It’s barely 10 days since we were bemoaning how low Reality TV Dating Shows had sunk.  The latest one, ‘Stranded on Honeymoon Island,’  reeked of being the result of a desperate attempt to find a new approach to matching couples up, even if it meant ditching any respect for the institution of marriage.  This new show had couples marry sight unseen and then go on a honeymoon together to see if they had anything in common, and as this had a very ‘progressive’ producer, they actually included a lesbian couple too!

There seems to be no end in sight because it seems like each of these Dating Shows gives birth to a franchise and countless offspring…. we’ve lost count of how many different versions of ‘90 Days Fiance‘ have appeared on our screens …. and often with so many of the same characters.  Whilst we appreciate that most people in real life feel obliged to ‘act up’ when their every move is captured by a TV camera, it does blur the line between actual reality and people’s perception of what is. The result is that characters are encouraged to become caricatures, and thus it all  feels more like a badly unscripted soap opera, which may make for good viewing figures but little for that person’s dignity. 

So it was perfect timing for us when Shannon Alexander‘s ALPHABET SOUP landed in our inbox. His very sharp eye and camera capture of glorious mixture of non-conforming queer people as they search out new relationships it what looks like New Yorks’ East Village. The one thing they all have in common is their queerness as they consist of trans, non-binary, and BIPOC individuals…. (being merely gay would seem so misplaced with them). They are a bunch of charismatic articulate non-conforming young single folks and by the end of the frst episode i was totally captivated by them all.  Life in NY is not easy and one of them subjects points out, New York is a place that doesn’t make them feel like they belong to a community that is marginalized. 

Their concept of dates is about making connections and (very refreshingly) not focused on having sex.  That is high on the list however but the lines of who ends up in bed with whom is blurred, like when a pair of gay men have a threesome, and one is grinning ear to ear afterwards that it was his first time with a woman. 

Life in the big city may be tough but that doesnt seem to affect the cast of characters that Alexander has rounded up and he has captured both their joie de vivre and some of their natural wicked sense of humor … like when flirting one blurts outs   it seems like he has big dick energy judging by the lack of emojis.

Alphabet Soup is not a fairy tale but the originality and sheer fellowship and optimism of this bunch who are constantly trying to understand themselves and the world around them makes for such refeshing viewing .

Totally Unmissable