What are we getting this year? Given that the second season cast is always worse than the original, we're dealing with VH1, and the first time around gave us Gia and Chrissy...
Fear.
You'd like to think the nice thing about ambush casting shows is that it's impossible to get anyone who's just there to show off on television. You'd really like to think that. But then last season gave us Erica (again), and that little theory went south in search of a new $15,000 purse.What are we getting this year? Given that the second season cast is always worse than the original, we're dealing with VH1, and the first time around gave us Gia and Chrissy...
Fear.
That they replace the HOST?
Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004
*watches premiere*Yes. Yes, it was.
(More discussion after spoiler time clears. (Which for a VH1 show is almost funny.))
Apparently the contestants want to smack each other almost as much as we do.Almost.
Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004
Let's start with a moment of fairness: the house decorations actually are uglier this year. The first time around was Suburban Tacky, but this edition got Fear Kitsch. The brats got to keep less clothing this time: the originals had one very large duffel each, while the second group had to pack into half of a small steamer trunk? Cutback, definitely. And the house did start out dirtier (or maybe the Chrissy-stains just never. come. out.), but... mold in the refrigerator?No.
Even VH1 isn't going to take a chance on making contestants sick enough to sue, especially ones whose parents can afford lawyers My first suspicion was that Shakyra's room-temperature IQ wasn't equipped to recognize package frost, and I'm sticking with that. Shakyra will just be sticking with her delusions. 'I'm not really cut off! My boyfriend will take me back! And if he doesn't, I'll just go get a new one who has even more money! There's always a fresh sucker!' And off she goes into the night, never to be seen again unless someone casts her for Big Brother so she can quit on that too. Bit in that case, there's a good chance of getting real mold.
Sadly, she's probably right about the fresh sucker.
General notes:
Do you believe there was really a backup brat on standby? It's possible... after last season, the producers had to figure on getting a potential quitter early, especially after seeing their casting pool. I don't know about the parents reconsidering at the last minute -- twice -- but having one extra It Girl hanging around in case someone dropped out? Sure. Or we could be looking at an actress. It's not as if that would surprise anyone.
We're already looking at one working model: Lauren has her own Wikipedia page and it prominently notes her occasional employment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Grissom I get the feeling she might be a rare inversion of the usual show assembly philosophy: Cast To Be Redeemed. Her road might be shorter than those for the others, and name a farm girl who doesn't at least know the general principles behind 'work'.
Well, at least this group had the concept of 'kitchen' down on Day One.
The denial is strong with Jenn. As is the delusion. 'My mother would never do that to me. She's reading off a script. And she can't act. Lollipop, lollipop, oooh, lolli-lolli-lolli -- who moved my potato? That's the only thing I can eat all day! And if anyone moves it, the calories are absorbed into their body!' But again, we have to be fair here -- if she's on a specialized diet, the show should have been ready for it. You're allowed to be upset if someone tosses your dinner out before you can eat it. And Aimee took that confrontation far too personally: note that once Jenn found out the potato toss wasn't her fault, Jenn left the area. But once the crazy kicked into gear, it stayed there for a good long time. Causes? Real. Results? Surreal. And Jenn's potential facial appearance after another twenty years of surgery? Bosch.
By the way -- Aimee? You weren't exactly without blame. And you are distinctly without improvement. Your goal in life is to be a trophy wife? How do you qualify as a prize for the winner?
So let me make sure I have this right: every last one of your purses cost a thousand dollars or more. And every last one of them is hideous. Do you look at anything other than the price tag? Do you leave the tag on so everyone else can look at it?
This is one of the last shows I expected to see Marcy's body type on, which actually makes her presence kind of refreshing. 'You don't have to be thin to be a spoiled diva!' Equality in brathood!
'Why should I ever listen to anyone? I know I'm right. They have to listen to me.' That's bad enough when you feel it coming from a cast member. It gets a lot worse when you pick it up emanating from the host.
What no-contact rule?
http://www.tmz.com/2011/01/11/youre-cut-off-jennifer-jowett-mug-shot-dui-arrested-jail-vh1-reality-show/Because surely it won't be the only one
Now what would ever inspire someone to get drunk on the night of their national television premiere? After all, it's not as if she cares about what she did in the house, right? And how those events were edited should be no concern at all. There's no way she'd ever worry about the opinions of the viewership. It's just a weird little coincidence of timing.Besides, the article called her a star!
'Spiraling out of control.' I'm not sure the plane was issued with wing flaps.
