loved the captions on jose's pics, that was hilarious. i feel bad for paula, but at the same time, i completely agree with something someone (holyterror?) said last week about her controlling the whole house by always being on the verge of a breakdown. i want to not like john, but he seems like basically a good guy despite his frat boy moments.

I like watching people try to have conversations about serious subjects while wasted.

The paula thing is no longer entertaining even on a Real World train wreck level. She is seriously ill and they need to take her out of that house. Getting advice from drunk 20 year olds about her anorexia is not going to help.

did anyone else notice how zach was play-wrestling/cuddling with john when they were playing basketball in the pool? i was hoping you would screencap it B-side. coupled with his "i just want to dance!" comment we may be on to something.

so far this cast is better than last season but overall i think the real world has had its time and needs to end. when it first started it was revolutionary because it was the first to show real people. but now it is COMPLETELY POINTLESS. every other show on tv now is reality and they all have a twist be it eating bugs/finding a husband/surviving/any fish out of water situation. the real world is too boring now so it has turned into college coeds gone wild. at least change the title.

oh yeah, and the paula thing is ratings gold for bunim/murrey. they should have referred her to a doctor after seeing her video, not invited her to a second interview!

Excellent recap, as usual!

1) Thanks for the Labrynth comment...now I have "You remind me the babe...what babe? The babe with the POWER.." stuck in my head.
2) I was totally distracted by the fabulous MTV editing of the 2 nights out at the club being spliced together at the last minute. When exactly did John get Paula to eat the wiener? Her clothes suggest the 1st drunken episode...Confused.
3) Anyone else think that this is going to get old REALLY FAST?
5) Not even a second's worth of comment in regards to Svet's whining and hot dog teasing of her own? One of those boys may get to see her fun bags, yet!
6) Am I the only one who thinks that Jose looks like a spanish Justin Timberlake?

John seriously needs to leave Paula alone, or at least stop asking her questions directly related to her condition. It seems like every other minute, he's figured out a new question or comment to make her feel worse about herself. He keeps putting her on the spot and it's not fair -- No one asks him what it's like to be a douchebag! He's probably a sports psychology major so he thinks he knows what he's talking about. The girl needs a professional.

1) Key West is going to get VERY old VERY fast. They've already been to My Blue Heaven, Irish Kevin's and the gay bar.

It's a little place. And sure there are a lot of bars. But how often can you go to Sloppy Joe's or the Hog's Breath Saloon before getting drunk with acid-wash wearing tourists gets old? I doubt they'll be making frequent trips to the Ernest Hemmingway House... I'm excited to watch the Claustrophobia of living on Key West kick in. Soon.

2) I had hoped, in the past that the Producers would mix some "older kids" in with the bunch. You know. For some perspective. I got my wish...too bad the "older kids" are just as f*cked up as the young'uns, and we're going to have to listen to the psychobabble stylings of Svetlana the Russian JAP/Spoiled Baby/Attention-whore pain-in-the-ass.

3) Janelle is my new favorite.

4) I can't wait till Svetlana's breakdown next weekend. Nothing like watching a spoiled girl cry home to mom. Ahhhhhh...nineteen year olds.

Janelle is awesome. That girl's skin is amazing!

get off the screen paula. we all knew you in college and after freshman year none of us cared about you.

Ok, I know anorexia is a scary, horrible disease for the people who have it, BUT I am so over Paula after two shows. She is as she says 24 years old, so grow up already, get some serious help and best yet..leave the show. She is just annoying at this point.

Daaaaannnnng B-side. I'm confused.

How in the world can you say this season is looking 'surprisingly strong?' I've never seen a group of Real Worlders more disinteresting and predictable than this cast. These losers aren't intriguing IN THE LEAST. I'd (bite my tongue) take a groupie drawer or a Mel & Danny episode just to liven this crap up anyday. (Just bit my tongue clean off).

Is Jose even on the damn show? He better have a personal crisis/family drama/drug problem soon or come up with his own eating disorder to get some camera time. He might as well be filming the damn season himself.

Get the poor anorexic girl off my tv. That's just sad. I guarantee one of the episodes this season will start with a shot of an ambulance outside a bar. It's plain old sad and not entertaining. I can only hope it helps shed light or wakes little girls up or whatever the benefits are supposed to be. Right now it's a train wreck and a 'how-to' guide for aspiring anorexics. (Ladies, you should never eat the bun if you want to fit in a bikini. FYI: Miller Lite is a-ok and Jello has practically no calories).

