Britney And Kevin: Chaotic (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Britney and Kevin: Chaotic is an American reality television series created by Anthony E. Zuiker. Starring American recording artist Britney Spears and her then-husband Kevin Federline, the five-episode series aired on UPN from May 17 to June 14, 2005. The series chronicles the couple's relationship "from the earliest stages of their courtship to their engagement and ultimately, their stroll down the aisle".

A majority of the footage used in the series was originally shot for Spears' own reality series to document the European leg of the The Onyx Hotel Tour in the spring of 2004. Spears fell and injured her left knee during the shooting of the music video for "Outrageous", causing the remainder of the tour and the series to be cancelled.

Britney and Kevin: Chaotic was panned by contemporary critics, who deemed the series to be career suicide. Critics noted Spears' excessive narcissism and criticized the themes of the series as being too explicit. The DVD release of Britney and Kevin: Chaotic was accompanied by Spears' first extended play of the same name.

Conception

Background

It was announced by MTV News in April 2004 that Spears was planning a reality television series to document her backstage life during the European leg of The Onyx Hotel Tour. Pitched under the title OnTourage, footage from the six-week leg was to be compiled into a six episode series, with each episode selling for about $1 million, "much more than most reality programs". Spears was to narrate and shoot "some of her own adventures" with her dancers and handlers herself. The show could was planned to be completed by the early summer. On June 8, 2004, Spears was shooting the music video for "Outrageous" in Manhattan, when she fell and injured her left knee. She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused any future concerts to be canceled. As a result, OnTourage was also scrapped.

Development

After a "fierce bidding war", on April 5, 2005, it was announced that Spears had signed a deal with television network UPN to air a reality television series documenting her relationship with then-husband Kevin Federline. The series, which would air in six episodes, was revealed to chronicle the relationship "from the earliest stages of their courtship to their engagement and ultimately, their stroll down the aisle". In a statement about the series, Spears stated: "From the day that Kevin and I met, there have been constant rumors and inaccurate speculation about our lives together. I feel that last year, the tabloids ran my life, and I am really excited about showing my fans what really happened, rather than all the stories, which have been misconstrued by journalists in the past. As I mentioned before, I am now going to be expressing my personal life through art".

The series was initially titled Britney and Kevin: Can You Handle Our Truth?, before its title was changed to Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, with "Can you handle our truth?" becoming its tagline. A majority of the footage shot for OnTourage was used for Britney and Kevin: Chaotic. According to Spears, the series helped the couple to know each other more, saying: "I didn't know [Kevin] that well, and when I got the camera out, it made me feel better. It's really weird because it was like all this tension at first. We were so nervous being together. I'm really shy, and when I had the camera in my hand, it made me feel more outspoken. I think it helped at first.".

Reception

Critical response

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Britney and Kevin: Chaotic was panned by contemporary critics. Taylor Carik of Flak Magazine considered the series an "insult to common sense and decency", while commenting that "Britney's ridiculous behavior in Chaotic confirms the obvious transparency of her status as a 'celebrity product' and the calculated nature of her success". He also noted that music critics would "easily open the floodgates for new and creative ways to discuss her offense to pop culture's attempts at meaningfulness". Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk reviewed the series as an "absolute disaster of the highest order", while writing that: "[Britney & Kevin: Chaotic] is an absolutely watchable and horrifying train wreck of a series". Slant Magazine writer Ed Gonzalez noted that "the show's extreme shooting style makes it especially hard to stare at what is"?no more no less"?a totem to the pop singer's narcissism", criticizing the fact of Spears and Federline's "views on sex, life and love suggest someone [...] they're the only person on the face of the earth".

Josh Wolk of Entertainment Weekly felt that Britney and Kevin: Chaotic was Spears' "career suicide by videocam", commenting, "the truth is not only that she's vapid, but that she's self-obsessed to a dangerous degree". Wolk also noted "many intersecting things wrong on this show and with Britney that I can't possibly prioritize them. I can't say that the sheer narcissism is the main problem, since that may be a byproduct of the overwhelming stupidity showcased here". Laura Fries of magazine Variety perceived the series as "a visual assault of nauseating camera angles, likely to upset even the most desensitized TV viewer. Note to Spears: Learn how to use a camcorder before basing a show on its usage". Hayley Butler of Jam! gave the final episode of the series a mixed review, saying it "was full of tear-jerking moments" and "the only episode not full of stupid jokes, childish behaviour and Britney's thoughts on life", commenting that Spears and Federline wedding scenes "looked to be a very emotional and touching event". Butler also wondered "if they feel their show served its purpose. They annoyed us, made us cringe, gave us their insights on life and love and finally, annoyed us some more. However, if the whole point of the show was to prove their love is the real deal, well I have to say, Britney & Kevin: Mission Accomplished".

U.S. television ratings

The first episode of the series garnered 3.7 million viewers, making the series the most watched broadcast in the 9:00pm, Tuesday timeslot with regularly scheduled programming since March 2004 on UPN. The second episode garnered 3 million viewers, finishing in eighty-first in its timeslot for the week. The third and fourth episode were viewed by 2.5 million viewers each, while the final, aired an hour earlier at 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time, drew 2.1 million viewers. In one month, Britney and Kevin: Chaotic lost 1.6 million viewers.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	U.S. viewers (million)	Original air date
ShortSummary=Spears casually plays around with a new camera, occasionally focusing on other people, but largely keeping the lens on herself. She asks the people around her about their opinions on sex, love and marriage while in London on tour. Federline is introduced as Spears' new love interest. }}	ShortSummary=Spears catches the first special moments of her relationship with Federline. Also, she experiences nerves about Federline's first time watching her perform onstage. }}	ShortSummary=Spears and Federline's relationship has progressed to the point where Spears reveals that she loves him. However, after Federline fails to respond the same, Spears closes up somewhat about her feelings and confides to the camera for comfort. }}	ShortSummary=After a day in Paris, Spears realizes that Federline is "the one" for her, so she proposes. Federline says no and later asks her to marry him. }}	ShortSummary=Spears and Federline's family and friends arrive at what they thought was an engagement party, to find out that they were actually going to attend their wedding. }}

Home media

Britney & Kevin: Chaotic... the DVD & More was released on September 27, 2005 in the United States. The DVD contains the series five episodes, as well as unreleased footage and music videos for "Do Somethin'" (2005) and "Someday (I Will Understand)" (2005). Also included is a photo gallery of the couple's wedding ceremony. The presentation is offered in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1; however, the picture quality is limited by the recording quality of the cameras. Some minor/mild noise/pixelation is occasionally spotted. In Japan, the DVD peaked at number forty on the Oricon DVD chart, staying on the chart for 4 weeks. Spears' first extended play of the same name was included as a bonus CD to the DVD release.

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