Ryan ChartrandThe year was 2002 when seven exceptionally dysfunctional strangers made their way to the penthouse suite of The Palms Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas. The 12th season of MTV’s show “The Real World” was underway, documenting the lives of Arissa, Irulan, Frank, Steven, Trishelle, Brynn and Alton in the most chaotic and drama-packed season ever.
Now, five years later, the cast is reuniting in the same Palms suite for a first-ever reunion series “Reunited: The Real World.” All seven cast members signed on to “stop being polite and start getting real” for three weeks while they tape the six-episode mini series.
Taping for the show began early in April and it is scheduled to air on MTV in late spring.
This is amazing news for everyone. For those of you like me who watched the original series we get to relive the best cast in the history of The Real World, and for those of you who missed it; fear not, God has given you a second chance.
For those out there thinking I may be getting overexcited let me just explain something, I am not a die-hard “Real World” fan. The show has not been without its dark ages, Philadelphia anyone? My love for each season’s show depends on the location, cast chemistry and good-looking male participants.
Las Vegas provided me with all of my criteria and so much more. They earned themselves even more points in the cast chemistry category with the friendship between Irulan and Arissa, the feud between Steven and Brynn and the multiple romances.
With that said lets refresh on some of the highlights from Las Vegas and reasons why I believe it was the second highest rated season in real world history (No. 1 was Chicago, no comment).
Las Vegas was full of in-house hook-ups. On one hand we had the endearing romance of Alton and Irulane that slowly developed the stuff of true love over the season.
On the other hand we had Trishelle and Steven, the purely sexual driven fiasco in which all rules and forms of contraception were thrown out the window. Their relationship was an endless source of drama with their remedial communication skills and the infamous pregnancy scare.
Trishelle was at the center of a majority of the storylines and easily became the most well-known and famous from the group. Since airing she has been involved in multiple other MTV appearances and posed for Playboy.
I believe that the world is divided into two groups of people: those who think Trishelle is good-looking and those who are repulsed by her gangly physique and painful sounding accent. I hope you can tell by that statement which side I am on.
Another huge Vegas controversy was the fight between Steven and Brynn which was culminated in Brynn throwing a fork at him. I will never forget the freeze frame on the fork that MTV aired for the weeks following; it truly was the fork heard round the world.
Another interesting tidbit about this particular season is that at request of The Palms Hotel owner, all cast members were at least 21 years old, a first ever for the production.
I think this made for better cast because they got rid of that 18 year-old typecast, the one who has never lived away from home and spends the day crying in the confessional. Examples include Rachel from “Back to New York” and more recently Svetlana from Key West.
With that highlight review, I hope you see what an amazing opportunity this is. The cast has all these experiences under their belt, plus five years to dwell on it. Alton and Irulan who dated for years but eventually split will be reunited and under the same roof, along with fellow ex-lovers Trishelle and Steven.
We, as the viewing audiences, will be able to thrive on all of these awkward moments all from the comfort of our homes.
Now that we have reminisced through a golden age of “The Real World,” later this quarter, when the series airs, don’t judge the people who watch it, sit down and judge the seven returning cast mates. Trust me, it never gets old.