Gray Bunny

.... and a 1,775,000 for NYC last night, narrowly overtaking OC for the gold, but we'll settle for a solid silver. All joking aside, good for them! I think people had written this one off after the unsuccessful reboot between Season 4 to 5 when Jill, Alex, etc. got the boot, but they're kicking Jersey's ass easily, even without a cozy Sunday night spot. There's rumors Bethenny won't return. Thoughts? As abrasive as she's been since her return, she definitely helped make this season the success it is. On the sites reporting about NeNe's money woes, they mention she's a former RHOA star and isn't returning next season. I thought she was?

Ratings report! Orange County: 1.8 million New Jersey: 800,000. Ouch. We'll blame this on a post-Olympics slump?

Don't worry. Shannon will play victim as always "I've been under a lot of pressure," "She pushed me to breaking point," "she made me do it," "I am usually such a peaceful person" etc., and her stans will eat it up because she is now Poster Girl for the Poor Cheated-Upon Wives Who 'Forgive' Their Husbands brigade. (And I do feel sympathy for her situation -- she exudes unhappiness and dissatisfaction in her marriage and her life). And IA with you about her wanting to de-throne Vicki. I think she genuinely was her pal the first season but last season with the fake cancer scandal, she saw her chance and cut her off. Honestly, I think that she let a lot of praise go straight to her head. She really acts up the family scenes in front of the cameras now. She has not realized two important rules of RHOC tho: 1. Tamra and Vicki will always make up and break up, and 2. Tamra will betray you in a heartbeat, cut you off and try and get you off the show. The fact that Shannon thinks she can ice out Vicki from the show AND 'manage' Tamra is the height of her delusion. Kelly is loud and unconventional and more importantly seems to want to enjoy life and live it up. For some reason, the latter really pisses some people off (see Lisa V's haters). IA with Chris B, Giraffe is literally the worst HW of all time. She was last year, too, when she was all smug and self-righteous and hiding behind Jim Edmonds' status. Yup, yup, yup. I really liked Shannon in her first season, and clearly she ate up all the praise and adoration and has been mugging for the camera ever since. Problem is, she now comes off as a Nelly Nag in every direction. Her husband, the other housewives, life in general. Dr. Woo (or whomever, wasn't that Vivian's doctor on DAYS?) couldn't pull a needle out of her butt with a tractor (that's a line from Roseanne about her uptight neighbor, BTW, and very appropriate here). She is a drain to watch. She hasn't been funny since her first season when she wasn't trying to be funny, and her marriage issues are uncomfortable to view. NJ... Oh my God, Jacqueline is still as sloppy as ever. She has learned nothing and reacts like a petulant child. Calling Teresa's own brother to confirm something he said to her two years ago, and then goes and says Teresa is the one bringing up the past. I guess rehashing something from 2 years prior is better than 5. Whatevs. Sloppiest of the sloppy and I look forward to seeing Melissa turn on her. I may finally like Melissa at that point. Thank God LuAnn and the NY pros returns tonight. It feels like longer than two weeks since their last eppy.

Oh boy, that Michelle... the turns, the linebacker walk, the "who just farted?" smile. I almost hope this airs in the U.S. just to ridicule.

Absolutely. Jill would totally blow up everything, from Bethenny to Ramona to LuAnn. I don't see the Big B or Ramonacoaster allowing that to happen though. I agree about LuAnn's story feeling authentic, which greatly helps the overall enjoyment of the season. Bethenny's friend that told her this big secret.... could his initials be A.C.?

NYC: 1,792.000 million viewers last night! So proud of my girls. This is reunion-like numbers for them.

