Gray Bunny

Absolutely. Timefiller while the main 3 were at the Chicago wedding.

Couple other things about NYC... I thought it was weird how they didn't give any personal insight into the 3 new women's lives. I figured they'd gradually do it throughout the 90-minute episode, but alas it never came to be; they acted like the 3 new ladies have been there all along. And some of their comments about the 3 existing castmembers were very judgmental right off the bat, even about tiny little things. It felt like Bravo brought on new women just to complain about the already-established women. It definitely felt like a "new" New York, as the episode was titled. I wanna say it reminded me of when Saved by the Bell: The New Class (yes, I would watch that!) would take out 3 characters every year and replace them with new characters and then go on their merry way like nothing had changed, even though it had.

If the ending preview is any indication, this season's NYC is going to be crazy good! I see Ramona vs. LuAnn as being like ATL's Kim vs. NeNe, where each has their faults and nobody's innocent. It was definitely petty and childish for LuAnn to have that brief hen party with the new ladies just to gossip about what Ramona allegedly threatened. What Ramona and her husband said to Heather at the party about her always interrupting people was tacky and hypocritical, but you know what? I don't care. Haha. Call me a hypocrite, but I always have my favorites that can pretty much get away with anything and I still like them because of their overall personality. I think the new ladies are okay, and it'll be interested when they start turning on each other. I must say, and I admit I'm being completely shallow, but all 3 new ladies kinda look weird. They all have weird, quirky looks to them (another reason why Alex should've remained -- she looks weird too!) Aviva is probably the most interesting, followed by Heather. Carole seems like she's going to be dead weight, but we'll see how it plays out. She sounds like an old woman in the opening (interesting updated opening, by the way! I'm surprised the 3 veterans are at the tail end!). It's interesting, how Real Housewives seems to be using a formula for all their shows: pit all the women against one woman. NYC has Ramona this season, ATL is NeNe, Jersey is Teresa, and it sounds like Lisa may be ganged up on next season in Beverly Hills, although Taylor could be the real center of drama.

I wish the salary report had included the New Jersey housewives. I'm guessing one of the reasons for the Caroline/Teresa feud is because Teresa is making more money in season 4. Their initial contracts were for the first 3 years, just like the NY housewives. I can totally see Bravo paying Teresa more than Caroline & Jacqueline. Okay, so after a weekend catching up on the New York housewives, I can definitely see why people loved Bethenny. She was so level-headed, smart, witty, and just didn't fly off the handle like others (Kelly, Jill). Jill is just a dispicable woman and I loved seeing her get called out on it at every turn at the season 3 reunion. Ramona is funny as f#ck and I enjoy every minute of her. She just truly, truly entertains me. She's nutty but not in a crazy delusional way like others.... The worst housewife EVER I think is Kelly Bensimon. She is truly unbalanced. Her arguments were based on fantasy and paranoia. I cannot believe she lasted for 3 seasons because I was sick of her after her first year. I mean, she is truly, truly delusional. I think I would rather watch an hour of OC's Alexis before watching another moment of Kelly. I always wanted to see the episodes where she went crazy on the trip and boy oh boy did she ever lose her mind! And then she comes back to NYC acting like nothing happened and that SHE was the one being attached the whole weekend. She is truly batsh!t crazy. Wow, just wow. Overall, I can definitely see why Bravo let go of Jill, Kelly, Cindy (big waste of airtime), but think they should've kept Alex to mix with the remaining ladies and the new ones.

YRBB I liked your assessment of Season 4. I liked the season overall because there were a lot of great moments and entertaining stories, but at the same time, the whole dymanic of many stories and characters shifted and in a sense, the "classic years" had ended. As it is, so many people remember the original years and the dynamics between the characters then. Seasons 1-3 defined the characters and the show. Season 4 is like trying to squeeze out the last bit o' goodness. I think season 5 is when it gets ridiculous with the all the bedhopping (although they certainly played musical beds in S4) and moving around apartments every other day. And yes, the music does get cheesy. I remember one particular episode where it was one sex romp after another, which meant one rock jam after another to heighten the dramatic mood. To me, it that's when it became a parody of itself. (and whoever decided to make Sydney into a dippy airheaded 60's go-go girl in season 4 should've been fired) Having just re-watched Season 1, from the point where Amanda joins until the season finale, I gotta say, I think Jo was best written and most entertaining in season one. She had such a sense of independence, street smarts, and stubborn ways. I liked her back 'n forth through the years with Jake (it really showed that they were meant to be) but once she hooked up with Richard, good Lord it all over for her.

