Gray Bunny

Finally caught up on NYC. It's nice to know that at the end of the day, the ladies can all hang together and do dinner. That's exactly why the original cast of Beverly Hills worked so well, before they (okay, Adrienne... then Kim) started turning on one another, because they did the exact same. It felt like a clean way to end the season, rather than feeling dirty. It was a good season overall. Not epic, like Seasons 2 or 3, but fun. It had its very real moments, and it had its manufactured moments. But a definite improvement from Seasons 5 & 6. Bethenny may get a "free pass" versus Heather at the constant interjecting, but there is just something off-putting by Heather's personality. It's her misguided, ill-informed attempts at having the final "wise" word in the conversation. And I'm sorry, but she was not supportive of silly ol' Sonja. Bethenny showed genuine concern; Heather was looking for clever sound bytes. "A" for effort, Miss de Lesseps! She did not let up on her anger towards Heather and Carole, other than the hug-it-out truce at the end, which was hilarious! I think the ladies were dog tired (see: Ramona sleeping!) and probably a lil slap-happy. I love this version of LuAnn, and her original castmates are in agreement. P.S. The newfound closeness between LuAnn and Ramona is all sorts of awesome. Give me one more season of them, Bethenny, and whomever else, and watch it either blossom or crumble apart.

That sounds like a great line-up of ladies! Even those I'm not a super huge fan of. Interested in the Kim Fields and Sheree business. My only single gripe is the return of Porsha, yet again, even after she was demoted last season. Hopefully her presence will be as important as Jennifer Gilbert's in NYC Season 3 (props to you if you remember her) So, NYC is airing their 3rd part of the reunion tonight? I'm guessing it's been a ratings dud? That usually seems to be the case, whenever the last leg of a reunion is banished to a Thursday night. Actually, I just checked, and 1.3 million is right in line with what they were getting all season. (Meanwhile, I'm 6 episodes behind The Have & Have Nots and it looks like they're still killing it in the ratings, surprisingly)

Gasp! Filthy mouth. It's hard for me to keep up with the Dynasty reruns these days. They used to air once a day, Monday through Thursday. Now it's 2 episodes a day, Monday through Friday! They're going to whiz through the seasons in no time. I've seen very little of seasons 5-6 and practically none of 7-9, so I look forward to seeing how they all play out. I'm gonna miss Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon though... I'm curious to see the eventual returns of Matthew Blaisdel and Roman Brady Michael, the chauffeur. They're using audio snippets of Bo Hopkins' voice on the current season 4 episodes I'm watching, where "Matthew" is calling Claudia and sending her orchids or lilies or whatever.

She's making sure she never has to go back to working at Target.

If they plan to bring NYC back another season (and I could see them shelving it at this point, and utilizing Bethenny in another capacity), they need to just reunite the originals --- ALL the originals. Jill Zarin, I'm talking about you (Alex lives in Australia so we'll rule her out) Meanwhile, I look forward to learning the construction status of Chateau Sheree.

I read that Sheree signed a contract and will be back full-time, a la Dina/NJ and Bethenny/NYC. Marlo is still the resident bad-girl "Friend of", a la Kim-D. I could see Sheree having beef with just about anyone, former castmates or new, because she's such a jealous hater, and just not a "girls girl."

I'm actually really glad that Sheree is returning. Another housewife who needed to be rested. Her storyline had dried up, (as has her bank account no doubt), but she can throw the brick and hide the hand like no other, so she'll be sure to stir some ish up. Marlo, hmm okay. I'll take her. I'm not jumping up 'n down thrilled, but she's another familiar face who can cause drama. NYC: I'm catching up on Housewives, but I really liked the Dorinda/Carole footage when they were bonding abroad. That type of interaction is genuinely interesting, without being some forced catfight about social etiquette. Although I could NEVER work under Sonja and would most definitely walk out on her, overall the fashion show was a hit and the clothes were hot! I loved Bethenny calling Ramona out and look forward to the season finale this week. I hear the reunion is a 3-parter. Yay!

Wow. This is just getting sadder.

OMG, that was such an awesome sight to see for Arnold and the lil redhead. Don't we all wish we could inhale an entire sheet cake like that?

Finally caught OC. The highlight for me was definitely when Tamra called out the medium. Hilarious! She didn't even do it directly, she just innocently asked Vicki's brother what his tattoo was. I don't believe much in that stuff (and the housewives from nearly every franchise seem to love them), so when the flamboyant medium looked like a deer in the headlights, I was LOLing. And to prevent further embarrassment, he threw shade at Tamra, saying he can't be distracted by other interference when trying to read the spirits' energies or whatnot. Meghan and her parenting skills.... okay lady. She's not doing her homework, but you hand her a $100 bill for allowance. That'll teach her...

Wow, silence this week regarding OC and NYC. I myself have yet to watch. I'm glad Taylor's back to BH, too. She's mostly harmless at this point, and she's a perfect example of someone who needed to be rested for a couple seasons but can fit right back in seamlessly. That's what's so great about the original BH cast. They all became genuine friends, or at least close-knit work buddies. Even Adrienne, though she'll always be envious of Empress Lisa. Congrats to Kandi! She and Todd will make a cute baby. And we know she's already got those child-bearing hips all ready for him/her.

