MTV’s The Real World is the great-granddaddy of reality television, conceived back when the idea of seven strangers allowing their lives to be taped was fresh and provacative. Viewers don’t vote their least favorite roommate off the show. There is no million-dollar prize. The cast from previous seasons fades predictably into obscurity. Yet … the show continues.
And we still watch it.
Granted, not even Clyde and I could make it through last season, when the casting team neglected to reserve space in Las Vegas for anyone with the slightest amount of physical or emotional appeal. By the second episode, it was clear there wasn’t much joy or escape in watching seven strangers (who might as well have been named Whiny, Lazy, Sleazy, Unattractive, Incompetent, Intolerable, and Slacker) destroy everything they touched.
This season, though, the show recovers, planting a crew with just the right mix of physical beauty and emotional retardation in the middle of one of the most elegant and attractive cities in the world. With other networks offering summer fare like the dreadful Cupid, The Real World shines like a jewel. If you’ve not watched it lately, it’s worth a second look.
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