...wait. She can't afford a hands-free? Potential finale status spoiler!
Maybe we'll see her on an upcoming season of "Celebrity Rehab".
I really do understand Jenn's drinking problem. I only spent forty-eight minutes with her this week and I wanted to start drinking. Can you imagine what it does to her, having to put up with her own company for every second of every day? Most people would just move into the beer vats and hook the feed line up to their veins.Admittedly, she's not completely in the wrong about one thing. Willful Idiot had a point: Laura's pass-fail bit is there just for the drama, the episode's minute count, and to see what kind of reaction she can get out of the group when the judgments come down. Since Jenn's all about causing drama and dodging the consequences afterwards -- badly -- following by suing based on the legal criteria of My Being A Total Bitch Is Somehow Your Fault -- she's perfectly equipped to recognize it in others. But take that, her ability to spend money, ignore reality, avoid work, and antagonize the universe, and you've got her entire skill set. This is not a personality which can survive in the house, as much as it's a personality at all. Right now, it's more of a disease. And as much as the previews might promise a cure, she enjoys the symptoms she causes in others too much to let any dose of reality drive her out.
Notes:
It's the same division we had in the first season: a few of them are figuring out that this is the only way to get their money back, so they're going along for the ride. They are the smart ones. And then you have -- well, as said, it's the same division as the first season.
Gravity does not work that way. (But there are days when it really should.)
We can discuss the shorts if you want to. I will paying close attention to see just who wants to.
Be honest: would you have guessed twenty-six? And 'we want her to get some basic real life training' pretty much guarantees Marisa is being taken back no matter what.
Aimee? You still aren't much of an improvement.
Eight country club maintenance employees in LA, over the course of an eight-hour day, can pay off a $3000 bill? Nice work if you can get it... (And let's be fair: that was a total ambush trap. The genre-savvy would have been ready for it, but...)
I don't think they ever could have tipped Nolan enough.
The poor man's probably in Diva Rehab.
I caught the early showing, so posting any major commentary right now would mean including spoilers. Until the nightmare airing, I'll limit it to three bits.1. It gets worse.
2. As much as anyone else, Laura is systematically being exposed. I don't think she's aware of how bad the aired footage is making her look: if she was, it never would have gotten this far.
3. Next week? Erika's back.
this show continues to get worse. It has to be staged in some way and I think a few of the girls are "plants"/actresses.
LAST EDITED ON 01-25-11 AT 12:05 PM (EST)While having some to all of the self-titled princesses be actresses would be reassuring, I'm pretty sure we're looking at real semi-personalities here. It takes a lot of talent to display acting that bad. (Hana's breakdown upon realizing the realities of minimum wage is either a stuck note breakdown from someone who's never thought about other people until that moment or a scenery-chewing reading from an amateur whose script pages got stuck together. Pick one and only one.) But as said during the first season, I know people like this. Mine aren't this far along (at least, the ones I continue associating with aren't), but they display the same signs to lower degrees. The amplification is out there -- and for this group, it's in temporary captivity.
I thought it was Hana that had that big breakthrough/breakdown about people working on minimum wage.
LAST EDITED ON 01-25-11 AT 12:06 PM (EST)Huh. I thought it was Nadia because the breakdown started in the car with talking about how many years were probably needed to reach shift manager and how little was won from the achievement. But I may be mixing my divas. (They're kinda generic, y'know.)
ETA: You're right: it was Hana. I've edited my original post to fix it. After a while, all the entitlement starts to blend together into a single mass.
I think I'll call that mass 'Erika'.
I finally got around to watching E3 (bizarrely, this show isn't at the top of my watch list). If Erika's back next week, I think that ep won't make my list at all. Ugh!
Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004
LAST EDITED ON 01-30-11 AT 02:45 AM (EST)My favorite line from this drek:
I have PMS and GPS. I'm a b!tch and I know where you're at.
Snowed in by Tribephyl
So we're going to learn about the wonders of discount clothing. Again. And we're working on a budget. Again. And the Spoiled once again demonstrate that they can't be trusted with money. Again cubed. And just for bonus points, our hostess continues to show that she personally can't be trusted with being the life coach for plankton. And has no idea of how she's coming across. Ever.Kind of makes you wonder what kind of house her sponsors will eventually lock her in.
