Cat

The problem they had this year was restricting the HW set (Karent should have stayed, and so should have Ana and Marysol) and focusing it all on two weddings -- one of which was fake. I mean, I love a nice wedding but on TV they can be a snore. Much as I adore Lisa Vanderpump, I could NOT sit through the episode devoted to Pandora's wedding, I just couldn't. Joanna's was moderately better, probably because Bravo cut it down to the bare essentials. The other problem is the heavy focus on Joanna who, honestly, is just not that interesting as an individual. Without Marta she really didn't have much except to whine about sex. Having said that, I love my Miami and, even though she is a big ole fake, I can't help but adore Adriana and her accent and craziness. That's why she is back as my avatar today. The scene with Lea and Adriana in the spa reminded me of their fight earlier in the season, and was actually quite final. While I can't hate on Lea for wanting to distance herself from Adriana's schemes, it was harsh to hear her say in the VT that a life (for her) without Adriana in it was better for her. BTW, people criticize Lea for her facelift but I think she looks absolutely phenomenal (and age-appropriate) as a result of it. The last two episodes touched on a lot of the over-heated female relationships that really interest me in RHoM, not least Adriana back in the mix again, and the fact that Lisa has a very needy/particular dynamic with the other women. She is very invested in their lives/drama. I personally think drinking made her horny in Vegas and that's why she was all over Adriana. Alexia gave me LIFE the last few episodes, not least when she read Drunken Lisa. I love me Las Cubanas on RHoM. I also liked her scene with Peter, even if it was staged, her love for him felt real. Alexia's family dynamic, that whole backstory with her dead-eyed addict son Peter, her Scarface-like cocaine kingpin ex-husband, her current hubby, Frankie, all that is fascinating to me. The final segments of the show when we see "What Happened Next" were a disappointment, though. Who cares if Joanna hasn't fucked her husband since the wedding night? No promo for the Reunion, though, which makes me sad and makes me think that we won't have a Reunion episode and that RHoM's fate is sealed. The concern is that the other RH franchises follow the RHoM route to ruin. I worry about my fave, BH, I really do.

The last episode of RHoM was one of the better ones of the season (but only hooked 734,000 viewers, apparently. Sad). First of all, Lisa needs to find a hobby. She is WAY too invested in these HWs relationships with each other. I don't know whether it's because she is unhappy at home or just has nothing to do but meddle, but it became over-kill this week. Take a breath, Lisa! Lea = Voice of Reason. Even if I am sore that she got one of her bitchy minions to make fun of Mama Elsa's stroke on tape (you can hear her braying laughter in the background), she politely told Lisa to mind her own business about her and Adriana because it had nothing to do with her. Also, I could watch those 80s ads of Lea shilling that face cream forever. Lea really wears her age well. Joanna is boring and crazy at the same time. How is that possible? is she really the ho who broke up Duchess Yolanda's and Mohammed's marriage? Karent!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW, Bravo really missed a trick not having a scene between Alexia and Karent when they were at the same party -- Alexia hated Karent last season. Marysol looks flawless in her Reunion photos, as does Lea. The rest? Eh.

Finally caught up with RHoM and this latest episode was the best of the season by a mile. Now that the wedding fuckery is pretty much over until Joanna & Romain's Wedding for the Ages, we got to concentrate on the HWs and their families. Adriana is still a desperate famewhore but thank goodness her son Alex isn't putting up with it. This episode really belonged to the young sons: Alex, RJ (who is awesome) and the ever delightful Frankie who is the truth-teller of the Echevarria household. The insight into Lea and her life in Texas was awesome and really shed some light on the woman. She never fit in and always wanted to strive to create her more fabulous world. I love that, even though she doesn't fit in with her family, she isn't at all afraid of showing where she comes from, or the fact that RJ is treated like a king when he is with the family. His grandmother and uncles seem to adore him. Lisa and Lea mentorship is made of win. Lisa seemed to fit in well with Lea's family. Herman... there are moments when he has theses slightly feminine mannerisms and other times when he doesn't. I don't know what to say about those rumors, but he does seem like a good guy and he seems to love Frankie like he's his own. Peter still has a case of Dead, Psycho Eyes and I wish he'd cut his hair. He looks like an Argentine soccer player (not that that's a bad thing. Argentines are hot, but Peter is starting to look like a girl). He did soften up when Frankie whispered that he loved him. Honestly, I could watch SO much more of Frankie, RJ and Alex. Marysol showing up to cry about Elsa... some may think that's not appropriate, but it looked like it was the end of the meal so it wasn't like she was intruding on major family time. Marysol also seems especially close with Alexia and Herman in their won right -- off season she still hangs out a lot with Alexia. I hope nothing is wrong with Mama Elsa although she seemed depressed in that episode we saw of her recently. Joanna & Romain... sigh... it's all so terribly staged and fake. Joanna is not bringing much to the table this season. I guess that's why she had to Go Big at Reunion. Marysol has been more interesting than her and she's only a 'friend.'

