Real World: Austin

[Marco Polo]

Man, this has to be the most "real" of all the real worlds. Danny's Mom passing away, a girl dating a disabled individual. For MTV, this has been a great show. I even shed a tear. I can't imagine what I'd do without my parents. I think I'm going to call my Mom and Dad after the show and tell them I love them.

[SBK]

Man, this has to be the most "real" of all the real worlds. Danny's Mom passing away, a girl dating a disabled individual. For MTV, this has been a great show. I even shed a tear. I can't imagine what I'd do without my parents. I think I'm going to call my Mom and Dad after the show and tell them I love them.

Im gonna keep it as real as it's gonna get around here, Im tryin to get my swerve on!

[Chiefs Pantalones]

I've missed the last two episodes.

Besides Danny's mom dying, what else has happened?

[Donger]

For MTV, this has been a great show.

Really? Did they actually play some f*cking music videos?

[NewChief]

For a slightly different take:
http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/review/2005/08/07/i_like/index2.html

Real grief
In contrast, "The Real World: Austin" has left very little to the imagination this season. Between making out naked in the shower and getting his face bashed in on the street, Danny has been at the center of this very explicit drama every step of the way, but last week's episode took the (bad birthday) cake. While the cameras rolled, we witnessed Danny finding out from his dad that his mom had died.
The rest is eerily familiar to those of us who've lived through a similar phone call. First, there's the disbelief: "No! Stop lying, Dad!" Then there's the abject horror and the non-stop tears and the awkward attempts to comfort the bereaved. For a little comic relief, we get the roommates standing around saying really insightful stuff like "When one of your parents die, that's, like, totally different from when your grandparents die." Too true! What we'd really love to see, though, is all the roommates hiding in their rooms (like you know they did) so they don't have to talk to Danny, since his grief makes them uncomfortable and they "don't know what to say." (News flash: "That really, really, really sucks" will always suffice.)
But Danny's roller-coaster ride isn't over! Next, we see the guilt. (Zoom in! Cue sad music!) Just in case you're not sure why Danny's feeling guilty, we flash back to Danny's last conversation with his mom over the phone, just a few days earlier, during which she tells him she's sooo glad he called and that she loves him sooo much, and he grunts incoherently in response, then gets off the phone quickly. "Wow! He really should feel guilty!" the preteens at home agree, not remembering that Danny's estranged mom, who struggled with alcohol, quite possibly let him down countless times until he felt nothing but anger toward her. Let's not explain any of that now, though; let's maximize the drama by cutting back to Danny, who's saying he'll never forgive himself.

Next week's preview shows Danny's girlfriend, crying. He's really sad and he might not come back to live in Austin at all! Is he kidding? What is wrong with that kid?

So, has the world's most popular traumedy, "The Real World," gone too far, once and for all, or is anything that's fascinating to watch totally OK to broadcast? Obviously it's a tough call, since they have all this footage of the kid falling apart, exactly the kind of scenario they're trained to hunger for. But to me, the flashback was what sent this episode over the edge. Bad enough that Danny has to suffer such a major loss while the cameras roll, bad enough that he feels terrible for having nothing but unkind words for his mom on the show thus far, but then they go out of their way to remind everyone what a jerk he was in that final phone call, without making the slightest effort to protect him? If this were a true documentary, they could argue that raw footage was what the show was all about. But anybody who believes that "The Real World" sets out to capture reality -- instead of choreographing cheesy soft-core action -- is too busy practicing the moves on "SYTYCD" to care about Danny, anyway.

If the producers want to traffic in such heartless fare, they should really consider "The Real World: Rikers Island," so we can watch pretty teenagers get knifed in the gut, right before our eyes.

[KChiefsQT]

Man, this has to be the most "real" of all the real worlds. Danny's Mom passing away, a girl dating a disabled individual. For MTV, this has been a great show. I even shed a tear. I can't imagine what I'd do without my parents. I think I'm going to call my Mom and Dad after the show and tell them I love them.

What did I miss?

[HolmeZz]

What did I miss?

Lacey dates a dude in a wheelchair.

[Donger]

What did I miss?

Music videos, apparently.

[Tribal Warfare]

Really? Did they actually play some f*cking music videos?

MTV2 is the place to flip to for music videos, or Fuse if you like Hard Rock.

[joesomebody]

I don't like how every other phrase out of that one girls mouth is, "well in the army" it's great she served her country, but come on. I've only watched one episode though...

I guess it adds flavor since no one else on any Real World has really valued disipline, but it seems shes pretty hypocritical to me... again one episode.

[Crush]

Thank God for VH1 Classic.

[Brock]

This is what happens when you stop being polite and start being real.

[HolmeZz]

This is what happens when you stop being polite and start being real.

http://www.christianfinnegan.com/Photos/CF3.gif

MAD Real.

[KCJake]

http://www.christianfinnegan.com/Photos/CF3.gif

MAD Real.
That was so damn funny :clap:

[Hammock Parties]

I loathe every character on these shows. I want to napalm their ****ing house.

[Red Dawg]

This is the worst real world of all.

[luv]

So I take it this isn't like Johnny from survivor saying his grandma died? Danny won't be bringing his mom to the big finale or something? I watched the first episode, and not even all of it.

I agree with Donger. MTV used to stand for MUSIC television. Next thing you know, they'll come up with a Reality TV. Nothing but reality shows. Actually, I wouldn't mind that. Then I would know what channel to avoid.

[J Diddy]

So I take it this isn't like Johnny from survivor saying his grandma died? Danny won't be bringing his mom to the big finale or something? I watched the first episode, and not even all of it.

I agree with Donger. MTV used to stand for MUSIC television. Next thing you know, they'll come up with a Reality TV. Nothing but reality shows. Actually, I wouldn't mind that. Then I would know what channel to avoid.

If you haven't learned yet, I doubt you will.

[luv]

If you haven't learned yet, I doubt you will.
I don't watch a lot of TV anyway.

[J Diddy]

It's all good. Pisses me off what Mtv has become. It was the thing when I was a kid.

[Tribal Warfare]

The truth to be told the blame besides The Real World should be credited to the success of Beavis and Butthead. The MTV executives have said on record that the reason for more TV sitcom/reality based shows were put on the station had to with these two shows. After that MTV went hog wild on it's programming variety.

[elvomito]

kill those who cancelled aeon flux

[Rausch]

kill those who cancelled aeon flux

Indeed...

[Rausch]

It's all good. Pisses me off what Mtv has become. It was the thing when I was a kid.


And there is your lesson for today about what it means to grow up.

Teenage $#it sucks now...

[Tribal Warfare]

kill those who cancelled aeon flux

I wouldn't worry about that, because MTV is making Aeon Flux the movie with Charlise Theron

[elvomito]

yeah i saw that... hope its good.
anyway i have the aeon flux dvd. its just the principle of the matter. shortly after, they started airing that load of crap "daria"

[Crush]

MTV's downfall started when CBS bought them in 1986.