Aw, I remember her. I always liked how they were able to bring back the same actors, year after year, to play the Melrose resident's parents consistently. Matt's mom & dad, Billy's mom, Jane & Sydney's mom & dad, Kimberly's mom, etc. Oh, and Amanda's dad before he was killed off.

I was surprised too. She almost sounded full of herself, which is totally different from what I've ever read from her in the past.

I totally get that and understand. Something was just off to me. Like Caroline seems so quick---and eagerly willing--- to write her off, even at this point that we're watching now. I wish we knew the details of that fight that happened offscreen in Punta Cana. Time to do some Google searching!

New Jersey's Caroline is so hypocritical. She gladly told Danielle how she felt about her and would never share screentime with her, but yet here she is doing scenes with Teresa and being nice to her face, but totally trash-talking her with Jacqueline and in the interviews. Something about Caroline and Jacqeline totally rubbed me the wrong way on Sunday's show. And with that said, despite her blind loyalty to her husband, I'm totally Team Teresa.

Back in those days, I only had a handful of Digest magazines, mostly ones with DAYS on the cover. Since this was before the internet (at least for me), I definitely re-read and cherished the ones I had over & over.

CarlD, thanks for posting the DAYS Du Jour. What's sad is that not only do I know that I have that article, but it's in the Digest with Sami, Lucas, Carrie, and Austin on the cover with the caption "Watch Out Sami, You're About to Get Caught!" I remember way too much about DAYS and Digest during the good ol' days...

I thought the same thing! Looking forward to seeing her again sometime this season. Not gonna lie, I'd love it if the producers finagled a way to get Danielle back for Season 5, even for just one party event where they may genuinely run into one another.

Exactly, all that can be judged is what's onscreen. I'm holding everyone accountable. Caroline is accountable as being the saint and the voice of reason. Jacqueline is being held accountable as the loyal friend and misunderstood mother. Etc, etc., etc., but what I'm saying is, there's more than just what the producers are portraying, for EACH of them. Hence, the falling out between sister Dina and Caroline and in-laws Dina and Jacqueline. Not to mention all the unmentioned tension between Teresa vs. Melissa & Kathy. That's why this whole fight between Teresa vs. Melissa/Kathy seems so incomplete and pretty petty altogether, because they're not addressing all the issues. I'm guessing the show itself is one major issue. Season 3&4 is basically watching the Guidice/Gorga/Wakile clans dodging a pink Italian elephant in the room that isn't spoken of when the cameras are rolling.

I agree. The way they're painting Teresa is very contrived. There is just TOO much behind-the-scenes quarreling that we the viewer don't know about for certain, but we can make guesses and have heard whisperings thru gossip blogs. Here's my issue with the whole New Jersey dynamic: If Teresa is so vile and Caroline and Jacqueline are such saints, why is Dina Manzo not speaking to either of them? It can NOT be solely about Teresa. We've heard whisperings about why Caroline and Dina are on the outs (some say Caroline is mad that Dina left the series, some say Caroline is actually homophobic and there is tension amongst the siblings over their gay brother, some say it's Teresa's fault for whatever reason), but we don't know for certain. And we don't know why Dina and Jacqueline aren't speaking. But surely these 2 aren't the innocent angels they are portrayed to be, year after year. There's just more here that we're not privy to. Why is Caroline so hard on her daughter for being overweight? Something's not right there. She'll fight to the death for her gay son and her other alcoholic son, but says digs about Lauren like "she's beautiful on the inside, but still needs to work on the outside." I mean, really? Has Caroline looked in the mirror? Even though she herself lost weight, she looks like a deflated balloon. And what about Chris, the boozehound younger son? He's putting on some weight there. Is it just expected that Italian men put on the pounds, but the women have to be bodacious beauties ? On to Teresa's family... How many iTunes sales would Melissa Gorga be making if she wasn't exploiting her alleged feud with already-famous sister-in-law Teresa? I can see why Teresa would say Melissa's a copycat. She rode on Teresa's coattails on to this reality show and is cashing in, whereas Teresa was the first person in the family to get on the show by her own merits, not by being a relative. Kathy is just time-filler. Her lesbian sister Rosie is way more interesting to watch than Kathy. I'd also be interested to know what kind of conversation that Melissa Gorga had with Danielle Staub before Melissa joined the show. How did Danielle Staub know at the Season Two reunion that Teresa had yet to see her nephew/niece (can't remember which gender) ? There's more to the story, and I'm not so quick to jump on the Teresa-Is-The-Bad-Guy bandwagon here.

