A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
Directed by Scott Jeffress
Studio: Paramount/MTV
Year: 2007
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 424 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles: CC
MSRP: $ 39.99
Release Date: April 15, 2008
Review Date: April 9, 2008
The Series
2/5
Ah, love! That most desired but elusive of all emotions! Sometimes even the handsomest or most beautiful find it difficult to capture and sometimes even more difficult to hold onto it. And what better place to find the love of your life than on a televised dating show? So quiet, so intimate, so private! So perfect for establishing a close and lasting connection with your chosen one! If you’ve caught the drift of my disdain for televised dating shows, then you can imagine that I find shows like ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and all of the subsequent shows which have sprung up as a result of the success of those two landmarks pretty much disposable television. It’s one thing to try to survive on a remote island under harsh conditions or to race around the world with a group of like-minded competitors. But in matters of the human heart, the exchange of intimacies necessary to establish a bond, a love and trust that truly means something, is to my way of thinking not something that should be based on assorted games, puzzles, rewards, and punishments, and the eliminations of candidates in demeaning close-ups as a sort of booby prize for not measuring up to a shaky set of unstated standards is not something I would under ordinary circumstances watch with any great relish.
Nevertheless, the latest in the unending parade of degrading dating shows is MTV’s A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. Ms. Tequila is a popular attraction on YouTube as well as a recording artist and model, and her little secret as the show gets underway is that she’s bisexual, equally attracted to both men and women. Thus, 32 contestants are initially introduced to the petite, multi-tattooed star (16 of each gender), and in ten episodes, the straight men and gay women take part in a series of contests (some truly revolting) and artificial scenarios designed to show the lady who‘s really interested in her and then as a result are eliminated systematically until only Tila’s true love is left standing.
The contests and set-ups for intimacy (with a camera recording everything) run the gamut from spin-the-bottle/truth or dare, a massage competition, a foam party, a backyard carnival, an obstacle course, a chocolate wallow, a couple of food eating competitions: you get the message. The guys and gals are competing to win quality time with the star so each can better show her why she means so much to them.
Housed together in a dwelling where the guys and girls have to sleep together in an enormous bed, naturally there are going to be conflicts both between and among the sexes. Again the cameras capture everything, and yet often the contestants who are misbehaving behind Tila’s back lie openly to her face about what they’ve been up to, and rather than viewing the footage, she chooses to take certain people (but not others) at their word. I suppose this creates rooting interests for or against certain contestants, but I couldn’t help feeling halfway through the episodes (there are ten in all plus a reunion special) that the ones not being picked were going to come out the real winners in this contest.
If you’re a people person, you can’t help but get involved in the stories of some of the contestants, and late in the show, Tila visits the families of the four remaining contestants. For me, this was the highlight of the series: to see some real life for a change rather than the overly manufactured drama and hysterics that the TV series had created back at Tila’s crib. Sure, the families are all wired for sound and have cameras shoved in their faces, too, but they’re seemingly being themselves and supporting their children, the clearest example of love I found in any of these otherwise contrived episodes.
Video Quality
3.5/5
The 1.33:1 television aspect ratio is adhered to in these DVD transfers. The color is well saturated for the show, and it looks much better than other Paramount/TV reality shows I’ve watched lately. Sharpness is fine, and apart from some line twitter and minor pixilation, the shows look as good or better than they do on broadcast television. Each episode is divided into 6 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is pretty much stereo in name only. I suppose some music may be going to the right and left front channels, but the mix is undoubtedly center channel specific. This is sound which expected to be sent to TV speakers, not an elaborate surround sound system, so in that regard, it’s good enough.
Special Features
2/5
The set offers 8 extended scenes which run a total of 53½ minutes if watched all together (there is an option to view each scene individually). The scenes chosen rank among the most controversial during the series including a fight between two guys and a couple of confrontations between two girls.
There are 6 deleted scenes, though that’s really something of a misnomer. I only saw one scene that wasn’t at least partially contained in one of the episodes. Again, one may view them separately or watch them together in a 35½ minute chunk.
The set offers a preview for the DVD set of Human Giant: Season 1.
In Conclusion
2/5 (not an average)
Not my idea of a good time, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila obviously had many fans on MTV, and for those folks, this set will probably be a pleasant trip down memory lane.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
