Shark Bytes

Real World jumped the shark when I was not able to relate to the kids anymore. When the show began in 1992 when I was 18, the show was great and actually "real". But, throughout the years, the show's only objective seemed to be to get the cast to drink and hook up. By 2004, I was 30, had "grown up," and the show had been painfully repetitious. Therefore, the Philly season was the last full season I watched. My wife finally stopped watch two seasons ago. We've stopped watching MTV and have now moved to the wretch on VH-1.

I used to be the BIGGEST RW fan, really. I held on to every season until the San Diego season. That was when it became all about sex, booze (LOTS OF IT), drunken fights, and T&A. Its like you can't take that show seriously anymore unless someone has a compelling secret or they have an "interesting" job to fulfill. I must say, RW is starting to look like a bad FOX reality show and the cast members make sure they live up to every embarrassing moment of it. The really bad part is that the producers actually think that the castmembers want to be on the show when really in the end and on the reunion shows they say the only reason they tried out for RW was because they wanted to get into the entertainment biz, how sad. I swear, every year that show reminds me of how much I miss the days of the first few seasons and how groundbreaking that show really was.

honestly, the real world hollywood was alright. it was pretty entertaining except for the parts where joey was crying getting all suicidal. that got annoying the first time he did it and he cried a lot. he cried more than all of the girls in the house combined along with the male cast members... but that was just one season. who's to say that next season won't be wack like lame like vegas or denver or wack like paris or sydney.

the show jts this season for sure; the cast was awful, the shows were unwatchable and completely scripted; terrrrrrrrrrrrrrrible! joey and his alcoholic outbursts, sara and her hypocrisy, the stripper/crackhead's singing career and that DUMBA$$ blonde, Kim; hated her the most; the only redeeming quality of this show, there were only 10 episodes! HATED THE HOLLYWOOD CAST!!!

This show was really good for a decade. The first New York show was an absolute classic. Reality TV does not exist (or barely exists at all) without the first season (unfortunately, very little that followed could touch the Real World's 1st season). The LA season (2nd season) was filmed a year after the Rodney King riots, so the riots served as an excellent backdrop.

The San Francisco season (3rd) was a major high point of the series, as it showed the major cultural clashes and prejudices in their full ugliness. Pedro and Judd fighting with Puck and Puck's later pathos (after the series) make it classic.

London (4th season) was a very nice diversion after the very heavy and hard-hitting San Francisco season.

Miami (5th season) was the first really poor Real World, featuring the genesis of what became the Las Vegas debacle (more on that later). This was the start of the gratuitous sex angle, involving both homosexual and straight elements. However, Miami didn't go all the way, like Vegas eventually did.

Boston (6th season) was incredibly campy, and a welcome break from all the drama in Miami. It seemed like there were no real serious feuds, except those involving the hetero and homosexual cast members (which were nothing like the rifts seen in Frisco). Syrus was the MAN! Genesis and Kameelah were drama queens, but every Real World needs a drama queen to make it work.

Seattle (7th season) brought some of the drama from Miami back and then some, with the Stephen-Irene incident. Irene's insinuations about Stephen's sexual orientation were proven correct a few years later at the 2001 MTV Music Awards when Stephen declared it out in the open.

Hawaii (8th season) was utter tripe, but Teck's shenanigans kept it light. Colin shouldn't have fallen for Amaya, who along with Ruthie almost ruined the season.

New Orleans (9th season) was IMO the best Real World since the original three (NY, LA, SF), and none have matched it since. The old themes of racism and homophobia are brought back in hard hitting fashion. Danny's relationship with the soldier is one of the defining moments of the entire series. Julie (the "wayward" Mormon) undergoes serious personal transformations and tries to find herself.

Melissa and David acted as two sides of the debate (willful assimilation vs. "keep fighting the man") which has raged in African-American circles for decades.

Back to NY (10th season) was OK because of the interplay between Coral and the Miz (Mike), but that show had no chance because there was no way it could live up to the original.

Chicago (11th season) was promise unfulfilled IMO. That series had the potential to be the best ever, but focused too much on Tonya (who eventually became a **** star).

Las Vegas (12th season) was when "The Real World" became "Real Sex" and it permanently jumped the shark from there. I have not seen the show since, but Brooklyn shows promise not seen in a while. Let's hope Brooklyn brings the series back to its roots.

BEGAN THE RUINATION OF THE MUSIC CHANNEL MTV, AND THEN TELEVISION IN GENERAL...90% OF "REALITY TELEVISION" IS SIMPLY A SHOWCASE OF OBNOXIOUS, ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR...GO OUT THERE AND ACT LIKE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE DO IN PUBLIC AND JUST SEE HOW FAR YOU'LL GET...THIS SHOW MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF TV AS I KNEW IT: A VEHICLE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES, NOT TO SEE HOW RUDE ONE HUMAN BEING CAN POSSIBLY BE TO ANOTHER....

The show jumped the shark when the producers sold their souls and started showing off the housemates' bad behavior rather than codemning it (i.e.: the woman getting slapped by a man, Ruthie driving drunk, etc.). The show became more "Jerry Springer" like and all about noteriety (remember the 3-some on the first episode of the Vegas Season?). Basically, it's a contest of which housemate can show the least amount of class.

i guess i'm the only one who loved seeing irene get bitchslapped.. it just made me feel all warm and cozy inside..

When Stephen slaped Irene in Real World Seattle, I thought the show hit a new low. The incident was never condemned and there was simply a cursory "what did you feel about that?" type of rountable on the following week's episode. Since MTV couldn't care less that a girl got hit by a guy, I figured it had more depths to sink after that.

Honestly, the show jumped the shark when it lost it's central focus, somewhere around season 4 or 5. In the begining it was a realistic picture of young adults finding themselves. It was real people living in a real apartment (not a plush penthouse) and dealing with real problems (abortion, depression, and so on). Then the show became more or less an extended version of MTV's "Spring Break" with the focus being on partying and gratuitous sex. Each season seems to be a bunch of kids trying to out-do the previous season by being even more promiscuous (does the hot-tub threesome on the first day of the Las Vegas Season come to mind?).
It's not the partying and sex that is a turn-off (we've all been there) but that this ALL these recent housemates seems capable of.

The show definately jumped with the "Hawaii Season". That's when the show went from realistic, normal people to a bunch of slutty "barbie/ken doll" types desperate for their "15 minutes of fame". Every season from Hawaii on has been exactly the same....a bunch of shallow people with spray-on tans (who all look exactly alike) hut-tub, back-stab, fight over stupid issues, and "hook-up" (which is the term young people use for "spreading venereal diseases").

eww Melinda is soo ugly. How did she get nominated for hottest female and why is Danny obsessed with her? I would love to be part of one of these Real World couples. You don't need to be educated or interesting to get men to fall in love with you.

i havent liked any after hawaii

The last few seasons were approaching, but the Real World season 20 (Hollywood) has officially made the show "jump the shark." Let's see, half of the cast are aspiring actors (see bios) and the setting is Hollywood. The end of the road for me.

The Real World JTS the second Tek and Ruthie's naked bodies hit the pool on the first episode of The Real World Hawaii. This is when each season became a "Can you top this? How drunk can we get?" f@#$fest. No more people from a variety of cultures being exploited by their differences, but a bunch of pretty people getting naked and drunk. Ohhh MTV is sooo edgy!