Austin was painful to watch...but painful in a good way. Now I can only daydream about short-brimmed hats and everyone acting reTAHded.

But you bet your ass I'll still watch
every. single. episode.

I'm surprised Paula already accepted 'professional help' on episode 2! I remember when Frankie from the San Diego season was cutting herself and they had some special message and even had Dr Drew give some phone number or some shit for help. I guess they're not taking her as seriously...

-B-Side;

I loved the captions for Jose, and the Donald Trump "I prefer steak!" line. Very on point, B-Side. LoL

I'd rather watch Real World Austin! That isn't saying much.

Love the recap

I think you guys are being kind of wishy-washy. When the Austin season aired, except for the Danny's mom episode and his skull incident, nothing about it was real or even that interesting. It was just drunken twentysomethings getting into stupid arguments. All you did was complain about how boring it was. Then the Real World *gasps* starts getting real with this season with an issue some people in the real world actually face (body issues, self esteem, eating disorders) and now you complain that it's boring? Of course it's not what it used to be. Back when it aired, it was really the first reality show. You just can't please some people. There is promised to be plenty of conflict and drama this season. Especially with Tyler, who is acting like a real ass, and Svetlana's next-episode breakdown. But, I mean, come on, can you not allow this show to start to tackle some real issues, not a broken basketball hoop or mail-sent ice cream. And I don't think John was trying to make Paula feel bad, but just trying to get her to become happy with herself and healthy. I agree with B-Side. This season has a lot of potential and, sans Jose and Zach, the Key Westers seem a lot more interesting than those idiots in Austin.

I agree, Leah3t -- I knew her and plenty more in college, too, and was damn sick of finding regurgitated food on every toilet seat and being made to feel like a meanie for making my dinner.

At the rate she's going, Paula won't have to worry about her fear of being "pudgy," but she'll certainly be alone. She already looks 10 years older than she is.

There are excellent, readily available medications for depression, and the stigma of seeking counseling is more or less gone -- unlike 20 years ago. I'm surprised her family and friends let her fall this far. She's just a tragedy, and should seek help in privacy and with dignity -- not with a bunch of strangers and not in front of millions of people on infinite repeats.

"At the end of the day though, it's good television, and that's really what it's all about, people. Right? (Why do I feel like a jerk for saying that?)"
don't worry, B-side..we know you have a heart..unfortunately, that phrase above is 9i'm 99.9% positive) the exact same phrase that probably came out of the bunim/murray camp when gettting this cast together.

does anyone else think svetlana is a whiny bitch? yeah, she's 19, but since when does being a year or two younger than everybody else give someone the right to throw a tantrum and complain when she doesn't get her way? (a la the 'gay bar' event). she's quickly getting on my nerves..oh, and i recant my post last week that i'd probably "hate" tyler...props to him for calling svetty out on her fake concern for paula

ok, i think paula is skinny, but NOT THAT SKINNY. from the way she talks and the other idiots in the house speak of her you would think she has that sudanese look. i personally think she looks pretty hot. she is not a poster child for anorexia. i really think she just likes the attention she gets for "being anorexic". she is an over the top drama queen who can work herself into a tizzy at the drop of a zantrex 3. ALL PHONY BAD ACTTING! just the way we like it.

Tyler was being an @ss towards Slutlana. Jerk.

BTW, she is hot...I hope she doesn't hook-up with any of those other losers in the house.

Does anyone else hate Tyler? I think he's trying too hard to fill the role of "I just say it how I see it" or whatever, he drives me crazy!

Yeah. He's a punk bitch

hollabackboy- real issues would be interesting- like, if we had ever found out more about cystic fibrosis when frankie was on, that would have been interesiting. anorexia, while def a real and upsetting problem for many people, is something any female who graduated high school has discussed to death. this is just rw being exploitative. Pedro inspired me and I still think about his attitude toward his illness. frankie's cutting was interesting because she could articulate what the battling issues were. this girl isn't in a position to give insight, she's just throwing weekly temper tantrums. Does have a real problem and need help? yes. am i interested in watching it? not really.

when i saw the first episode of this season, i was afraid that paula and her eating disorder would be exploited for ratings. however, i think that, so far, the show has done a very good job at showing how difficult it is to deal with this disease. they aren't glorifying paula or her stick thin figure, but showing her daily struggle for what it is.

many people feel that eating disorders are an issue somewhat over-discussed. those people have obviously never been affected by one.

sure, there are the girls that are seemingly over-concerned with their weight, probably exercise too much and don't get enough to eat. many of these girls do not take it to the extreme, and grow out of it when they gain a bit of maturity.

