The Only Way Is Essex

When I saw the adverts for the show I initially thought, wow. The UK has collected in on the money train of a half reality/half fiction show, such as The Hills or The City. I have never been a fan of these shows but when they said it was based around the the lives of the Essex young I thought, yeah this could really work. Everyone I have ever met from Essex has always been fun, full of energy, classy with an extraordinary personality. In my mind the concept could not go wrong and initially I thought this type of show will spawn the next generation of young stars in the UK that girls will want to dress like and boys will fantasise over. Boy was I wrong......

I understand that there is a certain amount of "making things up to create good tele" but at least with the Hills its sometimes believable. These girls and guys make Essex people look really dumb and shallow and I would be ashamed of myself if I was a native to the county. Yes of course there are elements in the characters that are true to real people but they are not defined by these ridiculous statements and poor decisions that these characters seem to live by?

As with any bad show, one can sometimes find the "tongue in cheek" value that is sometimes contrived, but I genuinely believe the producers are trying to buy into the fact that these things happen on a day to day basis and they want us to follow their lives with real interest. If you have not seen an episode yet, do so with an open mind but I am sure if you have an once of decency and respect in your bodies you will come to similar conclusions as I have.

This is not the sort of show I will be chatting about down the pub and that's what TV should be about. Please remove this terrible show from a valuable Sunday night slot and replace it with a show that doesn't make me angry about the world.

This is a dreadful structured reality show about a large group of young adults who live in and around Brentwood, Essex.

The participants are a bunch of stupid narcissists who have a ridiculous lack of general knowledge. None of them are likable, interesting or entertaining.

When I contact people in other parts of the UK, a substantial number of them have asked me if I'm like the people in TOWIE. It's an anti-advert for Essex, worsening the county's already bad reputation.

I've occasionally watched over the years & each season's getting worse. I've stopped watching now. Main issues are:

1. The Cast.

The longer serving cast members are repeatedly going through the same storylines & convo's e.g. Amber & Dan, Lockie & Yaz.

One of these types is apparently "over the drama" - in which case, they should be on a spin-off show so that people can specifically opt to watch their mellow conversations, and or they can stay but take a supporting role. Focus should turn to newer cast e.g. Ella, Joey, Chloe B & her mum etc.

2. There's barely any drama. If they need ideas, they should watch MIC on Channel 4.

3. Dull filming locations.

They mainly film in the same 4 places: park or garden / someone's house / the gym / a dark empty club.

If Essex as a location allows, they would benefit from finding a nice, brightly lit bar or restaurant - or somewhere glamorous / enticing.

As a 23 year old, I guess the whole partying night in and out clubbing shtick is supposed to appeal to my demographic, but that's impossible when these lame (some well into their 30s) tools try desperately hard to act like wild college frats. If that isn't bad enough, this show is a snooze fest. I didn't laugh once, and you know you have gem when these grown adults drag through cheesy one liners that will cure insomnia. Congrats England, you have found yourself your own Jersey Shore.

If you can choke down mindless dribble, then this show is for you. If you enjoy a bunch of egotistical narcissists in a never ending game of try-to-be-witty, all of whom fail, then this is for you.

I only recently watched this show and I found it very sad.I never usually view shows of this genre but being an Englishmen living abroad I tend to give anything British a chance.An earlier review states that the characters in the show were "a good bunch" and that negative comments on the show were likely due to the fact that the persons responsible for such comments were in fact envious of said characters and their lifestyles.I can not fathom how anyone feeling negatively towards the base personality of another would envy that person but maybe that's just because I think logically.The characters are far removed from being worthy of envy,they are narcissistic and intellectually redundant,I suppose that one could covet their apparent wealth but having money does not reflect having sense,It seems that the time taken to make this show and the subsequent time taken watching it has been nothing but a waste of history.It does not surprise me that the show gained some relative success,there are plenty of half-wits out there in this increasingly shallow society we suffer, and this excuse for entertainment is a sign of the times.