Reality TV = Crack - Part Two or I hate Andy Cohen

I watch reality TV…a lot. This is not a surprise if you know me. Some people are addicted to crack. Me, I’m addicted to reality TV.

My addiction started with The Real World season one. After the first season was over, I craved more. I was addicted to The Real World. I wanted be on the show. I never auditioned for the show; I never had the balls to do it. I fell in love season after season with each cast. It was so fascinating to watch these 20 & 30 something’s find themselves while filming. There always seemed to be a cast member that entered the “fish bowl” (people who watched the show will get that reference) young, naïve, or racist and left changed and open to looking at the world in a different light. I watched The Real World for many years until it turned into nothing but drinking and sex. I thought maybe I was getting to old to watch the show after all now the oldest cast member on the show is 24. I long for the days of when The Real World seemed “real.” I remembered when The Real World season three had its final episode. I had just recently came out and I was obsessed with the fact that Pedro an out gay person was welcomed into America’s living rooms. It was great to see someone so proud of who he was. He made it easy for me to feel comfortable about who I was. I was sad the season was over. Then Kurt Loder came on the air to announce that Pedro had died. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was depressed, I felt like a close friend died. I wanted to give up watching The Real World but I couldn’t.

After The Real World came Road Rules. After Road Rules came Survivor, that’s when reality TV really became huge. Not only was it reality TV but it was competition too. It seemed like every time I turned around a new reality series popped up. I of course gave each series at least a chance by watching a couple episodes. 95% of the time that’s where it ended but like The Real World I became obsessed with so many shows. In the years of my reality TV addiction I’ve noticed the non-competitive shows have become non-scripted scripted TV. I know that sounds weird but I do believe it’s real but it’s edited to make us like certain “characters.”

Before I elaborate on my feelings of editing let me just give you the list of non-competitive reality shows that I watch or have watched. Yes some may seem tacky but like so many people obsessed with a certain vampire book series I could care less.

Here they are people. I highly suggest youtube-ing some of them:

The Anna Nicole Show

The Real World

Hoarders

The Girls Next Door

Being Bobby Brown

Obsessed

The Surreal Life

Super Sweet Sixteen

My Redneck Wedding

Extreme Makeover (not home addition)

Tabatha’s Salon Takeover

Bridezillas

What Not to Wear

Clean House

My Life on the D-List

There are plenty more but my blog would be too long and believe it or not I actually have point here.  

This evening I tuned in to watch part two of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion special.  Yes I watch RHONJ. I don’t watch all of the Housewife series, in addition to New Jersey I watch the Atlanta series and I watched Washington DC and some of the Beverly Hills, but by far I love the New Jersey girls. I was hooked after the first episode. Even my mother liked the New Jersey girls. I felt I knew these people, mostly because I could see some of my relatives in these women. It was like watching my crazy Italian relatives. It was so nice to see these women getting along, but then of course like all reality TV mid-season it went crazy. Cast member Danielle Staub seemed to go from semi-normal to crazy in two episodes. I stood by my favorite cast members Dina, Teresa, Caroline and Jacqueline and hated Danielle. After two seasons Danielle left and I was happy. I wanted to see more of Teresa’s over-the-top character, Jacqueline’s caring nature and listen to Caroline’s motherly advice. Unfortunately Dina left during season two due to Danielle so I was sad but I knew the series would go on.

Along came season three and new cast members Kathy (Teresa’s Cousin) and Melissa (Teresa’s Sister-in-Law). I didn’t quite know what to expect with the addition of these people. I, of course didn’t want to like either one of them because it seemed they had it out for Teresa. Kathy kind of grew on me as the season went along but I never really like Melissa, she seemed way too fake for me. I know what everyone is thinking “JJ all the housewives are fake.” Yes, like I said before I believe it is real but edited to make us look at certain characters in a certain way, which brings me to tonight’s reunion special. It was hosted by Andy Cohen, who is also executive producer of all of the housewife shows. Only four of the five New Jersey Housewives were there, Jacqueline wasn’t there due to a fight she had with Teresa the week before while filming season four. The reunion was in two parts and it seemed like it was a chance for everyone to gang up on Teresa, including Andy Cohen. As a viewer I was kind of offended by Andy Cohen’s remarks to Teresa. As an executive producer of the show I thought it was in poor taste to treat her that way. Each housewife series has a stand-out wife that seems to be in the news more or writes a book or releases a song (yes people Tardy for the Party is on my Ipod!) and they become a bit more famous than the other wives. As we all know fame changes people and makes them someone else and yes Teresa is one of them. Does that mean she is a horrible person? Yes and no, who knows what I would do if I was on a reality show? Could I really work a 9 to 5 job after being on a reality TV show or would I bank on my 15 minutes of fame like Teresa is doing? Nene Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta was recently on Celebrity Apprentice and by the looks of next season’s preview she is falling under the same fire that Teresa is.

So, here is my question to you. Can you imagine if either editing was not done on Reality TV or if editing made the bad guys look good? Let’s look at some of the possibilities shall we?

Hoarders – What would happen if the magic of editing made us actually feel sorry for the hoarders? In some ways we feel a little for the hoarder but most of the time we don’t. Remember the animal hoarder that almost punched the camera crew? Can you imagine if the editing Gods made us feel bad for her?

Being Bobby Brown – What we saw was pop diva Whitney Houston pretty much addicted to crack and cocaine. We all watched in horror as Bobby Brown talked about removing a “nugget” out of her ass, to which Whitney replied “That’s love.” Could you imagine if they edited that show to make Whitney Houston look like a victim of the music industry? That the only reason she was like that was because it was so hard for her to deal with her fame?

So this brings me back to my Jersey Girls. Caroline Manzo is a wife on the show. She has a huge following because she seems the most “real” of all the housewives. I’m not saying she isn’t but after watching tonight’s reunion my views on her have changed a little. I would never question her intentions but tonight she seemed a little off. When you look at her from the first season she put it out there that she is truthful and real. She is an amazing Mother, Sister and Wife. Family is first in her life and she will stick by her family no matter what. So any loyal Caroline fan would believe anything she says. I think that is very convenient don’t you? Can you imagine if she was edited to look that way? What if everything she ever said was a lie? I’m not calling her a liar by any means. I believe she is a good person. In fact I believe that all of the Jersey housewives are good people (well except Melissa – fake, fake, fake) but they are human and they make mistakes and say things that they later regret. Who knows what really happens in these women’s lives. I would love to be a fly on all of their walls. Imagine what you could really learn about these “real” people.

In closing I have this to say:

Dear Andy Cohen,

      

I realize it’s your job to stir things up on your reunion shows but don’t slap the hand that feeds you. Do you really think RHONJ would last without Teresa? Most likely not because Melissa does not = Teresa.

      

JJ

P.S. Tell Caroline Manzo to watch out because Kathy is going to end up being the new “super Mom” now that all her kids are moving out. Tell her I love her but watch your back.