and then there are people like paula, whose physical obsession is a mental affliction.

i really hope the show continues to follow her struggle and i would really like to see her get help. as a girl who has suffered with her own bouts of anorexia and drug abuse, i think it would send a strong message to girls across america that eating disorders are serious, that they are not a joke but a serious mental disease, and that you can reach out and get help.

ps; b-side, you are amazing.

holyterror: her family knew she was anorexic. She was in denial about it, and unless someone is a danger to themselves or others, you cannot force them into treatment. If her weight had fallen any further, she would have qualified for commitment as a medical necessity, however she and Bunim/Murray thought she would do much better on a high exposure TV show.
Having worked with many eating disordered people in the past, it appears she is in the thick of it at episode 2, meaning her eating d/o is raging, and insight on her part at this point is not even possible. When your brain is starved of nutrition, it is difficult to gain the benefits of therapy, because it involves mental labor. She has a long road ahead of her in therapy, especially if, as she says, she has never sought any help.

oh, and sarah had eating issues on philly two seasons ago. and someone in chicago did too. so this is not new territory.

though to be fair they re-hash race and gender issues and so on every season so maybe i'm being too hard on paula/rw. so i'll take a step back from my stance. but i still maintain im not super interested in this season.

So far I think this is the best season since San Diego, and this cast is a lot more likable than Austin

I think that regardless of whatever "real" issues The Real World or any other reality show tries to present, viewers will still bash it as being exploitative or the person begging for attention on national TV. I'm really not sure what the case is with Paula.

I guess John is trying to help and just innocently constantly makes Paula feel like crap. I can't imagine anyone purposefully doing that to an anorexic or anyone else with serious problems.

Something about Svetlana and her gay bar argument that there would probably be young boys hooking up with older men there-- Doesn't that happen a lot of the time at straight bars with young girls and older men, and less often vice versa? I wonder what her real reason for not wanting to go was.

every paula episode occurs after one of the other girls gets more attention than she does. it is all very calculated behavior. she is a manipulator, starving for attention, not food. the only thing she suffers from is jealousy, somehow she found that she can attract a crowd by acting weird and blaming it on a very popular disease the other girls will figure this out real quick. we get to watch the FAKE MELTDOWN!

Just wanted to clarify that in my earlier comment (#5), I didn't mean that John was purposely trying to make Paula feel bad about herself. I just think that he should take a step back and realize that what he's doing isn't really helping her situation.

Hmm, my previous (and utterly random) theory that Jose is secretly gay got even more questionable with the escapade at the gay bar...would he really go with John to the pub if he could be clubbing w/ Tyler? I'm still thinking that it could be possible though...

Great recap as always B-side.

I actually like this season. I wanted to hate John, and kinda did in the first episode. But he's starting to grow on me. The opposite goes for Svetty. Liked her before, now she's getting old. For me, there is something endearing about Paula. I hope she gets the help she needs.

ok, remember back when i commented that this season made me actually miss Austin and its shortbrimmed retahdedness?

one look at Wes in his FREAKIN SHINY WHITE SHORTS in the 'Wes & Jo sell tshirts' pic is SO damn disturbing that I'll watch Paula throwing fits over and over just to try and erase that image.

jumpin jehosephat, please don't let it rain.

I think this is interesting to watch. Paula has a self-loathing/people pleasing thing that's actually kind of genuine. It's hard to be her, I guess. I question the producers for putting her in, but I question more even the roommates for taking concern to the next level. Give me a break! I LOVED it when Tyler said, "Is this really hurting you?" to Svetlana b/c you know it's not! People love to act so personally scarred by another person's tragedy. It's totally sad and I hope she gets what she needs, but John and Svtl need to get over themselves. They looooove the camera on their puppydog eyes just a little too much.

Do we love how they have a detailed calendar of "the best parties to go to every night of the week" posted in their kitchen? Who wants to bet that MTV had a crew of interns or something down there researching for months to ensure we didn't have a Dizzy-Rooster-style season?

i am bored with paula already. svetlana is hot! more pics.

There are a couple of things about Paula. Yes, I feel horribly for her. HOWEVER...she is always strutting around in bikinis. I may be completely off base, but as far as I know, most people suffering from eating disorders prefer to do so under a great cloak of oversized clothing. Also, she announced that she had become "kinda bulimic." Once again, people with EDs usually don't prefer to boast that they're suffering a great deal. Starving for attention, anyone? I do think that it is incredibly exploitive for the production to think that having her in this type of situation would be a good idea.