And the wonderful GIFs that will be made.

NYC was a fun, messy episode. Cat, appreciated the writeup. Carole is no better than Ramona, with double-talking and trying to appease whomever it is she's talking to any given moment. I have no doubt she told LuAnn that Heather was an unstoppable maniac, looking to barge into rooms (and from the looks of it, she sure was). Yet, when Heather confronts her (in front of LuAnn), she backtracks and says she never said that. LuAnn was hilarious this whole episode. When Heather asked if she'd be scared if the roles were reversed, her deep reply of "Not really" was so drag queenish, haha. It's like she had balls dangling between her legs when she said it. But she rocked that bikini, hangover 'n all! I understand Heather being startled, but why on earth did she have to wake everyone up and create a huge commotion about it? Was the guy still there? No. Was she in any imminent danger at that moment? No. Do you really think the producers and cameramen wouldn't step in if they were in actual danger? Of course! Kristen and her "misquoted" remark against Bethenny. Ugh. You tried, you failed. It's so cute that Kristen thinks she's a force to be reckoned with. Half the time, people forget she's even there. A drunk Dorinda is a super sloppy Dorinda. Yolanda from Beverly Hills would certainly not approve! Meanwhile, Bethenny's impression of Drunk Dorinda was spot on! I appreciated Sonja trying to infuse some humor during the heated discussions, but it all fell on deaf ears.

Very true. No wonder it's lasted 10 years and still has steady, consistent numbers.

I can understand Heather's viewpoint, but at the same time, the standard Housewives formula was already well in place by the time she joined NYC in 2012. But, as previously mentioned, these past two seasons of NYC in particular have been nothing but constant minor squabbles. Lots of petty bickering, rather than overall story arcs or a showcase of growth/resolution. And with 8 castmembers, it's no surprise that there's little time to focus on individual family life for all of them. Heather's home life hasn't been featured at all. Her son? Nada. Her hubby? Only in social functions as arm candy.

That's definitely what helped me finally give a damn about OC last season. Something about that dynamic of Vicki/Tamra/Gretchen/Alexis was toxic and unlikeable. Before last season, I only caught OC on occasion and for the reunions. Meghan can go ahead and join the likes of Peggy, Lydia, etc. as a one-season wonder.

I think it goes to show that the passion around here is for Atlanta (1st), Beverly Hills and New Jersey. Orange County and New York only spark a lukewarm response. One problem with NYC is that they haven't done story arcs for the past two seasons. Instead, it's little tiffs that are resolved within 1 or 2 episodes. So in the end, these lil bumps in the road don't add up to much, and become forgettable overall.

They filmed NYC's reunion. According to Bethenny, she killed them all; last lady standing LOL. I believe it. I love her at reunions. Half of them will be left with their mouths gaping wide open (you know that's Kristen's signature expression), unable to come up with a quick comeback.

Finally caught up with OC. I liked the camaraderie between Shannon and Vicki. They seem to have a great, genuine friendship. I liked how Lizzie and Tamra joined the two at the end. The show was a little heavy on the one single storyline otherwise. Eric, no joke, something about Meghan reminds me of the following, in looks (and relevancy):

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/01/unauthorized-melrose-place-story-works-lifetime I sure hope they do a mock Melrose opening, complete with Locklear's Special Guest Star billing!

Hahaha, well you know I've been thinking about it... I would liken it to when Brian Gaskill was axed from MODELS INC. I kid. I think next season will be like season 6 of MP, with a huge cast and a bunch of messiness to try to get people to watch. When/if it doesn't work, they'll trim it back down and try to bring back Jane Mancini Sheree or Kim to save it from obscurity.

Wow... end of a Housewives era. Bethenny was the breakout housewife, but NeNe is the most recognizable face. It will be interesting to see how healthy the show will be in the Nielsen ratings this upcoming season. They were already on the downslide, but still by far the strongest of any Bravo show. I'm mixed because she clearly has been over this whole thing for a good 2 seasons at least, and she IS the most toxic of any castmember, but she also has a strong fan base and large following. Right or wrong in whatever fight she's having, she still has a gaggle of support. With half the Housewives shows in jeopardy (NJ on hold; NYC hanging on for dear life; Miami is dead; BH came back better this past season but their numbers didn't improve much), this may help push the Housewives to the brink of irrelevancy.

That performance was so bad it's good. I'm clearly in the minority, based on their poll results, cuz my favorite is "Chic Cest La Vie" Tootie is joining RHOA?!? Get outta town! That's kinda awesome! Ugggggh, how is the demoted Porsha returning yet again?

I haven't seen this past week's OC, but I agree that the forgiveness exercise that Shannon & David did with their daughters was awkward, and definitely should've been done off-camera. At least there was a moment of authenticity with the eldest daughter, but still, awkward. I'll give them credit for being completely real with their marital problems, though. I can't imagine what it's like to be on a reality show like this, with cameras around all the time, and you're expected to just "act natural." And by act natural, I mean looking fabulous in full make-up at 11am on a Tuesday, but I digress. I'd be hitting the hard stuff to make it through the day, too.