‘Real World’ should face reality of own decline

[liberalpragmatist]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5280317/

COMMENTARY
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
MSNBC
Updated: 6:19 p.m. ET June 28, 2004

... The San Diego cast of "seven strangers" consisted of seven bodies fresh out of the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, all with no work ethic or career aspirations except to drink, fool around, and hit the city's clubs. Not that you could tell what city they were living in — the show has narrowed its focus so much that they could be filming all the seasons on a Burbank lot.

For several years now, the show has been on a downward slide seldom seen on a show that constantly gets renewed. It's easy to forget what a breath of fresh air "The Real World" was back in 1992, its first season.

Where have all the goals gone?
That first season's charms can never be duplicated, of course, because that original cast had no idea what was about to happen to them. Nowadays, thousands apply hoping to become a part of the show they grew up with. They've seen the fame that comes to a "Real World" cast member — Tami from Los Angeles married an NBA millionaire, Kyle from Chicago landed a role on "Days of our Lives." (The show claims it doesn't recruit those who want to act, but an overwhelmingly large number of show alumni end up moving to Los Angeles. Some luck out, but others are reminiscent of the lines Dionne Warwick sang so memorably: "And all the stars / that never were / are parking cars and pumping gas.")

... That first season deserved the attention it got — it had been decades since PBS explored the lives of the Loud family in "American Family," and the concept of "Real World" felt fresh. But concept is one thing. The original season shone brightest because its cast and its setting worked together. These were seven smart young adults (well, Eric was no brain surgeon) with real goals.

They cared about each other, and they cared about real issues. Julie and Kevin had a frightening argument about racism, Julie befriended and spent the night with a homeless woman, and most of the cast piled in a car and drove to a pro-choice rally in Washington, D.C. Can anyone imagine a recent cast member — say, Las Vegas' Trishelle or San Diego's Brad — even being able to name the secretary of state? If the issue doesn't involve the drinking age, most recent Real Worlders aren't going to give a damn. They can't even get to work on time — a running plotline in the current season involved the cast being unable to make it to their job at such eye-cracking times as 10:30 a.m., even when a cash bonus was dangled in front of them.

***

I'm younger, and have only seen more recent Real World seasons. It's kind of entertaining, but it's enormously stupid and I've heard from other articles besides this one that the show used to be truly fascinating, with real people that weren't all physically stunning and had actual goals. Makes me want to see some of those early seasons.

[Merusault]

1. In my opinion....

It really started to go to shit in the '99 season (hawaii).

[liberalpragmatist]

3. Although I didn't see it...

...some friends of mine really liked the New Orleans season, right after Hawaii. Was that good?

[Merusault]

4. New Orleans season was ok.

But by that time the cast had become too preppy and "fresh" looking.

[TheDonkey]

6. Hawaiii was a train wreck and ushered the end of Real World

I did enjoy New Orleans and Chicago seasons after that but they were still faux.

IMO Las Vegas takes the cake for the worst season of Real World ever. That season should have ended the series for good.

[eyesroll]

2. I really liked the first season

It has since devolved into archetypes -- I think Boston was the last tolerable season, because that's when they realized the archetypes. "So, who's the gay one? You're black -- are you angry?" etc.

The archetypes in Season 1 worked because it was novel, and the ages and backgrounds were also well mixed -- sure, there was the niave country girl, and the player, and the angry black man, but they weren't all young and pretty. Now, we've got the young and pretty angry black man, the young and pretty gay man, the young and pretty niave country girl, etc., and they're all players, except for the young and pretty straight-edge/Christian.

[NWHarkness]

5. I liked the first 3 seasons

NYC, La and San Francisco. Each of those seasons was a unique drama.

I thought it all went downhill after that because of the PUCK Factor. Once Puck became a "star" by being obnoxious and self aggrandizing, the jig was up. After that, every contestant knew that whoever made the biggest fool of themselves would get the most attention.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

7. The first few seasons were great...

The third especially had a profound effect on me. I, like so many people like me, had never known a gay person, let alone a gay person with AIDS. It showed me that what I'd heard all my life was untrue. I felt like a friend of mine was dying. And when Pedro Zemora died, I felt like I'd lost a friend. That was a great season, minus Puck.
Anyway, the last season I watched completely was New Orleans. They weren't just pretty people. They were funny, silly, and interesting. Seattle was the last great season, though. They were all academians, two were from a military college in VA, and there was a lot of drama. They had a work ethic. MTV has become a big ad for Abercrombie and Fitch, but the Real World is worse. It started out with interesting up and comers. It's turned in to Eye Candy and horn dogs hanging out at clubs and whoring around. Even Road Rules isn't fun anymore. The first two seasons were great. After that, it sucked. MTV sucks now. It needs to go back to what it was. They even SCREWED up MTV2. "Where the music's at" MY ASS!
Duckie

[liberalpragmatist]

10. NO kidding

They've even managed to screw up VH1. It used to a credible, more adult-contemporary music video station. Now it's just a 24-hour endless nostalgia trip.

I wish there were credible music video channels on cable. At least where I live, there are none.

[RummyTheDummy]

8. Two of my fav. seasons were Miami and Hawaii

As well as the first three years. But since then I'v witnessed a steady decline. The Las Vegas and current show has been particularly disturbing.

[Xithras]

9. It started as a social experiment, but has degraded into voyeurism

What made the Real World great for the first few seasons was that it was a genuine social experiment, taking people from disparate backgrounds, social classes, and with completely different outlooks on the world, placing them into a single house, and then watching them grow and learn from each other. Some gained confidence, some gained understanding, some gained humility, but they all gained something, and so did we by watching.

The Real World today is just a bunch of obnoxious hardbody clubbers playing mind games with each other and trying to get each other into bed. Aside from the title, it's not even the same show.

[LynneSin]

11. This season has been the worse

They had 4 of them that just wanted to smoke and drink Forties (they had the empties lined up on the deck), one was the ultimate worst drama queen that it got to the point that each episode was about her.

I've been watching old episodes of Real World on MTV-Demand and I forgot how wonderful that show was. They just started the San Francisco season.

I hope they do better when they come to Philadelphia but I have a feeling it'll be another 7 kids who just want to smoke too much (what a great influence knowing that most of their target audience is under 18), drink and blow off work