Surprise Surprise
While all you cliche suckers were watching the parade today, I pretended it was 1992 and caught up on some “Real World” episodes. (What else was I supposed to do with the last day of my 5 day weekend, really?). And quite surprisingly, I did not regret it.
If anything, The Real World : Brooklyn is somewhat a return to the past seasons from the early 90s. Somewhere between the Hawaii and Las Vegas seasons, the producers decided to use people who looked like porn stars, and as one would assume, the idea of “people start getting real” turned into people just getting naked, drunk, sexed up, and bitchy. As that happened, ratings slowly plummeted to the point where even I, as a guilty pleasure tv fanatic couldn’t possibly tell you anything about past recent seasons. Apparently, sex may sell for a little while, but why settle for the blurred out cable tv version of it?
It’s taken producers nearly a decade to catch on to this, and they finally returned to its roots. Some things have been switched up, as the show now has 8, not 7, cast members. And, on a whole, the people look normal for the 18-24 yr old range. Even the girl who aspires to be a dancer is portrayed as a cutie, not a sexpot. And going past looks to story lines, although I only watched for a half hour or so, there seemed to be many good issues afoot, among my favorites being the transgendered cast member and one guy asking “Why is it that we are so open-minded about certain people, but not about fraternity guys?” (which I think is a very good topic as the majority of people who refer to themselves as open-minded will shoot you a dirty look if your facebook profile political views don’t say “liberal”).
Anyway, if you find yourself bored on a Saturday afternoon of “Dirty Dancing” on TNT, I suggest for once to click over to MTV and see if RW:BK is on. 
I Don’t Think That’s a Good Idea.
Tsk! Tsk! Kiddies!
I feel like if there was a list of 100 ways to ruin an amazing show, the cast and crew of Gossip Girl are trying each and every one of them. First, they started adding in crazy story lines, and now a real life romance between two of the biggest stars on the show?!? Not a good idea.
Take advice from me. I obviously know what I’m talking about when it comes to making a hit tv show. See these Emmy’s? They didn’t get there by themselves!
re-view
So…. umm… gossip girl?!?
I honestly don’t know what to make of this second half of the first season, especially since half of the time I watch a new episode I’m bored out of my mind since it is just about lil freshman jenny and the other half of the time I’m rolling my eyes because the plot lines are so far-fetched. The show seems totally different than where it used to be, and I’m honestly not too happy about. And if I’m not happy, you know me, I am gonna find a way to blame it on that damn writer’s strike that ruined everything.
During that four month hiatus, which I’m still not quite sure how I lived through, the buzz around the show exploded. And when the expectations increased, the people making the show decided to mess up a perfectly good recipe.
good show + Harriet the Spy gone druggie + new crowd of unibrowed brats + the return of the most boring character ever = I’m not impressed.
I feel like the producers are just these crazy chefs in the kitchen raiding the pantry and throwing every seasoning they can find into a perfectly good stew. STOP, don’t put in a completely fake opposites attract love story into the mix. No one thinks the rich guy falling for the elitist wannabe filmmaker is real. And, lord knows, I watch this show because of how much I can relate to it.
While I’m still amazed, especially tonight after Serena’s “I killed someone” confession, with all the plot twists they throw in the last five minutes of an episode, those plot twists does not make an entire hours worth of television worthwhile.
Here’s some advice: take out the new ugly girls, stop changing Jenny’s personality, and stop with the stupid plot lines that are obviously not real. Leave the one about Serena killing a dude. Just get rid of the one about Vanessa and Nate. Cause it’s really not believable.
K? Thanks.
Strike That Idea.
I’ve never really been that fond of television sitcoms and don’t even have cable television so the effects of the writer’s strike has had, at best, a very minimal effect on my life. However, one of the shows from last fall’s new lineup stole my heart and crept in to become one of my new favorite guilty pleasures. Hint: first word, gossip, second word, girl.
Woefully, there have only been about two new episodes of this show in the last eight weeks and now it looks as though there are absolutely no new episodes left. I am not happy. I thought about writing my own little survival guide to the strike, including reality television shows, game shows, and sitcoms in syndication that I overlooked when in their prime. But, hell, I’m trying hard enough to find extra time to write cover letters for summer jobs, I definitely don’t have the time for some television watching research.
And then I found this lil gem. MSNBC reports that the writer’s strike isn’t going as well as the writers planned. Let’s just say American Gladiators got double the ratings of a rare new episode of Friday Night Lights. That hurts. America seems to be enjoying themselves without the writers. Granted, I’m sure every single one of us can name some crazed Desperate Housewives or Grey’s Anatomy fan that is still coping with the physical effects of withdrawal and would start foaming at the mouth when hearing news of a possible end to the strike. However, these new ratings do have me wondering – will we even want them all back?
i’m guilty. but it’s a pleasure.
I’m in law school. And as demanding as it is, I still have my priorities. And those priorities include crappy television.
To curb some of the bills, I don’t pay for cable or internet. This post is brought to you in part by a generous neighbor known only as “linksys”. This dear mystery friend of mine lets me research law cases, chat with old friends, keep in touch with my imaginary celebrity friends via tmz, and watch crappy tv online. At this point, I would also like to thank the generous people at MTV for putting all of their episodes of “The Hills” online within hours of airing on their cable network. It gives me something to look forward to on Tuesday afternoons.
[Anyone in for creating a show called "The Hill"? I've got some pretty girl friends. We don't do much during the week. Studying at Washington College of Law is only a little less glamorous than working at Teen Vogue. Pentagon City is the new Rodeo Drive. 5 Guys has as much paparazzi as Koi. Local 16 the new Les Deux. Let me know.]
So after working hard on Tuesday, I treat myself to Monday’s episode of “The Hills”. It’s about twenty minutes of guilty pleasure. But Wednesday is another story. A three hour long explosion of guilty pleasures to escape my sweat pants and gigantic backpack lifestyle.
8- 9 PM America’s Next Top Model. Pure genius. Tyra Banks may be crazy. But this show works. Pretty girls, pretty clothes, the occasional pretty boy, and drama. I can not ask for more.
9 – 10 PM Gossip Girl. I became addicted this weekend. We will see if I can avoid it this week. Pretty girls, pretty clothes, pretty boys, and drama.
10-11PM Project Runway. This season does not technically debut until next week. Pretty girls, pretty clothes, the occasional pretty boy, and drama.
Hump Day? More like Lump Day. My love for the fashionable life will make me a lump on the couch for three hours straight. The irony.
