We have not forgotten about updating you on the CBC reality show Village on a Diet. There is an obvious difficulty of updating a show where you can't access the episodes. But given the power of the Internet, there are other ways to keep you more informed.
The most obvious solution is to monitor a Web site that is blogging about the show that keeps track of the episodes. Here are synopses on the first 2 episodes (courtesy of weightymatters.ca):
Episode 1 recap
Episode 2 recap
From Village on a Diet, we were hoping for a show with less hype than similar U.S. shows and more of an emphasis on food rather than exercise.
Based on the recaps and other information, the emphasis is almost exclusively on exercise. The hype may not be as intense; haven't read anything on in-show infomercials yet.
The CBC is a public network, even though they run commercials; support for the CBC is paid for in part by taxpayer money (not quite like PBS, but more like the BBC).
According to WeightyMatters.ca, next week's episode will focus more on food. This will be good since the nearest grocery store for residents of Taylor, BC is about 15 miles (25 kilometers) away in Fort St. John.
Television tends to focus more on exercise than food because people sweating makes for better television than talking about eating better, or at least, this is the easy way out — apropos for TV. Usually, the Web site associated with the TV show has better information. Americans can access the Web site to follow alongat .
The Web site has two counters: the amount of weight that Taylor, BC has lost, and the amount that Canadians have reportedly lost while being inspired by the TV show. Even thought there have been 2 episodes, the total for Taylor is 0. Either they aren't weighing them yet (that would be a surprise) or they aren't losing weight or the Web site just hasn't been updated. According to the site, fellow Canadians have lost 160,956 lbs.
Reality TV isn't really real, but there should be a slice of reality within. Losing weight is about exercising more, but also eating less and smarter. Taylor, BC is more distinct when it comes to food than most of North America in that in most places, good food is more readily accessible. But this small Canadian town can teach people to be smarter in food buying. No matter how much people check the Web site, the TV show is the star; the focus of people's attention. Village on a Diet needs to do better on helping people make smarter food choices.