Gray Bunny

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.

NYC was messy fun last night. Kristen proves to be utterly useless in her fight with Bethenny. She tried, she failed, and her talking head comments were pointless. It's funny, if you watch her interact with the other ladies when they do wide shots of a bunch of them in the same room, she's always just listening in the background. When Ramona made that toast at dinner to them all being friends and whatnot, Kristen gave a stank eye-roll expression. Why is this woman there? I think I'd rather have Cindy back. Ramona is reverting to form. She has a certain way about her when she goes on vacation, and I admit it never looks good. She started getting kooky on vacations ever since season 4. She was fine during Scary Island, but since season 4, she can really go overboard on the thoughtlessness and neurotic behavior. I'll give her points for that moment of clarity with Sonja when she admitted that she's actually not very happy and just trying to hold it together during the Mario debacle. I LOLed when Bethenny predicted that Ramona was going to come up to her and do her usual, "You know what? I apologize..." after the debate over the rooms. Bethenny and LuAnn actually have great chemistry as friends. Ramona and Bethenny's bosom buddy sob-fest next week should be good. Bethenny said it perfectly, as usual, describing the weird filtration system with Sonja. You never know how Sonja is going to interpret what you say to her. This chick will always focus on one minute detail of a conversation and go off running wild ("Are you calling me dumb?") Heather still rubs me the wrong way when she tries to be the overall voice of reason and put in the last "wise word" in a conversation. LuAnn sure was hungry! She really wanted Bethenny/Sonja to put a hold on their conversation so that dinner could be served.

Looks like it's the other way around. And Eileen questioned why the heck she was being brought up in the first place. Good God, after 934 pages and counting, this thread better not get shut down; you know what happens when a certain name is mentioned.

I'm sure they can find a way, but on paper it sounds weird to bring her back as a friend of the cast when she's literally enemies with every single one of them. It'd sooner make sense to bring Faye Resnick back in that capacity (who knows, maybe they'll convince her to return now that they've lost their two toxic villains). Would they stage a bunch of one-on-one lunch meetings, the way they did Adrienne & Brandi this past season, and then send her packing? I didn't see a problem with Claudia fitting in with the ATL gang. The season overall had bad editing and uneven footage with their Claudia/Demetria/Porsha indecisiveness. I could see Claudia doing at least one more season. I guess big ol' NeNe got her way.

I'm enjoying watching Dynasty on POP. I have to say though now that we're starting Season 3, I always detested Adam and have never been a fan of Gordon Thompson. Now that I realize he was also a bit too old for the part and looked it (37ish instead of 25), it annoys me even more.

Haha, LOVE! So ridiculous that she was promoted so quickly, and it was within weeks after she returned from her 28-day treatment. Good ol' reliable Miss Parker. How many times did she leave, quit, was fired, or nearly fired from D&D? Starting all the way back when Kate Roberts was HBIC and Allison was front desk receptionist.

If she stays on as a "Friend Of" (as reports say they have until Monday to decide), it's a bit ironic.

She needed to go. It was time. She had become the new Danielle Staub and nobody was going to film with her (Kim's gone, so zero allies now). She dug her own grave and got caught up in her own hype. That's what's great about the originals like Lisa, Adrienne, Camille, as well as legit ladies like Rinna and Eileen -- they are and will be fine post-Housewives. They are the kind of wives these shows are supposed to be about. Not broke wannabes on the verge of bankruptcy who hang out at Dunkin Donuts all day (that's where they found those twins for New Jersey).

I'm on the fence on whether it's good to include all 8 as full-time 'Wives. On one hand, it's a little more honest, hearing them talk about "the eight of us," it shows more honesty about the fact that they're all castmembers who are in it together. The flipside is having a constant tag-along with no real explanation as to why they're there (think: OC's Danielle last season, ATL's Demetria). However, with a smaller cast, they can focus more on the women individually, as well as focus on storylines that are interesting and worthwhile, rather than peppering in some filler B.S. just to give a castmember a half-assed story (think: Carole and her underage boyfriend, Kristen walking and breathing) I know Bethenny can be a downer, but I love when I see shades of the happy Bethenny of yore, which I think comes out naturally when she and Ramona are alone together, talking, laughing, and jabbering on about others. They had great chemistry last night.... and then next week, we're back to them bickering. But I'm sure that'll blow over.

Carole's handy work in all this was so messy. Way to go, making yourself go from the new favorite to the most expendable (well, second most. Kristen still holds that title) So Kristen basically said she just wants to mooch off Bethenny's business intellect, and expects Bethenny to give her free advice. What a dumb cow. I just love the way Bethenny had no f*cks to give for her silly antics and desperate attempts for camera time. Heather is still pressed, no matter what she says. Her face says otherwise. Loved Ramona and Bethenny having this mutual assessment on her and her fake appearances. Bethenny, Ramona and LuAnn play the reality TV game perfectly. I love watching these three bicker, make up, team up, and then do it all over again. Dorinda fits in perfectly with them too.

No offense to John Clarke, but I was always amazed at how his looks took Mickey from being in his 20's in the 1960's to his apparent 50's by the 1970's. No wonder his storylines dried out by the time the 1980's arrived.

Yeah, Carole running for board was boring. I feel like we got a better view of her apartment this time around though. And she still has a kitchen, just a very tiny one. Those stairs, though.... aesthetically awesome, but I'd be SO afraid that 3rd-to-last step up top would give out and down I go! I love it when the Housewives get into an argument over how they made up (Ramona/LuAnn/Heather), or how they used to not get along, and then they end up bickering about how things went down and why. It's like a reunion, but no one's seated on a couch, picking at their dress (oh wait, I think that's just Atlanta ladies that constantly do that). My favorite part of last night's episode was the little blip they had with Ramona and her business partner at her restaurant. That young lady applying for the job was SO dumb! I was LMAO when she listed a STAPLER on her resume as the only piece of office equipment she knows how to use. A STAPLER! LOL On that WWHL Special with Bethenny & Andy, was that already available on Bravo's website or something? Anyhoo, Bethenny looked so much healthier on that episode. Her mouth looked different. Weird observation, I know.

Well, well, I'm gonna have to find that footage at some point. "How are you???" And I agree. You do not reward thirst. Look what happened when they rewarded the Gorgas, hounding Bravo for a slot.

That is so weird, because I have Season Two on DVD, but she most definitely did not appear. I don't recall her airing in the Bravo repeats either. But I also noticed that they must've edited RHONY's Season Two reunion on their DVD release. This airs in reruns, but not on the DVD: I remember a funny moment at the end where Andy asks, "if you could remove one housewife, who would you get rid of?" and everyone said Kelly (except Kelly, who said Bethenny), but they all said it was because 'they all had a good chemistry' with just the 5 of them in the first season. But then when Alex answers, she gives this lame answer about how everyone contributes something and that, "I'd have to toss a coin!" To which everyone looked perplexed, and LuAnn was like, "Toss a coin...?" (impossible, considering there 6 people). I got the feeling Alex always felt she was on the chopping block. Why do I remember this [!@#$%^&*] in such detail. I'm wasting my life. hahah

I was just looking for a GIF and stumbled across this... When was Kim G featured on a reunion? I see that it's Season Two, but I've never seen this air.

Well, the reunion is a one-time special. The series doesn't contain the entire cast the way The Bradys did. Now, if Stephanie becomes an alcoholic and recovers in one episode, and Kimmy is a race car driver who becomes paralyzed and recuperates in one episode, then we have a problem.