Gray Bunny

Their attitude has been stank for years. Recast and have Michelle appear briefly for the reunion. If The Brady Bunch can recast Marcia, Jan, and Cindy at one point during their many reunions and reboots, so can A Very Full House Reunion. Hell, keep it in the TGIF family and use Christine Lakin (Al Lambert) from Step By Step.

No NYC discussion?

Oops, I forgot to record Real Housewives of Atlanta: The Babysitters Club or The Boxcar Children or whatever it's called.

Yup. And Amber, Nicole and Teresssssssssa are all categorized as this basic ho:

I can see the Housewives franchise suffering the same fate as Melrose Place. Right now, we are currently in the midst of season 5, where there are lots of familiar faces, but the stories aren't gelling anymore. So then we'll mix it up with a sea of new faces (season 6), before realizing they need to trim things down and get back to simplicity (season 7), but their fate is already sealed, and the ratings don't rebound.

NYC: Yes, that messy Sonja is a messy mess. From start to finish, that episode captured messy Sonja's messiness. Even straight-shooter Bethenny couldn't crack the facade and get through to her. She's a delusional mess. Not a mean, delusional mess like BH's Kim Richards, but definitely living in denial which is unhealthy for herself (and her daughter, I imagine). It's amazing how she just will. not. move. on. Constantly bringing up who she used to party with, where she used to visit, what means of transportation she used to enjoy... all of it. It's like if she keeps talking about it in present tense, it will magically become that way again. I can't wait for a Bethenny vs. Gonzo Heather blowup.

Beverly Hills: B+ / A- Compared to other Housewives franchises, it gets the A-. But in comparison to its own previous seasons, B+. And the winner for Best Housewife Addition Ever is a tie to Lisa Rinna and Eileen Davidson. Lisa Vanderpump is elegant, witty perfection, and Kyle redeemed herself to me, with her renewed friendship with Lisa V and her taking a strong stance with her sister. Atlanta: C+ Definitely a "You Can Do Better" grade. OC's trailer looks fantastic! The new girl looks like a wicked bitch who gets right in there. She's younger and prettier and sure to irk Tamra Sue. Also going for granny Vicki? Oh dear... I'm here for the fabulous Shannon Beador, a definite runner-up for Best Housewife Addition Ever.

Yes, I've thought that since day one. Listen, I know this is NYC, the birthplace of Madonna's career, but that 80's look is out (and Madonna did it waaaaaaaaaaay better).

Well said about Bethenny. And indeed, it's more organic that she wouldn't invite Dorinda and Kristen. At this time, they're merely castmembers who haven't met yet; certainly not friends or a new acquaintance. No realistic reason to invite them otherwise. Andy loves Ramona. She can be polarizing, but she ain't going nowhere Speaking of the old days when you'd see housewives hanging with friends that weren't castmembers, I always liked Ramona's friend. Her name escapes me at the moment, but we saw her the first few seasons. She has long, dark hair and really pronounced (i.e. overly done) eyebrows. She's the one that got insulted when some dude at a club referred to her and the rest of the ladies as "promiscuous".

Well said! It's funny that Bethenny doesn't have time for the producer-coaxed petty dramas of "you didn't text me, you didn't invite me, yada yada yada" junk. Good. I don't have time for that either. We had enough of that in seasons 5 and 6, along with the other current Housewives franchises. What was the WWHL Bethenny/Heather comments in the past? Wow, LuAnn's Twitter rant! I'm very interested in seeing the fallout between her and Carole & Heather. It seemed like they all had a great, genuine friendship with each other, onscreen and off. If this is a calculated effort to stir interest in the show, well played. OMG the Plus One comment was HILARIOUS! Heather is so pressed with Bethenny around.

Tonight's Part 1 is a reminder that they need to change up some of this cast. It reminded me of New York season 4 where all they did was bicker and trash talk and interrupt each other, with no resolution on anything. What have they accomplished so far? Ford Focus was caught in another lie, Froggie reverted to form and called Kenya a whore, and Kandi and NeNe see each other for who they are. Okay. And an eagle's nest landed on Cynthia's head. This better turn around in the 2nd & 3rd parts or else its gonna feel like a total waste (reality TV *is* a waste of time, but it shouldn't *feel* like it).

An article said she still doesn't think she has a problem, she's only going because she got arrested and humiliated her family. She's still in denial. Hopefully, she'll have an "Ah ha!" moment during her time spent there. We'll see. Either way, for her own sake, she should NOT return to RHOBH for season 6.

Good for Jodie Sweetin. Anything to keep her off the meth.

