Catfish the TV Show

I watch a lot of TV. I like having it in the background while I work. Not all of it is good, but not all of it is bad.

Have you guys ever seen Catfish the TV show on MTV? Did you see Catfish the movie?

If all of this sounds like a mumbojumbo, here’s a quick recap. Catfish the movie came out a few years ago, and was allegedly a documentary about a guy who fell in love with a girl online and decided to go meet her, and his brother went along and filmed the whole thing. But she turned out to not be who she claimed to be… They kind of promoted it as a thriller, which was weird, but maybe genius, I dunno. The team who shot/produced the movie is the same team who does the Paranormal Activity movies, so that sort of makes sense. Anyway, there is a guy who explains at the end of the movie what the whole “catfish” reference is about:

“They used to tank cod from Alaska all the way to China. They’d keep them in vats in the ship. By the time the codfish reached China, the flesh was mush and tasteless. So this guy came up with the idea that if you put these cods in these big vats, put some catfish in with them and the catfish will keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn’t have somebody nipping at our fin. ”

Screen shot 2013-01-08 at 12.48.50 PM

Catfish the TV show is about the guy from the movie, Nev Schulman, and his buddy Max, traveling around the country and helping other people meet their internet bf/gf’s in person for the first time. The big concern is that people are not who they claim to be, and on this show, they usually are not….

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What I like about the show is that it doesn’t demonize the people who lied. Nev tries to find the silver lining, to explore why a specific person did what they did, and to even still foster a friendship between the two people.

As a super introvert, I have met a lot of people from the internet, starting from good old Teen Chat rooms on AOL. I can’t say that I’ve ever had an exciting catfish experience, but it makes me laugh inside to think about meeting my buddy Alek in 1994 and finding out he was a 40 year old woman named Cheryl.

Here is my favorite episode so far, Episode 6, Kya and Alyx.

 

 

9 Comments on “Catfish the TV Show”

  • Katie

    says:

    Sounds like something that should have happened years ago as a show., but hilariously enough I met my husband on myspace back in 2007.

  • Cara

    says:

    What an interesting concept for a show! I’ve made so many friends online since I was a teenager and luckily, the ones I’ve met IRL ended up exact;y as they portrayed themselves online. Well, maybe a couple of them were a little less confident or a bit nerdier, but otherwise they were the people I was expecting to meet.

  • Sami

    says:

    We just started to have adverts for this in the UK so I think its starting here soon too
    It sounds really interesting and a more, (cant think of the word…), “real” approach to the ‘dangers’ of meeting people online
    Like, it seems more calm instead of shouting and trying to overly lecture people
    I think that makes sense haha

  • Monique

    says:

    I’ve watched a few episodes and this show on a recommendation from a friend. Sometimes I feel awkward and embarrassed for the main subject. They really spill all of their emotions and feelings for their crushes and then Nev and Max start digging and it’s like watching a train wreck. It’s not a watch intently show but it is a good background noise show.

  • Starlene

    says:

    I LOVE Catfish! There is something so sweet and hopeful about Nev. Like you just want to put him in your pocket and take care of him.

    I started out wanting every one of them to be disasters. I thought it would be funny and entertaining to witness, in a voyeuristic way. But after watching a few episodes I find myself hoping that it all works out for them. There is this underlying feeling of sadness, lonliness and desperation. All these people want is to love and be loved.

    And Kya and Alyx! how adorable were they?!

  • Kathryn

    says:

    This post is really spooky! I just found the show Catfish on Hulu on Tuesday and the Kya/Alyx show was the first show I watched! What an odd coincidence! I like the way that Nev handles the meetings and I especially like his optimism about how it all might turn out all right. Thanks for posting Twinkie!

  • katrina

    says:

    i LOVE this show! i religiously watch MTV on Monday nights just to catch the latest episode (i’m sure i’ll regret this confession a few weeks from now haha). i’m always on the edge of my seat right before the meet-ups.

    have you seen all the episodes already? i can’t believe that only one person has not pretended to be someone else so far.

  • liz

    says:

    Aw, thanks for linking to this show! I’d seen people discussing it on Twitter but this is the first episode I’ve seen. It just about made me cry! 🙂

    • TwinkieChan

      says:

      I’m glad you checked it out! I think it’s really cool! Espesh cuz I have met lots of people online 😛

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