Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Real World


The Real World: Brooklyn -- the 21st season of the program -- mercifully ends tonight. This season has been a trainwreck from the beginning. In case you don't watch, let me describe the cast: a gay dolphin trainer, a post-op transgender "girl," a white hip-hop dancer, an Iraq War vet, a "straight" Mormon dude who wears eyeliner and mostly purple clothing (not gay Chet), a personal trainer who likes to show off his abs a little too often, a diva, and a lesbian artist who now has a boyfriend.

If there was ever a time for me to stop watching The Real World, it would be now. But I doubt I will (Real World: Cancun starts in the fall -- that sounds like a good idea). I appreciate that the show attempts to tackle social issues like AIDS, homosexuality, race relations, religion, etc., but I have to draw the line at the transgender issue.

Even though The Real World is not as entertaining as it once was, I will probably never stop watching. When exactly did the show jump the shark? I would argue it was Real World: Denver (season 18). My brother and a co-worker both believe it was Vegas (season 12) since that was when the alcohol-induced partying reached new levels. I would argue that while Vegas was crazy with the drinking, hot tub scenes, wild hook-ups, etc., that season was highly entertaining. Moreover, the Paris and San Diego seasons after Vegas were two of the best. Ace on 9 from Paris was a top 5 Real World cast member. I stopped being entertained with the Denver season.

If I could just let go of The Real World, I could probably quit MTV altogether. To quote not gay Chet's favorite movie, I wish I knew how to quit you, Real World!

2 comments:

Karen said...

I stand by my belief that it jumped the shark in Las Vegas. The show changed from putting a bunch of *unpredictably* diverse people into a situation where they examined and possibly reevaluated their futures/beliefs/social issues into a race to see who’d be the first to have a drunken threesome in the hot tub.

BDF said...

I think it jumped the shark in Vegas, somehow rebounded in Paris and San Diego, then jumped again with the 2 gay roommates in Philadelphia.