Old-school NYC fun! Fun episode. All we needed was Jill. (Alex was always the odd man out, so I'm not missing her much) I'm loving the new dynamics with the old ladies... LuAnn & Bethenny friends; Bethenny vs. Ramona; Ramona & LuAnn friends; Sonja the odd woman out; even Kelly's silly fanny was a welcome addition, for one night only. You can tell in Bethenny's talking heads that she's just groaning about Kelly for the sake of the cameras. They squashed all that junk eons ago. But I'll take it, and I like that Bethenny's beef with LuAnn over inviting her was quickly resolved. Bethenny promotes THE HELL out of her products. The ladies taking arm fulls of Skinnygirl products from her house was hilarious. Carole and a blender?! LuAnn and Ramona's heart-to-heart was lovely. I guess what they're saying is true: divorce/life without Mario suits Ramona well. She may be down, but she's not out. And unlike other wives, she's made her millions and will be just fine financially, even without any alimony. I'm actually finding myself liking Carole and Heather more, because of their genuine close friendship they've forged with LuAnn. They make a good team, with veteran LuAnn as the lead. Kristen, meh, just a filler in the room when the four ladies are together. The scenes with the brunches were kinda choppy, and I hope this isn't an indicator of what happens when you have 8 castmembers, but perhaps they just needed to amp up the tension in the scenes because there wasn't much in actuality. We'll see. Bethenny's remarks towards Heather are kinda bitchy, but I'll take it because Heather's squirming. She's not sitting in comfort when Bethenny's around. It was funny, how Heather was schooling Bethenny on Ramona's past behavior and Bethenny had no interest in hearing about it. Bitchy, but funny. I'm loving Dorinda and look forward to see her integrated with the ladies. She gives no f.cks about stating her opinion, which is always spot on. Carole dating men half her age. Whatevs. If they like that nooked-in-the-microwave look on their ladies, then I'll buy it. I think Kristen was on the episode too.

Totally agree, and pretty much said the same thing a couple weeks ago. Also agree that having Atlanta last for 6 months PLUS a 3-part reunion, PLUS whatever spinoff or 3-week Kandi arc they have each year is spreading themselves too thin. This is the franchise that was hitting 4.6+ million last year, and now people are indifferent.

Bravo is just shady enough to praise Y&R on one show (BH) and diss it on another (ATL). I say go for it. Let's see how "Ria" holds up on reality TV.

No.

Not surprised about Kim, but I wonder if this lil "slip" is a result of watching the reunion and seeing the ugliness between her and her sister? (I'd also hit the bottle if I saw what years and years of sun damage does to your face at 50 years on high-def TV. YIKES. Thank God I stopped fake-bake tanning! Kim Richards reminds me every time I see her on TV what happens when you don't take care of your skin)

ATL: I haven't liked Porsha since day one because she's ridiculously dumb, has an obnoxious voice, ignorant as hell, and nowadays she's such a poser with all her lil cutesy anecdotes and cut downs. They're not cute. Neither is she. Never was. That's all. BH: DaytimeFan said it all. Kim is disgusting. Overall, I think Lisa Rinna is awesome on this show, even more awesome in her talking heads, but isn't quite as polished at her reunion etiquette. She didn't bomb, the way NYC's Carole bombed after a successful season 5, but she could be a bit extra at times. Overall, though, a fantastic addition and I hope she returns next year, alongside her fellow Lisa and fellow soap sister. NYC: It's an interesting dynamic, seeing Bethenny return to the fold. I like that they admit the last time they saw her was on her talk show. It takes some of the fakeness away. There's an uneasiness with Heather. You can tell by the look on her face that she's intimidated by Bethenny. I really liked Dorinda's perspective about the ladies, from the ones she already knew to the new ones she's never met. LuAnn's new home is lovely, and the view is fabulous. Sonja's getting the villain edit this season and I'm fine with that because she's an idiot. So Kelly returns for an episode next week. Ho hum. I'd rather it be Jill, even if for one episode. Ramona was being too much with Bethenny. Those two are quite a pair, because neither one backs down. But, they actually became good friends in season 3, and Ramona appeared a couple of times on Bethenny's talk show, as well as WWHL together, and they have a great chemistry together. Side note: I wonder why Ramona's voice is lower and scratchier than it used to be. It's been this way since last season.

Of course Brandi's gonna say Eileen doesn't bring anything to the table. She thinks that drunken antics, baseless attacks, $12.99 internet background checks, and being a tacky twat with no underpants is what brings in ratings. P.S. She's wrong. An estranged husband's suicide does the trick. (I kid... Sorta)

So would they *both* be official Housewives?

I want to see a strong Korean housewife on one of these. Preferably lesbian, but I'll settle for straight.

I didn't see the big deal what Claudia did, but in all honesty, I thought the season finale should've been last week and last night's episode felt like a Lost Footage / Secrets Revealed filler with a bunch of extra stuff that doesn't really matter to the overall story arc. That TV pilot can NOT be real, Kenya. If it is, please for the love of Jesus, get a real actress to play whatever Cynthia was trying to do!

Fantastic assessment, as usual Cat. I'm glad that, even though you're not a big fan of her, you can see Bethenny's important dynamic to the show. I loved your summary of Dorinda, and you're absolutely correct: she's not putting up a front; not trying to be or look like something she's not. I like that. Reading her first blog, I look forward to seeing her interactions with the ladies, because she clearly has opinions about some of them (Kristen, Sonja, Heather, etc.), while surprisingly hitting it off with others (Bethenny, Carole, already long-time friends with Ramona & LuAnn). I'm ready for a Bethenny vs. Heather. Heather is a lil too holier-than-thou and Bethenny can call a spade a spade with a plethora of vocabulary terms. While Kristen's hubby is in the market for shallow surgery, he should pin back those ears of his. Re: BH. And to think, the reality show haters were saying this would tarnish Eileen's reputation. All it did was confirm was a fabulous woman she is, onscreen and off! Hoping she and the two Lisas return next year.

http://www.forwardprogressives.com/reality-hillary-clinton-liberals-need-face/ Interesting read.