Gray Bunny

December 6th! BH always gets the best trips. Eileen still mulling over Vanderpump. Christ, they couldn't conjure up something different for her? It's funny how that write-up makes it sound like there's two Erika's the way there's two LIsa's. Rinna's lips are still getting her in trouble!

We caught up on OC last night and they wrapped things up nicely, but boy was that an awkward party. The Coven looked so desperate for an ultimate showdown with Vicki and she didn't give in. Good for her. From Heather's "don't move" to Tamra's un-Christian gossiping all over her sad party (only junk food served? No thanks!) to Shannon's attempts at a last-ditch argument with Vicki, the three witches were so desperate to reign supreme and be the triumvirate rulers (this is some serious shades of Beverly Hills' season four, BTW). I think Meghan semi-redeemed herself as much as she possibly could by seeing the witches as the sneaky wicked beasts that they are. Points for standing up to Heather regarding Kelly, and making note of Heather's harsh comments on the bus. Best of luck in Missouri. The reunion should be really good and I hope Vicki comes roaring back and shuts them all down. I don't see Tamra ever leaving the series, but either Heather or Shannon needs to go. My guess is they'll keep Heather if they're smart enough to realize that the days of Shannon's popularity with the audience is looooong gone. I thought OC did a great job of cleaning house when they axed Gretchen, Alexis etc as the group as it was had gotten too toxic, but I'd welcome Gretchen back to see Vicki and her join forced against Tamra. And don't forget Lizzie! She gave no effs about Tamra and could stand her ground verbally with no problem (unlike current kid Kelly, who seems drunk even when she's sober). EDIT: BH: I'm excited for this group of ladies to return! Beverly Hills is consistently one of the best, and I hope this season brings it, as it usually does. I like Erika, so I'm glad she's here another year. NJ: How funny that Jacqueline thinks she's the Vicki Gunvalson of New Jersey. She actually thought she could call the shots at that "last supper" event and it backfired. That was the first time I was actually rooting for Melissa (as Teresa's sidekick). Wacko Jacko is going to look like a buffoon at the reunion, going off like a petulant child once again. There is no growth with this woman.

I'm happy so far. We've got Queen Vanderpump, Kyle, Lips, Eileen, Erika... we lost YoLemony & Kathryn, and we have Camille back as a friend. I don't know who the final chair is (was that a Port Charles thing back in the day?) but it's presumably a new lady and not Camille.

Not at all. Your assessment is spot on. I think Siggy is a good addition; the hubby finds her annoying, but I generally like the more annoying ones, haha. If they kept her and Dolores on for another season, I'd be fine with that. They're certainly an improvement over The Twins/Amber. This show has failed to evolve and will never evolve. The castmembers who have friction clearly hate each other and their forced interactions look beyond contrived, more so than the other Housewives shows. I'd be willing to watch a last-ditch effort next season if they brought Danielle back. She'd battle Jacqueline (whom I just cannot stand but Danielle's calm, icy demeanor by comparison will make Wacko Jacko look even more imbalanced) and probably Melissa, as they dredge up the past of what happened between seasons two & three. Danielle & Teresa would have an unholy alliance, and whomever else is on the show will pick sides or begrudgingly stick on Wacko Jacko's side. Another round of Kim D and Kim G for kicks 'n giggles, too. I'm glad next week is the season finale. I wonder if they'll squeeze a three-part reunion out of this. I can't recall any gossip about the reunion?

Yayyy!!! Any word on Bethenny?

I think it's funny how drastic the sizes of the women change from the very front (Kandi) to the basic back, to give the perception of depth of field in the shot. Sheree and Phaedra are tiny! They ought to do genuine cast photos like they used to. Is that too old-school?

Thirsty ol' lady Kim G.... can you imagine if they dusted her off and brought her back for an episode or two if Danielle returned? Oh I hope this (Danielle) happens. Queen of delusion and reality TV gold.

I guess Andy reacted to the Danielle/Teresa photo. I hope this is where Season 8 is headed... It's do or die, Jersey! If NYC can do it, you've got a shot with the original bad girl! Wow, caught up on OC. How dirty and toxic this show has become. Kelly is no saint and sloppy as hell when drunk, but I hope she drags those three Salem witches at the reunion.

Amen.

60-something million viewers is still quite a feat, even looking at numbers for debates in the past 20 years. But I can understand the fatigue, even with the huge scandal coming out Friday. Can't believe we're finally just 4 weeks away.

Side note: I'm so happy to see "Days of Our Lives" in the mainstream press again. Ari, this is your chance! Get an interview on The Today Show! Billy Bush can interview... That would be terrifically awkward.

As for the debate, I haven't seen it yet but I really wish people would stop complaining that something that actually addresses issues is "boring." Politics is not a reality show and thinking of it as such is part of the reason we're in this insane position. Agreed. The last time a VP debate was Must-See-TV, we had this hot mess: I'm fine with a ho-hum debate.

I haven't watched Monday's OC but I suddenly feel burnt out by this season. For them to have a "Still to come this season" preview makes me wish Beverly Hills were back (I'm guessing December?). At this point, I have to fast-forward the individual Shannon scenes, the Kelly scenes regarding her marriage is getting uncomfortable, and the Meghan-baby stuff is obnoxious.

