T. Green
The Real World
There were a couple minor developments on The Real World this week, but the Avery/Johnny vs. Nia battle was the main event, so let’s cut to the chase and get right to it.
The Build-up:
While some of the roommates were away, Averey’s dog Daisy dropped a #2 in the confessional room. Naturally, Nia was the one who ending up stepping in it both literally and figuratively. This led to an extended argument with Johnny and Averey taking the stance that Nia should clean it up since she stepped in and smeared the mess all over the house. Nia made the case that since it’s their dog, they should take of it (NOTE: Averey is the owner of Daisy, but it seems we’re supposed to accept Johnny as an owner by proxy as Averey’s boyfriend).
Johnny begrudgingly ended up doing the cleaning, but only after him and Averey ruled that Nia was not allowed to have any contact with Daisy anymore. Of course Nia, being the nuisance she is, kept messing around with Daisy, which led to perhaps the most explosive fight in Real World history.
Personally, I sided with Nia on the initial issue. I don’t subscribe to the theory that all the housemates are required take care of Daisy. What, so every single person who plays with the dog or feeds it table scraps every now and then is also responsible for cleaning up its messes? Please.
The Fight:
First off, Johnny instigated the fight by shoving toilet paper on Nia’s head and dumping some type of liquid on her. Unfortunately, Nia washed away her status of being in the right when she took the bait from Johnny and started throwing haymakers like an underdog fighter desperate for a 12th-round knockout. She even came after him with a blowdryer, which took the altercation from “gone too far” to “are you freakin’ kidding me?”.
Soon, Averey joined the fight and got some good shots in on Nia as Jordan attempted to break up the fight (everyone else pretty much got out of dodge). But the fireworks did not end after everyone separated. The next morning, Nia nonchalantly walked up behind Averey in the bathroom and cold-cocks her in the back of the head. Fade to black.
Overall, I don’t have too much beef with Averey. She jumped in after Nia attacked her boyfriend, knowing that Johnny couldn’t really physically go after a girl. Johnny on the other hand, has continued his bad habit of snapping at people, especially women. He even berated Anastasia for her fairly innocuous comment about how stupid the fight was.
With Nia, the psychoanalysis of her is way too much to delve deeply into. To be honest, I have no clue about her. Is she plain crazy or crazy like a fox? Is she a sociopath? Are her behaviors shaped by her dark past? Did the producers just tell her to be an irritant? I just don’t know.
The Fallout:
So the season finale is upon us, and the roommates have to decide whether Nia remains in the house. It’s difficult to believe that things will turn out in Nia’s favor, but stranger things have happened. We don’t really have a sense of the timeline; for all we know, there could only be a few more days left in the house anyways, so they may just let her stick around.
The Hero
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson might be “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” right now, a title once bestowed to the late great James Brown. He’s already starred in four movies this year, three of which debuted at #1 in the box office. He wrestled a high-profile match with John Cena at Wrestlemania 29 in the New York/New Jersey area.
Now he presents to us a new competitive reality show “The Hero” as the host. Nine people from varying backgrounds compete for cash and the crown of being The Hero. Some are already heroic in their own lives (a trauma surgeon, a police officer, etc). Others…well let’s say that their heroism isn’t immediately evident (an NFL cheerleader?), but hey, maybe we’ll see more during the show.
Just like many other shows, the contestants live together (in the case, a penthouse), adding more stress and drama to the situation. As everyone introduced themselves, Lydia, a fitness trainer, left an impression right away as someone not interested in playing nice, brushing past a couple of the other competitors. Shaun, a pro wrestler, also let it be known later on that he was in it for himself, although he didn’t say that in front of the group.
The Rock, as only The Rock can do, made his grand entrance in a helicopter, leaving everyone in awe. From there, he laid out the format of the show, mentioning that there would be a team challenge and a hero challenge for each round.
The first bit of team conflict occurred when everyone had to decide who would be on the six-person team for the first challenge. Shaun and Marty were both athletic guys who were more than qualified to take part in an event which was said to involve heights. The others sided with Shaun, perhaps persuaded by his strong build. Marty was upset, but got to compete anyways when another person dropped out.
The team task was to scale down a glass building in pairs and reach their partners to receive a code. Then, the pair would go back up and enter the code. Only two teams were required to go, and both were able to complete the mission within the allotted time.
Meanwhile, a twist occurred when The Rock contacted Patty, a salon assistant, to meet him up on the roof of the building. Patty was an emotional wreck as she navigated up a flight of unfinished stairs to meet The Rock, From there, Rock gave her the option of secretly taking $25,000. The catch is that the third pair would also be forced to scale down and back up the building as well. Patty ultimately opted to not take the money.
Lydia and Dave (surgeon) as the pair that hadn’t participated still had to do the second portion of the challenge by taking the codes up to the top with a third person. Charles, the officer, ended up taking the role as the third participant and they successfully finished the job.
The second phase of the show was the hero challenge. The three who finished the team challenge were the only ones eligible. The cast ends up voting for Dave. Dave had 20 minutes to retrieve a bag full of cash in a pitch black area, with tarantulas and other obstacles there as distractions. Oh, and he had memorize a 10-digit code to gain access to that bag. It was tough sledding, but Dave managed to get it done.
Afterwards, The Rock, gave Dave an option to keep $50,000 or put it into the pot for the ultimate winner at the end. Like Patty, Dave decided to pass on the money.
Overall, this show seems kind of like a mix of Big Brother and Fear Factor (and I’m sure numerous other shows). The Rock is good as an encouraging voice and a motivator. The cast of characters are pretty much what you’d expect from a reality show. Many strong personalities usually results in a combustible environment. I believe the appeal of the show will be less about the people (Rock being the exception) and more about the increasingly difficult challenges.
Featured image credit: MTV.com
Article image credit: blog.zap2it.com