But in the meanwhile (and that while is so mean!), we at least managed to commit Jennicide. The downward spiral finally staggered out the door, which should bring the overall beyotch factor down a few notches. You'd like to think that. You'd be wrong, of course, but it doesn't change what you'd want to believe.
Oh, and no matter what some brain cell deprived Spoileds might want to believe, cancer sticks are not a food group. But at least it gave us some promotional comedy, right? 'We have to peel the Coke labels off all the bottles, but we can still mention the brand by name. how does that work?' No idea, but you really should have tossed the caps after pouring the liquid down the drain. Why, if they saved nine more of those caps, they could get another bottle and then the drain would see more work than the house has all season!
Plus they painted a fence. Sort of. And not one of them thought to start on 'Painting a fence is really big in France right now! Paint stains are the next wave of fashion! Come on, everybody, pose with the brushes!' Because they don't read. Or watch television. Or exist, really. As soon as the cameras go off, most of them will happily stop existing as much as they possibly can.
Jenn got a head start.
Everyone failed, Laura? Are you including yourself yet?
Miss Pageant (does she have a name?) is going to end up with PTSD. She always seems this close |_| to tears when the sh** hits the fan, and she's never actually involved in the drama. She seems genuinely shocked and offended by most of the behavior. Have we had any confessions from her? I'd be really curious to see what she's been saying about her fellow "princesses".
Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004
Thank DOG Erica wasn't on screen long.
Urban Homesteader Anais blogged about her experience with the Princesses today. VH1 YOU’RE CUT OFF?She describes Marcy and Aimee as "fun and witty", and she wonders if producers left the gate to the goat yard open on purpose. She also linked to some behind-the-scenes photos and reminds readers that "'Reality TV' is not really Real."
Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004
I was actually excited to see the Dervaes family on the show. I've been following their homesteading efforts for a couple of years now online.
Damn you, Estee, damn you.So after reading your typically snarky posts I checked this out. Watched episode 4, then episode 5.
I’ve now taped episodes 1-3.
GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR
I blame you.
It's not getting any smarter out there. You have to come to terms with stupidity, and make it work for you."
I fail to see how the existence of these princesses is my fault.The existence of VH1, maybe...
There is no existence if one is blissfully ignorant. Now, thanks to you, they’ve wormed their way into my brain.But, I do lvoe me some bad TV.
Shake head back and forth quickly to see the Bob motorcycle z000m!!
There are plenty of businesses like show business
Y'know the amazing part? Both Hana and Marcia are completely wrong and completely wrong at the same time, each in their own special way. And simultaneously, Laura is starting to move beyond mere wrongness to the point where she's going to need her very own rehab program, which hopefully will not be televised. Maybe they'll lock Chris Harrison in it with her. And what happens after that would cover the lens in blood anyway, so there's really no point in filming it.(For the record, I think at least 95% of Laura's backlash on Marcia during group was based on walking in during that semi-deadly impersonation of her. Laura cannot stand to be mocked, questioned, or regarded as human in any way. But it's not as if that could ever hurt her, right?)
Didn't that charity challenge look familiar? Check the background shots from the pawnshop and you'll find Saaphyri's Ugg boots. And my, didn't that charity challenge look rigged? Imagine the producer introductions: take as little or as much as you like, but alternatively lowball and highball everything until you reach a number where the shortfall could be made up by what they're currently wearing -- and then go after that. If Jessica had donated more than a single pair of shoes, I would have expected enough of her items to be rejected or discounted to produce roughly the same pre-current-accessory-sacrifice total. Not that it excuses her giving up one pair of shoes (which forgot to pack their own story). Nine bags, each of which treats its contents as vital organs and they're just not a match for anyone. Except Jessica. Who will die without them.
We could test that.
So Marcia understands that the more they donate, the better their chances (after you take the rigging factor out), while Hana realizes they need quality pieces to go in with (ibid). They're each a quarter of one half-wit. Marcia could work that out. Eventually. Measure twice, cut one princess off at the knees. At least Betty knows which house they worked on and can request another one. Or a different playhouse, which was bought in advance along with the computer well before the charity total was in and while the portable is worthwhile, the playhouse is a total waste of plastic and the producers would have been better off getting the kid some more clothes. Or food. Or two months on a medical plan. But the playhouse shot better. With the nail gun. Yeah, no way that could ever go wrong...
And now we move on to the camping trip. Does anyone remember what happened during the original camping trip?
*waits*
You can stop screaming now.
I have nothing to say about this ep that you didn't already say.
Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004
DOG, that was awful!