OC: Last night's episode was pretty blah. Too much Meghan. She's a horrible public speaker. There's just something that's so unsympathetic about her. I like Kelly, but she's not the best at confrontation either. She either looks like she's drunk or about to cry, and stammers a bit. I didn't think she stood her ground as well as she could have during her lunch date with Shannon. That said, Shannon is looney tunes, a shrew, a constant Debbie Downer/Negative Nancy, and totally set Kelly up at her Mrs. Roper 70's party. I like when Businesswoman Vicki comes out, as she did when she was walking through Brianna's house for assessment. Nice starter home; I'll take that bathroom. NJ: 1.5 million viewers. Dang, even New York is gonna pass you up! I like Siggy. Her loud, bubbly personality is cute. Delores is okay. Her look kind of reminds of drag queen Shangela. Melissa's Envy store storyline is so tired. We get it; Joe is a caveman who wants you at home, barefoot and raising babies, ready for Little Joe and his poison at any given moment. We've heard this song 'n dance since Season Three. Oh, so Jacqueline's middle child still exists? He's hard to remember. Ashlee's botched up face at 25.... Christ, she's following in her mother's footsteps. Jacqueline is such a hypocritical mess regarding Teresa and their "friendship" and next week looks good when Drunk Twitter Jacqueline's messy antics are back on display, mouthing off to Teresa about her legal past yet again. Yes. Don't forget thirsty Kathy and her dry cannolis.

Probably why I love '96... I loved me some Wendy Moniz

So, I'm currently watching GL circa 1996 on YouTube (I originally started watching in 1996, but didn't really dive in full-time til 1997). I must say, despite its bad rap, 1996 is highly enjoyable to me. Some kind soul has uploaded every single episode from 1994 to 1997, and watching it day in & day out for the first time, I couldn't help but notice a few things that were already phased out by '97 when Paul Rauch / Brown & Esensten took over... - Class. I see a true representation of the different levels of class in Springfield, from the wealthy Spauldings all the way down to the lower middle-class Reardons. You see it in the way they live their lives and in the company they keep. You don't see the wealthy hanging out in the "poor" establishments like Company or Wheels & Meals (unless Alan comes in to taunt Buzz/Reva). With this representation of a class structure, you get more of a feeling of the wider landscape of Springfield, from the rich Spaulding mansion, to the upper-middle Bauer home, to Company, to Josh & Annie's carriage house, to the Jessup farm. - Touching moments that didn’t necessarily advance the plot, but enhanced the relationships between the characters. This is why I always thought Josh Lewis was one of the best TV dads out there; there was such depth and closeness portrayed with him and Marah & Shayne. - Ensemble. Yes, Kim Zimmer had returned, but the show was still very much an ensemble. There was an ebb 'n flow to many storylines, and even characters who were usually permantly on backburner (Frank, Eleni) had ample story at some point. I never knew we had actually met Dahlia’s mother until now. - Supporting characters like Holly’s mom and Fletcher’s son Ben were rarely seen, but yet utilized during pivotal family moments and given decent material, rather than just filler fluff. - Beautiful Sets. Oh, my gosh! The colors! By the time Rauch put his mark on the show, everything was YELLOW! Josh & Annie’s house: from rich reds and touches of dark blue… to yellow. Spaulding mansion: from dark forest green accent walls… to yellow. Meals & Wheels diner: from a realistic-looking white diner… remodeled to a big yellow box with a fake looking backdrop outside the windows. Cedars Hospital: from dark green trims… to yellow. Company restaurant: from a more realistic layout of a bar on the left and ample seating on the right, mostly light brown walls… remodeled to being strangely shaped and, of course, yellow.

Exactly. There's an ick factor to it overall. Everyone trying to front for the cameras, but they're secretly struggling to survive.

New Jersey got only 1.626 million viewers on Sunday. Dang, the general interest in NJ seems to have waned. At this point, I could see them trying to lure back Danielle Staub. Even though I'm not a huge Jacqueline fan (and there's been *way* too much focus on her these past two eppys in), there's juicy history between her and Danielle that extended far beyond after Danielle left the series. It would also be interesting to see where she would align with Teresa nowadays. (Dare to dream. Danielle and Jill Zarin are the two wicked reality show ladies I'd like to see back at their old stomping grounds, respectively) For comparison's sake, even New York garnered 1.526 million last Wednesday, and 1.615 million the week before. Orange County got 1.798 million this past Monday.

