Catfish.

My apologies to any readers I have accumulated since starting up this blog of mine. I know I've been on a bit of a mini hiatus recently and for that I am sorry. What with all the packing and organising I've been doing I've not had much time to get on here; it also doesn't help that I've had a small case of Writer's Block when I have been able to get on here. Nonetheless I am back and have a post for you!

Over the past month or two I've started to watch 'Catfish: The TV Show' and I've got to say, it's probably my new favourite programme. I kind of feel weird about liking the show so much; it's a reality show, but I cannot stand any other form of reality TV. But then again, when I say that I admit I am sort of generalising the term to programmes like Big Brother, The Hills and Jersey Shore etc. Which are hardly similar to Catfish. 

I just find the concept of a show exposing online love and 'catfishers' with an always optimistic host -and his realistic/slightly pessimistic co-host- to be so interesting. I also like it because although people are aware that there are people out there who create fake profiles -for a number of different reasons- they can still be fooled into thinking that the person they've developed feelings for is the person in their pictures, even when there are things indicating otherwise. I think the show is a good way to get people to question the identity of the people they talk to online, but do not know in person, as it provides viewers with a wide range of real life examples to learn from. 

It also shows people that there are varying 'catfish' levels. Some people are completely different people to their internet persona, others are themselves but hide certain bits of information, and then there are the non-catfish who turn out to be exactly who they say they are, with no hidden secrets -they prove to be a rare breed on the show.

Matt turned out to be who he said he was. He had put off meeting Kim and blocked her from seeing certain pictures of himself because he felt ashamed of his weight/body.

There have been a number of episodes that have warmed my heart. Such as Rico and Ja'mari's episode, where Ja'mari, although he was physically the person he claimed to be, had lied to Rico about a some aspects of his life. But Rico was able to accept the truth and their relationship continued. Kya and Dani's episode was also a bit of a heart warmer for me -it was also the first episode I ever watched. In this episode both parties had catfished one another, Kya admitted this to Dani, but Dani still held out on revealing his true self. Kya was incredibly accepting of Dani once they met and if anything the show made their relationship stronger, and it gave Dani a well deserved boost in his self-esteem.

But my personal favourite so far is the only episode I have seen where the catfish in question turned out to be exactly who they said they were. If you don't watch the show, or hadn't already guessed it, I'm talking about Lauren and Derek's episode.

Lauren and Derek's Catfish episode summarised:
When Lauren was 14 she added 16 year-old Derek on MySpace. Eight years later they've grown together as they've grown up and talk of marriage in the future. But there have been a few bumps along the road over those eight years. Lauren had a son, who at the time of filming was 4; she had also been engaged, but called it off when Derek deleted her as a result of the engagement. Her father was in the Navy which meant she'd moved around a lot within the eight years she was in contact with Derek, at one point she was five and a half hours away from him, yet they never met during this time; they had also never Skyped, and these were the two things that caused Lauren to question if Derek was really Derek.

Then Nev and Max came along. From their research Derek seemed to be legit, bar the fact his mobile number was registered to a completely different person. Lauren was still hopeful and Derek agreed -with a little hesitation- to meet Lauren, along with Nev, Max and their MTV crew. Lauren then tells her dad about the whole situation and he is nothing but a sweetheart about it all.

When it got to knocking on Derek's door Lauren seemed to be riddled with nerves; after ringing the door bell she turned to face Nev and then found it almost impossible to turn back to face the door. After a moment of waiting the door opens, but instead of seeing who comes out the door we see Nev put his hand on Lauren's shoulder and encourage her to turn around, with a smile on his face. We then see Lauren turn to see that Derek really is Derek and they head straight into each other's shaking arms, both finding it hard to believe that the moment they are sharing and experiencing is real.

After a few questions Nev and Max leave the two of them to go on a date. The next day Nev wakes up to find Lauren had sent him a text in the early hours of the morning expressing exciting news and her obvious happiness. It turns out their date went really well and that that day the plan was for Derek to meet her son, Mason. Again, this went well.

Then at the end of the episode, like all other Catfish episodes, we skip ahead a month or two to see how things are now. Nev and Max contact Lauren via Skype and are presented with a pixelated image of Lauren, Mason and Derek. They then inform Nev, Max and the viewers that everything is going better than they could have hoped for, Lauren and her son plan to move in with Derek and there is even talk of engagement within a year.

Their obvious happiness just made me feel so happy for them. I truly hope that they get the happily ever after they deserve.

So that's my take on 'Catfish: The TV Show' along with a brief-ish summary of my favourite episode. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this because I certainly enjoyed writing it.

Have a lovely weekend!
-Hannah.