'EST' stands for Electric Shock Treatment. That could be a metaphor about what the show is all about. The treatment of the contestants is horrendous.
It's worse than the rendition program in the war on terror.
It is not clear what the contestants can gain after such an ordeal. The show is very addictive.
I'm a bit disappointed as they have removed the most extreme bits from the DVD.
Everyday they are taken to a 'special' room where the contestants (treated as patients) are psychoanalyzed. The trouble is, they are also hypnotized. I'm not sure how anyone be hypnotized in the dark.
The first two seasons were shot with real actors and the third season with anyone selected in the same process as in any TV reality show.
There were loads of issues at the time as some of the actors have not allegedly been made aware that they would be shot in the dark and forced to live in the dark. The first two seasons with the actors were scripted, the third one was not.
Some actors and 'wanna be' actors from the third season tried unsuccessfully to pull out of the show.
Most actors who have been working with the director Nick Peterson claimed that he is using some of the same dreadful methods to direct the actors. He is very forceful. The result is very good and that's what matters.