TV Review: 30 Days

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30 Days was a short-lived series by Morgan Spurlock, the producer of Super Size Me, which was reviewed here.

There were 3 seasons comprised of 6 episodes per season. Each episode took a willing participant and immersed him/her into an alien environment to explore a culture/lifestyle that was the opposite of what he/she knows to see if how it would affect him/her. Basically, it took the old saying "To walk in someone else's shoes" to the test.

I've only been through the first season, but I've found the series interesting and enlightening - more so by watching the participants reactions to their new environments than by my own reaction to the events depicted. The topics covered in the first season were living on minimum wage, a Christian living among Muslims, anti-aging, straight man in a gay world, off the grid and binge drinking Mom.

Two of the episodes that popped out at me were "Off the Grid" in which two New Yorkers were sent to a commune that is totally self reliant and uses no power sources from the outside world (they use biodiesel for cars, grow their own food, etc). The woman seemed to embrace the lifestyle while the man was a little more hesitant. In the end though they decided to try to be more mindful of their resource use and would try to change for the better when they got home.

The other one was Binge drinking Mom. The 43 year old mother had a 19 year old college student daughter who was a binge drinker so the episode had the mother become a binge drinker for 30 days.  It was rather painful to watch the Mom become a binge drinker - the changes in her body, attitude and routines. In the end, she didn't quite change her daughter's mind about binge drinking but seemed to have an impact on her 9 year old son who decided that drinking wasn't for him.

Overall, I can recommend checking out the series. It's an interesting concept and may enlighten you!

I'll try to update my reactions when I finish the series, but for now, let me know if you've seen 30 Days and what you think about it. Haven't seen the series? Do you think you might check it out? Let us know - leave a comment below!

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