If I am to understand correctly, a "reboot," a term used in the past for the 90210, Melrose, and Dallas revivals, was a continuation of the original within their same realms. The 90210 gang were all grown up, and the storyline continued. Same with MP and Dallas. This version of Dynasty would not be a reboot, but rather a remake. Right? Otherwise, Krystle changes ethnicities, Alexis is in her 80's, Fallon's in her 60's, etc. All these "R" words for 2.0 series gettin' me all confused

I don't think she's influential anymore. I happened to catch it randomly cuz I saw The Countess would be on it. Wendy often has various Housewives though from all the cities, yes? I guess they figure they target the same audience. The only other talk show host who always had Housewives was... Bethenny

I saw the LuAnn interview yesterday and agree that Wendy was salty to her but LuAnn held her head high. The Dorinda remark was goofy, and clearly the audience and LuAnn did not agree. What you're saying makes sense, that Bethenny and co. put a bug in Wendy's ear, as she would surely nominate Carole as the first housewife to be booted due to being boring.

Last night's NJ was like watching a Dance Moms episode, where the scenes, conversations, and talking heads are very choppy and heavily edited. Were both women of the lesbian couple going to be Housewives or just Robyn? The other one barely spoke, or at least nothing noteworthy to for them to keep in the scenes. Melissa is less horrible than she used to be, but "less horrible" isn't really a compliment. I really don't believe the relationships of ANY of these family members, and years from now once the cameras have stopped rolling, let's see who's spending Christmas with each other... Jacqueline was a sloppy loudmouthed mess last night. Same ol'. God bless her husband, he's a trooper. That's all for this week. Vermont is pretty; hope to visit one day.

I agree in feeling ready for the season to be over. Overall it's been a decent season, but it's gotten tiring the past few episodes. Dump Mehgan, give Shannon a new personality without the old baggage, and move on from the Vicki "cancer scheme" fallout. I actually dread the Shannon scenes. Everything about her family life is uncomfortable to watch. The endless "affair" discussion, her kids being brought into the middle of it all, and her overall nagging whiny Debbie Downer attitude.

Shannon's mother-in-law debacle reeked of Bravo setup. Mic'ed up mama eager for 15 seconds of fame, going to Shannon's castmates and immediately spilling dirty family details. C'mon now. Shannon takes the bait and goes off like a baffoon. Poor David....

Agreed Cat, and I'd put Bethenny in with Nene, as a former Have-Not who'd show her insecurities, but now controls the story and "breaks down" on camera for sympathy and damage control of her own image. Post-talk show and post-marriage, her public image took a major hit. Her return to Housewives was an attempt to endear her to viewers again, but instead it made things worse.

It's scary and unnecessary how much work Kim and her daughter have had done. The nose, the lips, whatever Kim's done around her eyes... Brielle isn't even 21 yet and Kim looked fine as she was, only being in her upper 30's. It's ridiculous. Y'know, the hubby and I were just talking about this a couple nights back, how Nene appeals to white viewers more so than black viewers for this very reason. I didn't see Nene, but regarding the jokes, I'd say that's part of the problem with the Housewives fame and the attempt to keep the momentum going. They originally catch on with viewers because of their authentic (mostly) personality at the onset of a series, with their one-liners and funny phrases. So after a couple seasons have aired, they try too hard to keep it going and it's no longer authentic. Instead, it's like a writer is off-camera feeding them lines as they do their talking head interviews (I'd say Lisa Vanderpump is one of few who's managed to maintained fresh, witty jokes as the seasons have progressed).

I echo what everyone says about Meghan and Shannon. Thoughtless trash, especially Meghan. Nice try with your "reckless" comment about Tamra. Heather was a little too All-About-Me when she read Shannon at the restaurant, but that's Heather for ya. Tamra said on WWHL that Vicki over dramatized her predicament for sympathy, and that she didn't start with the hysterics until after she saw Tamra go down. Granted, how would Tamra really know that if she was already down for the count... Crazy that something like 76% of the audience poll sided with Shannon/Meghan vs. Everyone Else. Yikes.

I mean, at this point with Kathy and Rosie all salty about Teresa, they're just throwing in anyone who's willing to go on camera and fret about their lost relationship with Teresa so that they'll have something to fill up the season. We know Kim D is back at some point. After that, who? Kim G? That mannish looking lady with the underbite who had beef with Melissa? Everyone gets a turn. Wasn't there some blonde named Penny who was spreading gossip? Guess we'll see her soon.

Bethenny had some bad, bad moments. She looked worse in the second part than LuAnn did in the first. Her "I can do what I want" attitude was so stank. It goes beyond her mantra of "if you can't handle the truth, you can't handle me" and she just got nasty, petty and ugly. Her picking on Jules for a bad representation of Jewish women was unnecessary. Yes, I understand her viewpoint (since Jules repeatedly mentions her Jewish and "Asian" heritage), but she takes it too far. Funny that on WWHL, Andy admitted that producers had hoped to see more of the "fun" Bethenny at the reunion. So did we. Stank ugliness is not a good look on a person who's already skeletal thin. Carole clearly has issues with getting older, as she seemed perturbed at getting called out for being agist and for the remark that most of them could be Jules' mother. Thank you Dorinda for pointing out that an 18-year difference indeed makes you eligible to be another person's mother. Interesting that they all agreed Ramona is the most nurturing of them all when the chips are down. Loved LuAnn dismissing Carole's "blabbering." Ha!

I caught the first couple minutes of the new season. It's weird how this show seems so generic and a dime-a-dozen now. Half the co-hosts are so bland and basic.