What a pint-sized stud I still think he and wifeypoo Melissa totally wanted to cash in on Teresa's fame, though. If I haven't said it before, my all-time favorite housewife husband, in terms of studliness, was Atlanta's Lisa Wu-Hartwell's hubby Ed Hartwell (who have since divorced). In the words of Phaedra: Mm-hmmmmm....

A season 8 cover? I thought we were only up to season 5 being out on DVD...

Agreed. I pretend like MP 2.0 didn't happen. It certainly doesn't count in my eyes. Sydney being alive? Michael acting as if he had some attraction and a soft spot for Sydney when she was brought into the E.R.? Amanda back from faking her death and no mention of it? Michael having a grown son, and we don't know who the mama is, and if we know the mama then that means they did some serious rapid-aging. Jane being a manipulative bitch who STILL cannot outsmart her opponent? Jo now pessimistic about life? Plus, Amanda talking like a grandma? (bad cosmetic surgery Miss Locklear, tsk tsk) And they didn't even bother to have the Melrose courtyard building look remotely similar to the original. Nope, in my mind, all that crap happened in a parallel universe.

Oh dear, if you hate him in Season 6, just wait until season 7. That's all I'm gonna say... Me and the hubby are currently watching Season 7 on Netflix cuz it's the only season not available for purchase.

Thank goodness. I think Bravo is smart enough to know that Brandi has been a big hit and people want to see more of her, even if we're not seeing her in an at-home setting with her kids.

I think Tardy for the Wedding is okay, and I'm glad they're only half-hour shows... that is, unless they're always going to show back-to-back half hour shows together? Hopefully that was just for the premiere episode(s). I wonder how they pay people who end up being "friends of the housewives". Is their pay rate determined after they've finished filming? Or do they get paid the full amount regardless of what their status ends up being? Because as I recall reading, Lisa Wu-Hartwell was originally supposed to be in the 3rd season of Atlanta, but was bumped when the producers and her disagreed on storyline direction (or maybe she just HAD no story) and we end up seeing her once at a group event at Kim's house. I wonder what Taylor's pay will be if she indeed gets bumped to being a "friend of the housewives". I also wonder if New Jersey's Kim G and Kim D got a fee for their roles in Season 2. I wouldn't be surprised if they willingly did it for free, in hopes they'd be cast for the 3rd season....

Agreed, agreed, agreed. Kathy and her family are pointless. She is just like ATL's Cynthia: time-filler. Nothing wrong or bad about them, just incredibly boring. I don't think Melissa Gorga is all innocent & sweet either. I see the phony persona too. She clearly wanted the fame, and used her sister-in-law's coattails to ride in on the wave of fame 'n fortune 'n iTunes music releases. I'm sure sexy brother Joe saw his sister's success and wanted a piece of the action too. I still like Teresa too. We'll see how this season plays out in terms of what she does versus allegedly does. It's funny how RHONJ is always set up where there's one main villainess and the other 4 do nothing but talk about that villainess without having too much interaction with her until big events. I feel like NJ should be a half-hour long to reduce time on all the fluff and b.s.

Or maybe she's just afraid she'll look fat on camera I'm glad that Brandi will be a "full time" housewife, credits 'n all!

I agree, she made the show a lot of fun, just pointing out that it was a very different portrayal, season 5 vs. 6. And yes, that Christine story was awful, and it totally sucks the life out of Amanda for a long time.

Love it. Haha. If you got more, keep 'em coming, cuz I don't know where you get them from!

I loved Rinna as Taylor, though I will admit they definitely made her a cartoon in season 6, much like they started making Sydney a cartoon half-way through season 4. Taylor was originally a street-savvy force to be reckoned with when she arrived in season 5, but they made her completely delusional with an almost child-like mentality in season 6.