Parental Control is a heavily scripted televisionshow about people looking for love produced by MTV. The two directors, Brendon Carter and Bruce Klassen, have also created other MTV shows. In Asia, this show was aired on Channel V from 2007–2009.
Plot
The version which aired February 2006, differs from its premiere on MTV's Spring Break 2005 in March. A girl was to interview five boys, and after a set of about five questions for each person or an activity of some sort, the father will eliminate one of the contestants. This continues until one contestant remained. In the latest version, parents are unhappy with their child's current boyfriend or girlfriend. The parents interview and select prospective partners who vie for the affections of their child. Afterwards, their child goes on a date with the two selections that each parent chose. The child then has to decide whether to keep their current relationship, stay single, or choose one of the new prospects. During each date, the parents and the current partner watch and comment, often antagonistically, as the date unfolds on television. When the dates are finished, the child selects their new partner from amongst the competitors and current partner. First, one of the three is picked to leave before the other two. Then the child chooses between the two remaining potential partners, commenting what they liked from the remaining parent's choice and from their current boyfriend/girlfriend. The whole process often results in unpleasant behavior from the two who were eliminated. Usually, the current boyfriend/girlfriend is selected which angers their parents who had hoped to be rid of their child's significant others. In some occasions, the child chooses their parents' choice of boyfriend/girlfriend, resulting in the significant other to leave angry and make rude comments. In other occasions, the child chooses to stay single, and eliminates the current significant other and the dates that his or her parents orchestrated. In a rare occasion, the child's chosen date would reject them and go with their previous significant other. Another rare occasion had the child's chosen boyfriend/girlfriend break up with them right away, leading the angry parent to chase after them.
Ratings
Aside from the Spring Break 2005 premiere, the show premiered in February 2006 as a spring replacement show without much hype or commercials. The show, much like other MTV dating shows, started off with few viewers and grew to a fair-rated show. The first season ended airing new shows around June 2006, to make more room for new seasons of Made, Room Raiders, and Next, and start the new TV seriesWhy Can't I Be You?. The second season began later that year in October. In March 2007, a new series was filmed in UK.
