When it comes to reality shows, I need absolute chaos When I channel the “Bachelor” series, I don't remember anyone's name unless they try to cause drama or fight people (we're looking at you, Chad) I guess that's why I love hockey Because of the unpredictable mayhem

American reality shows are full of ridiculous contestants and arcs, but British reality shows are different Everything from its premise to its execution is upsetting in an inexplicable way that is impossible to look away from

Given the media output we have consumed over the past few decades, it is understandable that a run-of-the-mill reality show would not be a hit We turn to television and movies to escape our own lives, and when we get bored with our own lives, we focus on the dramas of others In between shows like Hunted, which turns ordinary citizens into fugitives, and Game of Clones, where you date a copy of “your type” repeatedly, here are some of the wildest British reality shows I've ever seen

Who needs fictional procedurals if your life is going to be fictional Channel 4's “Hunted” is a series for couch critics who think they can catch criminals or commit better crimes than they see on TV - and it is! whether it's a true crime documentary or a procedural show Me I'm all for some investigative work (it comes with the territory of journalism), but I have no desire to “play escaped criminal” with trained hunters However, those who don't should watch

The dozen or so participants in this show are not just doing it for fun So who exactly are the “hunters”? Professional investigators, hackers, ex-cops, and other fake fugitives must do their jobs to stay on the run for about a month in this series narrated by Jonathan Smith Sometimes it is easy to forget that the participants are real (and unqualified) people and not watching an episode of “Prison Break”

Watch on Tubi (free in the US) or Channel 4 (free in the UK)

The title may be self-explanatory, but that does not make “Rich House, Poor House” any less of a puzzling concept On the one hand, the attempt to raise awareness about the growing economic disparity in the UK is laudable But to sensationalize it by replacing people's lives is quite off-putting to watch Claire Collinson-Jones produced an ongoing program in 2017, narrated by Craig Kelly

The participants, who are on opposite ends of the economic spectrum, swap homes and lifestyles for a week to “see how the other half lives” And at the end of the week, the millionaire family often performs a small “good deed,” such as buying a laptop computer for a struggling family member

Not the wildest concept for a ridiculous reality show But it's pretty painful to step into the shoes of real people living in poverty and watch the 1 percent play the hero, as if on a twisted vacation, offering little tokens and opportunities that are supposed to magically change their lives If it were that easy, poverty would not be so pervasive

Watch on Channel 5 (free in the UK)

Uh, honestly, who on earth asked for this? It's “Love is Blind,” “Naked Attraction,” if you take the concept of “Love is Blind” backwards Yes, this dating show doesn't care about the personalities of its contestants The show gradually reveals the nakedness of the contestants as they seek love (lust) before they make their final choice Yes, at this point, they are naked too

Look, if I wanted to see horny, superficial, critical people explore a love affair that would last only five seconds, I would go back to high school Be that as it may, I have developed a modest self-preservation since that period of my life Given that the Anna Richardson-led series has been running since 2016, people must miss the cutthroat hierarchy of cafeteria life To each his own If you like watching rowdy people on TV baring all and being judged on their merits and demerits, so be it Everyone on this show is an adult who has signed up for this chaos with consent

Watch on Max (US) or Channel 4 (free in the UK)

You've heard of Girls Gone Wild, but have you heard of Spring Break With Grandad? It is possible that the series was inspired by the Zac Efron film “Dirty Grandpa,” which was released a year before this inexplicable British reality series The only season centers on eight 20-somethings who go to Cancun to party with their grandparents and compete to keep the good times going

Naturally, when the young contestants aren't corrupting their grandparents (or vice versa), they are involved in deflation and love triangles Anyone who has ever been to camp knows that the rules dictate how the vacation is spent But it's not just the young people who are getting the freak flag on this show

Ultimately, “Spring Break With Grandad” is a short-lived product of 2017 and I feel it should stay there However, there is something unexpectedly fascinating about its concept and seeing the affection between grandchildren and grandparents despite its heartwarming setting My grandfather was an absolute rascal (his bingo trash-talking was legendary), but we never had the chance to drink together So while the final product may be odd, I can understand the “party while you can” appeal of this show

Buy it on Apple (UK)

We are now at the origin of pop culture, where watching people watch TV is considered entertainment since 2013, the British show “Gogglebox” has been the most intense couch critic in television have been engaging viewers by putting them on the couch and having them comment on the best and worst TV shows that aired that week

And to some extent, this is understandable As someone whose job is to review and critique TV/movies, I am as frustrated as anyone else by the most highly regarded, pretentious reviews that can make or break a movie/show's success

We are annoyed by the number of times critics plunge into romantic comedies and the latest superhero movies on the same judgment scale as Oscar contenders We need more critics who judge publicly released films based on their intended audience and genre, not just on personal taste and whether or not they deserve an award Not every film or show deserves an award, and that's okay It doesn't have to be made specifically for you in order to objectively judge whether or not the film achieved what it set out to do

So I can understand the appeal for the average TV fan to critique a new episode However, watching someone's reaction to a new episode without having seen the original can make a 50-minute series quite tedious However, the show, narrated by Craig Cash, is still going strong more than a decade later

Watch it on Channel 4 (free in the UK)

Dating eight look-alike people based on computer-rendered “types” sounds like a dystopian hellscape that I would never want to be a part of The Game of Clones offered exactly that to hopeful singles in 2017 To each his own, I suppose

In the series, which lasted only one season, participants lived with eight lookalikes and were encouraged to eliminate them one by one until only one remained If this sounds like a horror movie, you are not alone Just seeing these non-twin look-alikes wearing the same clothes and interacting with each other on screen is eerie I can't even imagine them in the same room, let alone on a date Surprisingly, the show lasted only one season Even more surprisingly, the show spawned quite a few spin-offs from the original concept

Watch on Channel 4 (free in the UK)

As someone with three tattoos and loose plans for at least three more, I love a well designed and professionally executed tattoo To find the right artist with excellent linework, I have been to dozens of stores, looked at art books, and talked to artists about their ideas It is physically painful to see a tattoo novice excitedly sharing a brutal tattoo with awkward linework

That said, the concept of “Just Tattoo of Us” is basically my worst nightmare: two people design a tattoo for each other and can't see the final product until it's inked forever Even worse Since bad intentions on either side are allowed, it's not necessarily a well-intentioned attempt to get a tattoo that your best friend will love forever

The horror of seeing a man with a Donald Trump tattoo on his butt is only outweighed by the fact that he actually liked it I think some of the contestants were sad that my favorite tattoo show, Tattoo Nightmares, had not yet aired in 2017 when Just Tattoo of Us debuted Jasmine, Tommy, and Big Gus can definitely help clear up those messes with their impressive cover-ups Now, it's not that the British show's tattoos were poorly done It's just that the subject matter leaves a lot to be desired

Buy at Apple (UK)