VH1’s Boot Camp for Dads: Dad Camp

Brian Reid — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:20:57 +0000

File this under “not-entirely-sure-what-to-make-of-it”: later this month, VH1 is slated to premier a new reality show called Dad Camp. Here’s how VH1 sets it up:

VH1 DAD CAMP is a docureality show that attempts to transform 6 irresponsible soon-to-be dads into respectable fathers.

Each couple at VH1 DAD CAMP has a major dilemma: she’s pregnant… but he’s not ready or willing to accept the duties of fatherhood. Dealing with guys who drink, smoke, and don’t have jobs (but do have anger issues), VH1 Dad Camp takes on one of our nations greatest concerns. In June 2009, father of two Barack Obama issued a call to the nation’s dads to “step up” and take responsibility…VH1, 3 Ball Productions, and Dr. Jeff Gardere have answered the call.

I am all for anyone who helps fathers recognize what it takes to be a good dad. I’m all for anything that gives good parenting tools to viewers. And I’m all for the idea that it’s important — for dads themselves, for moms, for kids — when fathers are involved in family life.

What I worry about is that fatherhood will be made out to be harder or more complicated than it actually is. Now, if you have drug or alcohol problems, if your finances are in trouble, if you don’t have a good relationship with the child’s mother, if you have anger management issues, then — yes — you’re going to have problems being an active parent. But it’s not the parenting that is the problem. It’s the drugs/alcohol/anger/interpersonal issues that are the problem. I’m hoping that the series makes that clear.

If not, I’ll take a pass and just watch Intervention.

(An aside: I found the show after Googling around looking for information about DadCamp, a thoughtful group blog that’s worth reading.)

"The Week the Women Went": Dumb TV Not Relegated to the U.S.

Brian Reid — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Very few of you probably remember “Meet Mr. Mom,” an ill-fated, summer-fill-in reality show from NBC a few year’s back that was built around a spectacularly dumb concept: fathers forced to fend for themselves when mom was suddenly taken away to a spa (or somesuch) by evil television producers. The reason you probably don’t remember it is because it was a colossal failure (giving me hope for my fellow citizens).

But the fine folks north of the border are trying a higher-concept version of the same thing. CBC is now six episodes into the latest installment of ”The Week the Women Went,” which is following the fathers of a Nova Scotia community as they deal with a week of momlessness. This is apparently the second edition of the show, which has done well by viewers and critics. For obvious reasons, I’m not a big CBC watcher, but my Canadian sources tell me that this is not a one-joke show designed to highlight men’s incompetence.

Still, color me unimpressed by the idea of a “social experiement” that is based on the idea that there is something dramatic (or comedic) about guys being pressed into service as fathers. It’s not that I don’t think that anything interesting willing happen — most families are a finely tuned ecosystem that turn topsy-turvy whenever something changes — it’s just that pegging this all to the idea that guys don’t exactly know how to cope is a bit tired. I’m speaking without the benefit of any perspective, though, so I’d love to hear from my Canadian readers …

RebelDad » reality tv

VH1’s Boot Camp for Dads: Dad Camp

"The Week the Women Went": Dumb TV Not Relegated to the U.S.