Bedsitcom (2003)
- Genre
- sitcom, reality television
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Length
- 1 season, 8 episodes
- Rating
- 10.0 of 10 from 1 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A reality TV show where six young people think they are starring in a new series called Making Friends. Three of their housemates are actually actors following directions from writers in a garage.
scriptedmanipulativeartificialunsettlingdeceptiveordinarylow-stakesmildly absurd
What happens
Bedsitcom is a British reality television hoax series that was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2003. Pitched as "somewhere between a sitcom and a reality TV show", the show documented the lives of six young people living in a loft flat in London. Its hook was that its TV audience was aware that three of the participants—named Mel, Paul and Rufus—were actually actors being directed by a trio of "writers" in a garage on the ground floor. Bedsitcom was commissioned by the Channel Four Television Corporation and produced by Objective Productions. Producers auditioned thousands of people to be the show's genuine subjects and selected from them six young adults to live in the flat with the three actors. These six participants were told that they would be starring in a new reality TV series called Making Friends, and featured on the show three at a time over a period of eight weeks. The programme ran for a single series of eight episodes and featured various storylines, involving dead goldfish, dodgy dealings, promiscuous mothers and telephone psychics. The show received largely negative feedback from television reviewers, who criticised the show's premise as a "deeply offensive" idea. It received a viewership peak of 1.2 million with its final episode, giving it an audience share of 8.9 per cent. Bedsitcom was not recommissioned for a second series and is currently not available either on DVD or on Channel 4's on demand service, 4oD. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
My New Best Friend (2003)
Girls in Love (2003)
Spaced (1999)
Coupling (2000)
Holiday Showdown (2003)
3 Non-Blondes (2003)
Burn It (2003)
Absolute Power (2003)- More like this series, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.