Keeping in touch with the Real World

I have made an important life choice recently. I decided to rekindle a former flame, the Real World. The only reason I know that the Real World is still on television is that I saw someone hyping the season premiere in her facebook status (wow, I'm lame). I thought to myself, "Hhmm, maybe I'll start watching the Real World again. Why not?"

The Real World was an important part of my adolescence, as I'm sure most people of my generation would say. In my preteen years, the Real World introduced me to homosexuality, HIV, and of course, blow jobs. Growing up in a conservative household, on Cape Cod no less, I had little sense of the world around me at the age of 11. The notion of homosexuality had probably never crossed my mind, unless I had happened to overhear someone mention it as a 'sin.' I probably read about HIV, but I had never seen or known anyone affected by it. To me, it was a disease far, far away from my daily life. I knew about sex. I knew that was where babies came from. That was about it. I didn't know that people were doing it all the time, with many different people, in many different ways. The Real World may not be 'reality,' but to a sheltered preteen, it was an introduction to the world beyond the Sagamore Bridge.

The last season I remember watching was San Diego, and I think that I only watched because I had a crush on some blond girl on the show. Hawaii was the last season that I truly enjoyed. Where have they been since? Philly, right? Hollywood? Didn't they go to Denver? That must have been a rough patch for the series. Who the hell cares about Denver?

When I saw that this new season was to take place in Brooklyn, I was very curious. Brooklyn seems like a good place to revive interest in the show. It's the hipster capitol of the country. All the cool kids live in Brooklyn these days, and to the people who have never been there, the show is like a glimpse into everything that will be really cool in four months. And by that point, everyone in Brooklyn will hate it!

So this morning, I sat down to watch the season premiere, and to my surprise, it was very promising. Not only are there eight cast members now, but there is a mormon, an Iraq vet, and a Tranny! Of course, there are the classic Real World staples. There is a virgin, a bi-girl, and at least two people with 'serious relationships' back home. The formula may be the same, but it still works. Who doesn't love seeing someone get drunk, cheat on their significant other, and then call them crying the next day because they know it's going to end up on TV anyway? I know I do. 

So let's do a brief rundown of the cast members:

JD - A gay man from Miami Beach, JD seems like a great guy so far. He comes from a troubled past, but he has overcome it to become a successful Dolphin Trainer at Sea World. JD will probably end up being one of the 'good guys,' and I can't really see him having beef with any of the cast members unless there's some homophobia going on.

Chet - Chet is one of two cast members from Salt Lake City (weird...) but the only mormon. He has already come out as a virgin, and there have been hints of closet homosexuality. 

Devyn - Devyn is a hot african-american girl from St. Louis. So far, she doesn't seem too interesting, and only really talks about her crush on Scott.

Scott - Scott is the house bro. He hails from Salem, New Hampshire, where he has worked at a gym since the age of 14. There really isn't much to Scott besides his rock-hard abs and his harsh New England accent, but he's the closest the house has to a Masshole, so I'm sure he'll be organizing a house beer pong tournament soon.

Baya - Baya is the other cast member from Salt Lake City. She also didn't really do anything interesting in the first episode. She seems like an attractive, slutty chick with a slight hippie vibe.

Katelynn - Katelynn is the tranny. She lives in Missoula, Montana with her d.bag boyfriend (featured shortly in the beginning). Katelynn used to be a man, but got a sex-change operation in Thailand. She came out to JD in an emotional scene towards the end, though all of the other cast members discussed her sexual identity behind her back. Obviously, her character's uniqueness is a promising feature for the show.

Sarah - Sarah is a bi-sexual from San Fransisco. She is currently dating a man for the first time (only chicas before that), and claims that she will not be getting any on the side. Sarah seems like the type of person I would be friends with, though she may not cause very much drama in the house.

Ryan - Ryan is the Iraq War Vet from Gettysburg, PA. After one episode, Ryan is easily my favorite character. He is definitely another bro, but has more depth than Scott. His character will undoubtably get into many confrontations during the season. He has a very aggressive personality, shows signs of homophobia and ignorance, and can't hold his alcohol. Ryan has a girlfriend at home, but I bet he hooks up with Baya. I also think that he will get in at least one physical fight with a cast member, probably Scott.

I plan on posting my thoughts as the season continues. If you also follow the show, I'd love to hear some comments. If not, feel free to ignore any and all Real World-related posts.