more action in the past week than they have had in the past year.

That’s all from us for today, Michael and I look forward to delving into this show!