Parental Control

This is the kind of show that you would probably never deliberately choose to watch. I happen to see a string of episodes because the TV channel was already on MTV and it was on in the background ... and I got drawn in.

The show is formulaic (with portions obviously scripted), simplistic and revenge-based: you kind of want to see a rude and egotistical teenager get some payback (but it doesn't always go that way).

The setup which uses real kids, their parents and prospective dates works. The caustic dialog (again, obviously scripted) is just so nuts that it's actually interesting to hear it coming from their mouths.

Here's the setup: A teenager's parents are fed up with their kid's current boyfriend/girlfriend so they select two new prospects and send them on dates. Then the fireworks start: the parents and the current boyfriend/girlfriend sit together and watch the dates on video. They make very insulting remarks to each other as things happen. At the end, the kid has the final say: continue as before, or start dating one of the new people.

The bitterly outrageous dialog between the parents and the current boyfriend/girlfriend is the core of the show. The dates themselves are always shown to be blandly upbeat. They are a bit bizarre though, so they are probably ones thought up by the show's producers (like playing soccer with leaf-blowers - who would think of that?).

Even though I rate it a "6", this is probably not a show that you would look forward to watching (or would plan to watch) - it's just one that can hook you in if you happen to randomly start watching it. It's amusing, if you can appreciate a bit of sick fun.

Normally reality shows have some sort of realism to them. The characters in reality shows are supposed to act at least somewhat natural. The situations are also generally at least semi-plausible and make sense. "Parental Control" has not an ounce of realism to it, and is just obviously fake and staged in every way. If the show would just come out and say it's not a real reality show, it would become much more enjoyable, but as long as they keep the facade of realism to this show, it's just embarrassing and hard to sit through.

Every episode features a couple parents with a daughter or son. The parents hate their child's boyfriend or girlfriend, and they want their kid to find another date. The parents choose two kids from a few potential children, and the two go on a date with their kid. The parents generally act very stupid, and their child's boyfriend or girlfriend is always horrible to the parents and their kid. The dates they go on make no sense, and overall this show is about as much of a reality show as King of Queens.

This show is just overall obnoxious. The parents are always cracking bad jokes and act like babies, and their kid's boy/girlfriend are about as mean and rude as anyone could get. The dates that these kids go on are so fake! They're obviously set up, considering how unique they are, including going to an empty burger place and cooking food, to going to an empty dance studio for a private dance lesson to going to an empty school and oil sliding. Why is every place empty and why do these kids have access to all these places?

The premise is ridiculous, the acting is horrible and this is not a reality show in the least. If you can get past the stupidity, it is easy to let your mind go and enjoy this, but nonetheless this is still one of Mtv's worst.

My rating: * 1/2 out of ****. 30 mins. TV14

It's a wonder how MTV's Parental Control has lasted four years already. First off I would like to say I usually give an in depth, fair, non-biased review for most movies and television shows I watch these days. But I'm not going to do that for Parental Control. This show sucks so bad, that it doesn't even deserve a fair review. Parental Control is a simple minded show. A random teenager/young adult living at their parents house has an annoying boyfriend/girlfriend that their parents do not like. The parents therefore interview a number of people that could be their son/daughter's new companion and then pick a number of them to date their child based on their personality, looks, and so on. Their child then goes on a date with the candidates while the girlfriend or boyfriend and the parents sit back and watch all the dates happen.

To get on with the point of this review, this show has no positive points at all. All of the scenarios appear to be portrayed by actors. Why do I assume this? The words spoken out of the mouths of every parent and so called disliked girlfriend or boyfriend on the show are extremely lame, cheesy, and scripted. Sometimes, the disliked boyfriend or girlfriend will actually get dumped for one of the parents picks, and they act as if they don't give a damn at all! I would be furious if I were dumped on a stupid TV show. Fake arguments, fake facial expressions, and poor acting display how Parental Control is a horrible show, and the whole purpose of the television show is defeated due to that fact. I would envy MTV if they actually used real couples on families on this television show, but they do not.

It boggles the mind how anyone could enjoy or watch this show. No doubt MTV's audience is teenagers who are stuck at home with basic cable. I am not biased against reality television either. In fact, I am a big fan of shows like Big Brother and a few others. But this is not a reality show because it is portrayed by actors. MTV was once a respectable channel with a big goal in mind; to bring the world of music to more audiences featuring music videos 24/7. They brought to popularity some of the biggest musicians in the world today including Guns N Roses, Nirvana, and a handful of others. MTV's original image is gone now, replaced by craptastic shows like Parental Control, The Hills, and many other horrible shows. Why, MTV? What happened that made your channel go down the toilet?

I'm only 16 but I usually don't watch MTV. But this time is different. Parents who are unsatisfied with their daughters boyfriend so they're going to pick two guys out of many hopefuls, they each take her on a date and the she has to decided to stay with her old boyfriend or go with one of the new guys. Their decisions are very mixed. Some stay and some go. The girls boyfriend is always a conceited jerk who treats her like complete poopy. (cant say the s word on this site, besides poopy sounds funny) I got a question. Why are all of MTV's shows done in California? They should do some in Florida or a cool place to be, There's more to life then California MTV!!!!! The girl is usually a dumb blonde who had a guy a beautiful blonde would never date. A lot of these girls are dating loser guys like me. The show is a bit unrealistic but still fun to watch. They should come to Connecticut in the summertime, it's really nice here, but ONLY in the summertime.

This, my friends, is why I almost always hate reality TV.

Basically, the premise of Parental Control is that there is a young man/woman who has a girlfriend/boyfriend that his/her parents are unhappy with. So the each parent chooses from a large number of applicants the "girl/guy of their son's daughter's dreams" and sets them up on a blind date.

This show is absolutely ridiculous. I just saw an episode with a guy named Julius who had a girlfriend who... well, let's just say that he must have been crazy to start going with her in the first place. She spent the entire episode knocking Julius's parents and dates and acting completely crazy.

And the parent's dating choices? *sigh* Julius's mother chose a girl who tried to woo Julius by taking him to the Universal Studios backlot. The father's choice was a girl who claimed she "has goals" and "respects herself"... but she was a pole-dancer! And the mother seemed okay with her husband's choice of a pole-dancer, which I find very hard to believe.

Do not watch this show, and maybe it'll go off the air for good.