TV punditry #2

Oh the Real World. You continue to astound. I dislike every single cast-member that's been on that show since New Orleans (Oh, don't come at me with the exceptions; there's no one but Jaquese. If you say Brad... well, just don't say Brad) and it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. My enjoyment of this show is totally unaffected by whether the roomies are douches or not. Sure, it's a vaguely different kind of enjoyment now- with the Seattle cast you sat around thinking you could hang out with these people, and now you sit around thanking God you're not hanging out with those people- but the show's still addictively watchable, though perhaps in a shallower way. And Philtydelphia is providing much good badness because of
1) Sarah. She crystallizes a long developing Real World archetype: the "sexually liberated" girl with fake boobs who is constantly telling us how secure, confident, and horny she is, though it's obvious to pencils and protractors she's an insecure disaster (who, in this case, was bulimic six months before the show began. I can't imagine a psychiatrist or doctor not already on staff for The Swan advising a turn on The Real World as a healthy next step). But Sarah's better than the girls that came before (Trishelle, Robin, Kara) because except for the usual tells- the eating disorder, the shopping, the flaunting of the fake boobies- there's no concrete evidence that she isn't the gutsy, emotionally incontinent, whore she says she is.
Sure, it's only the third episode and there's plenty of time left for her to cry because she wants more from MJ, but for now her game is so shameless, so on point, so apparently unaffected by any feelings beyond lust and jealousy that all you can do is be impressed. When she tells MJ, "You're really missing out. And you know it. You KNOW it," and somehow pulls him into a make out session... well, it's not just that she knows no shame, it's that she feels no shame, and that's something new.
2) Karamo. I had no idea. None of the multitude of homosexuals I spend too much time with had any idea. He's, like, expanding my conception of homosexuality. And I really didn't think The Real World was going to expand my conception of anything, ever.

Episode 4: So Sarah cried, because Shavonda had a hard life, and I still like her. I thought it was nice of her. Uh oh.
And, I just didn't think they made white people like MJ anymore. Wishful thinking I guess.