Nostalgia that will make your brain melt: The AVClub's Real World: New York Recaps

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

1992. The number. Another summer.

Okay. That was never a song. But I'm not sure that was a song with '92 in the lyrics.

Anyway, the AVClub has been posting recaps of the first season of The Real World in their Classic TVClub section. And I'm obsessed with them.

With apologies to An American Family, this is the first real reality tv show and it existed before all the cliches of the genre - and The Real World - hardened into concrete.

It also featured what may be the best cast in the show's history. Eric Nies was the "dumb, pretty boy" that season and he would double the SAT score of every cast member of the Jersey Shore. I'm also reasonably sure that Becky (the Natalie Merchant wannabe) was the template for every female I was attracted to for the next ten years.

Enjoy.

http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/tvshow/the-real-world,177/

---------- Post added June-21st-2011 at 04:21 PM ----------

PS

The best part is a reminder of when Manhattan was still a little scary. I do not like post-Giuliani NYC.

[Sticksboi05]

Lol, at first I was like, don't you mean 1989?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Julie was awesome. She spends 90 percent of the episodes in baggy sweaters, khakis, and tennis shoes. And then you see her in a leotard in dance class and realize that she's built like a Playmate. It's amazing when you think that most current reality show participants are naked in a hot tub before the first commercial break.

[The Dude]

These AV Club recaps are so well written, I'm probably parroting something the author already said. But still:

They serve as time capsules of not only the music/fashion/social issues of the early 90's, but of reality TV as a whole. Plot-wise, the big issues on the first two seasons of the Real World were "are those two housemembers going to make out?" Now in 2011 (as LKB alludes to), the cast members size up each other in the first episode, hook up in various combinations in sows 2 through 9, then have a drug/alcohol fueled blowup in episode 10.

And ditto on the evolution of Manhattan, I love seeing movies and TV shows that feature the city in its grimier light. But depending on the age of who you ask, even early 90's NYC was considered sterile and safe compared to the glory days of the 70s/80s that mixed fun and danger. Watching "The Warriors," it's hard to believe that much of that film takes place in areas that are now Whole Foods and gourmet pet food stores.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I like how the latest episode involved Julie and Heather playing Scrabble and then everyone traipsing to Staten Island to see Andre perform.

That was the plot.

Now, there needs to be an STD or pregnancy scare in episode 2 or the show is boring.

PS I miss socially conscious rap. I think Ludacris should try to get people together for a remake of Self Destruction. Except now it can be about having sex with a stripper.

[The Dude]

Another interesting early-90s relic is the camera work of these episodes. Every scene seems to have that shaky, slightly tilted view made infamous in those

.

Also, I'm struck by how literally "dark" these episodes are compared to ones filmed today. Back then, a scene was captured by one or two cameramen using the room's ambient light. Now with reality TV being big business, every show has a production team recording the action in near-movie quality.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I look forward to LA, because I think it's the transitional season. Most of the cast still had ambitions beyond being famous for being famous (except for Tami whose ambition was to marry a rich dude...and then married Kenny Anderson). But I think they had some idea of how their actions would look on camera. Season 3 is where modern reality tv was invented, I think. Pedro and Puck were both attempting to create something. Pedro a drama about his martyrdom and Puck was basically making "The Puck Show Featuring Puck" from which he would launch a career as Puck.

Still...even in Season 3, you had a cast member doing her residency, another cast member trying to became a published cartoonist (which led to David Eggers cameo which was not then cameo), and a cast member trying to become a young Republican activist. And Mohammed who seemed completely out of place in reality tv.

That was the other neat thing about the early years. There were always one or two cast members who obviously didn't want to be living their lives in front of the camera and just wanted the whole thing to end. Andre looked miserable. Aaron and Dom in LA both seemed to grow to hate it, and - as far as I can tell - have never tried to capitalize on it.

Now, the cast members have had life-long aspirations to be on the show and have fully-formed personas when they show up.

[The Dude]

I probably feel a stronger connection to these first two seasons because most of these characters behave how I would on a reality show: uncomfortable on camera, not able to totally mesh with the housemates, and would rather be pursuing their respective hobbies than being filmed.

The casting then seemed to focus on filling quotas based on race/background rather than personality types. A country bumpkin, a fierce Latina bailiff, a writer, an activist, etc. -- but they could generally get along without killing each other or partner swapping.

Looking back on LA, it's hard to believe the most controversial event from that season was when David tries to pull the sheets off partially clothed Tami in the hallway. This leads to a long discussion of whether that event could be classified as rape and ends up David being kicked David out of the house. I can't imagine this being quite as big an issue today.

[LeesburgSkinFan]

Season 2 > Season 1....that cast argued all the time

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Looking back on LA, it's hard to believe the most controversial event from that season was when David tries to pull the sheets off partially clothed Tami in the hallway. This leads to a long discussion of whether that event could be classified as rape and ends up David being kicked David out of the house. I can't imagine this being quite as big an issue today.

That David-Tami dynamic was really weird. She was so dramatic, and he was a little bit stalkery.

---------- Post added June-22nd-2011 at 10:35 AM ----------

Season 2 > Season 1....that cast argued all the time

I like Seaon 1, because of Julie and Heather. Julie was probably seen as "the naive country girl" by the casting crew, but she was really really smart and cool. You could tell me that she was the basis of Elle Woods and I would believe it. And the fact that she and the rapper became so tight was awesome.

According to the comments at the AV Club, Becky WAS the basis for the Janene Garofolo character in "Reality Bites." I also like that they have taken to calling Andre's band "Citizen Dick."

[rictus58]

According to the comments at the AV Club' date=' Becky WAS the basis for the Janene Garofolo character in "Reality Bites."[b'] I also like that they have taken to calling Andre's band "Citizen Dick[/b]."

That fact makes me LOL.

[Spartacus87]

Back when The Real World was actually really relevant.

Great concept for a show, it's just gone on for far too long at this point. They're not exploring any social issues anymore so much as they're trying to exploit them.

I think the first season that I can genuinely remember following is Season 7 in Seattle, culminating in Stephen slapping Irene in the face because she pointed out that he was gay.

I used to really enjoy Road Rules too, but I don't understand why the Real World/Road Rules X-Treme challenges exist and why they're still so popular. Most of them feature completely random people or Real World cast mates from seasons that were like a decade ago, and I don't think that the 16 year olds who watch those shows remember those Real World seasons.