The Real World

Monday

Is the impulse that drives viewers to A&E’s reality series Intervention charity? Or what the newspapers used to call "human interest"? Or is it just Schadenfreude? Either way, the show, which chronicles those confrontations between self-destructive people and their families and friends brokered by "intervention" specialists, certainly doesn't play for laughs. What you’re seeing is usually pretty horrific, and the train wrecks it picks through can actually become pretty touching stories. Methamphetamine and OxyContin addictions are common fare here; and the success stories, which are not guaranteed, are definitely the more edifying programs. So maybe it is charity after all? Tonight we meet Chad who, like most of the show's subjects, had a pretty troubled childhood—he ended up in juvie for felony arson. At age 15, Chad’s father introduced him to cycling, and he went pro and even cycled on the same team as Lance Armstrong. When he got kicked off the team for “personality conflicts,” however, he turned to drugs. He's homeless and spends his days drinking, panhandling and smoking crack. Can an intervention save his life? The show airs at 9 p.m. Of course before reality programs there were nonfictional programs about science and nature and history. The History Channel takes a break from reconstructing Hitler's last hours in the bunker to trot out an hour-long program about the origins of life on earth at 9 p.m. At any rate switch to Bravo at 10 and watch Clueless if you haven't seen it a few too many times already, or fire up the fourth season premiere of Weeds at 10 p.m. on Showtime.  read more »

For those of us of a certain age, MTV's The Real World was, like, the coolest thing ever: Pedro vs. Puck, that Irish guy Dom from the second season, the year it took place in London with the, like, 16-year-old dating the 14-year-old. Fascinating slice-of-life stuff when viewed from the suburbs.

And, then, for a long, long time, it was the stupidest thing on cable TV. And still is, probably. We don't know. We stopped watching around voting age.

But! Today, MTV announces that the 21st season of The Real World will be filmed in Brooklyn.

Release after the jump, and expert commentary here regarding possible spots in the borough for filming.  read more »

Did The Real World beget Facebook? That's the theory put forth by Details' Jeff Gordinier in his think piece on MTV's ur-reality series which is in its improbable twentieth season.

After explaining how the series created "a New America," Gordinier writes:

In 1995 a paperback titled The Real Real World was published to capitalize on the success of the first four seasons of the show: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London. A few pages were devoted to the cast members from each season, studded with grainy snapshots and factoids. Flip through the book today and contemplate Kat’s favorite song (“Africa,” by Toto), Puck’s favorite snack (“Nuts, exotic ones”), and Becky’s preferred mode of transportation (“I usually walk”), and it doesn't take long to realize that you’re looking at an early, analog blueprint for a social-networking site: the beta version of Facebook. “We’re living in an age where everyone has to be famous,” [MTV's Brian] Graden says. “There’s a current belief that every small thing I do is fascinating, so I’m going to share it with all my friends."  read more »

MONDAY

There should be something wrong when high-schoolers in Florida start to sound like their geriatric counterparts in Boca Raton. But when it's the stars of MTV’s The Paper [10:30 p.m.], it’s downright heartwarming. Though society seems to be "heading to the Internet and to virtual whatnot," 17-year-old Amanda Lorber, an editor on The Circuit, the student-run newspaper of Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla. says she and her mates "really wanna keep print alive.” Aw, we feel you sister! Perhaps the staff of The Circuit will be the perfect compliment to that other popular MTV reality series starring misguided teenagers. The Observer’s Matt Haber summed it up quite nicely in a profile of the show and its cast:  read more »