They all look amazing except for Carole. Bethenny just needs some meat back on her bones to fill out her face. Everyone else looks beautiful. Ramona ditched her "Ramona Blue" and stuck with the theme. Hate that cardboard NYC backdrop though. That looks like Conan O'Brien's late-night set circa 1993.

Look at Lu grabbing that prime real estate! Haha... The two endpieces (Jules, Carole) are expendable, but the other 5 ladies are golden. I hope they all stay another season.

100% agreed. I have a love/hate relationship with New Jersey and their entire story arcs they've had since season three, and these two heifers irk me the most. Jacqueline and Chris are downsizing and sell off their jewelry, furniture, etc. yet she still could afford cosmetic surgery on her donkey head. Meanwhile, it seems the show is trying to pick up on Season Seven where Season Five left off: Teresa vs Melissa. Wasn't that squashed last season? Overall, I was intrigued the most by Teresa's homecoming. The new girls look like they have potential and the season preview looks juicy. But other than the homecoming, the first episode felt like a bad reminder of the toxicity of Seasons 3-5.

Who'd o' thunk eight seasons in, LuAnn is finally the MVP of RHONY? I love this unfiltered version of her!

Agreed. They both look sickly thin. And that's on camera where the "camera adds ten pounds." I can only imagine their skeletal figures in person. At least Jules' face isn't sunken in; bitches be jealous.

I like it and don't like it. I like the update with the skyline and bridge, and it's cute that NJ still includes the families. Something about the color almost looks like a parody though, or a Housewives intro from outside the U.S. Teresa's tagline is good. The rest are "meh." The actual phrase is "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me," so right off the bat, Jacqueline's doesn't make sense, if she's trying to put a spin on the phrase.

I think Jules is a step up from Kristen. I can take or leave her, but she's better than Kristen or Cindy ever were. Besides, wouldn't they normally wait until *after* the reunion is filmed to leak any official word?

When I first saw that Instagram photo of her, I thought it was Tamar Braxton. I wanna see what she looks like without makeup at this point...

I think it's number two. They've made the character a real ass this season. It makes sense to hear that TPTB behind the scenes are purposely trying to get the audience to hate him. When the show began, he was promoted as the "hunk," used in the promos showing him completely nude, save for a large sign over his crotch. This season, "Chet" is actually looking hotter than him! Yikes... P.S. I think there needs to be an "UnReal" discussion thread in Primetime....

Thank you for your continued postings of articles, @Vee

I don't think there's reason to believe otherwise. When he was cast, he and the role was only 14-15 years old; still not quite ready for heavy teen drama. At the time he was cast, the plans for a frontburner storyline (gay or otherwise) was probably not brought to the table.

I've never seen LuAnn so chatty! She absolutely gave Bethenny a dose of her own medicine by talking non-stop without coming up for air. That was funny. She is made of so much win this season. And what a great "storyline" for her, since we know she's legitimately engaged to this man in real life. I don't know the reports of this season's girls trip, but I can't believe they'd ice Luann and Sonja out of it. If so, I hope it's because they both couldn't schedule it in, versus Bethenny using her weight at Bravo to keep Sonja away for her sake and LuAnn away for Crusty Carole. Ironically, yesterday's episode was the first time we saw Jules' marriage looking contentious. LOL to Bravo showing yet another Housewife (Dorinda) rambling on and on in a conversation. Overall, I"m loving this season. And Bethenny still has the best one-liners, IMO. Ramona's hair extensions look amazing on her. I'm so proud of her for not being the spaz of the group anymore.

I didn't see that one coming. That's too bad. I would've sooner guessed Kristen Taekman and The Riddler would call it a day.

None of this is new to Trump - he peddled the same conspiracy theories in 2011 and 2012. I think people just expected him to stop once he hit the general election. I don't think he has any ability to stop, or filter himself. He likely also sees it as a winning formula, and sadly I'm not entirely sure he's wrong (I'm already seeing the GOP parrot the line that Obama cares more about Trump than he does about the shooter). Meanwhile, the GOP should start caring about the victims.