Either that, or come back to Daytime. I know, I know, but as psychopath Matt on Y&R he was pretty effective. I remember when he played Cole Deschanel on Sunset Beach and he was pretty good, but I don't think anybody would buy him as that kind of hero. Better for him to play a pathological womanizer. Did RHOM screen a new episode on Monday night? I can't seem to locate one.

Oh, hell to the NO. Is she proudly boasting of wrecking a marriage?! This is why I am so glad this hot crazy mess has not been asked to appear on RHoBH. You know she wants to, but she doesn't deserve the publicity. You know that once Eddie Cibrian runs through her money, he will dump her and finally move on to his true destiny of being a full-time gigolo for the dissatisfied housewives of Tarzana and Anaheim.

This promo disappoints me a little. It's not lacking in drama, for sure, but it feels a little all over the place. The Nene vs Marlo mess we see playing out on Twitter has clearly been partly manufactured to create buzz for RHoA this season. All that insanity hit just after the numbers for RHONJ and RHoM started seriously suffering and IDoN wasn't doing so hot. The aim is to re-energize the entire RH franchise. My question is -- where is Marlo in this promo? Why aren't they referencing all that? Why are we seeing Porsha weighed down by her weave and swooning on a gurney? Why should I care about her? Why is Kenya twirling around all GWTW fabulous all by her lonesome? One thing that got me hooked, though, was seeing the involvement of all the husbands/fiancés in all this. It really makes RHoA an ensemble cast that brings in family and friends.

Have to give it to Andy, he actually asked some tough questions of everybody in the RHONJ reunion and got some real emotions as a result. Even Caroline and Teresa got some uncomfortable questions. Best thing about the show was Rosie and Juicy's friendship. I liked Rosie this year.

Finished watching Adriana's 'wedding' episode. A few thoughts: -Am back in love with Adriana. Yes, she is a sketchy grifter and liar. Yes, she threw over a friend (Lea) in order to get her fake 'Wedding Episode' on Bravo (hope it was worth it, Adriana ), but I love how spoiled and diva and hyper-feminine she is. - Also loving Las Cubanas again. Especially Alexia and Marysol. Something about the way they treat each other and the people they really love -- the open, tactile affection. Marysol was also on point with her one-liners and standing up for herself. I like this Marysol so much more. -Adriana's wedding dress was truly stunning, and so was the church and the Biltmore. Her Great Gatsby outfit made her look like a Playboy bunny, though. -But leaving her guests waiting TWO hours at the church and an additional TWO hours at the dinner? Poor people didn't eat until 11pm! No wonder they were leaving in droves. I don't care how much lateness is part of Latin culture [© Alexia], Latin culture is also about welcoming and, more importantly, feeding your guests. You don't leave them going hungry like that while you get your make up reapplied and your fake boobs hoiked up in a corset. - I don't know if Lisa was on the rag this epsiode, but she was completely grumpy throughout the episode which culminated in a (for once) realistic looking fight between her and an exhausted, hungry Lenny. Ruh roh. Next week: Traveling to Texas to meet Lea's family -- this actually looks juicy!

First of all, is ChitHappens mad at us? Come back CH, we love you and your posts! Secondly, whatever is going down between Nene and Marlo BETTER hit our screens. And I know Nene has major pull at RHoA but can she walk out? Her contract must be airtight -- in Bravo's favor. Thirdly, I am watching RHoM (not finished) and OMG, Marysol's VT just made me LOL: Marysol: When [Lisa] first comes in, she's like 'Hellooooooooooooo Marysol' and I was, like, Ohhhhh are we going to do that? C'mon! Pour a c*ck and get over it!

That scene -- and Romain talking about his childhood with no mother figure and, literally, a Wicked Stepmother -- were standouts for me. Poor Roman! The face-off between Lea vs Marysol was great and reminded me of Season 2 RHoM. Honestly, I don't know who to believe and can sort of see both sides of the argument. Do I think Marysol kept from Lea the details of what happened to her mom, just so she could play the victim card later down the line and turn her mom against Lea? Absolutely. Do I think Lea panicked when Alexia talked to her about Marysol's concerns and belatedly sent flowers to Mama Elsa? Sure. Also, the way Lea was walking away and not wanting to defend herself was a little sketchy -- like she knew she didn't have much ground to stand on. Lisa went to bat for her, and she was all [Nene gif]"Bye!"[/Nene gif] and let her fight it out on her own. And Ana was definitely a Nosy Parker inserting her ass in there. Still, I can't fault Ana's hypothesis that Lisa is really just defending Lea for the sake of defending her. Marysol was funny AND ballsy this episode! I need to see more of her like this. Next week: Adriana classily leaving her guests waiting hours at the church.

The locations and houses were especially spectacular. Ronnie playing tennis with that view overlooking the bay! Christina's penthouse! Jody's amazing dream kitchen! I loved seeing their kids (Jhordan *swoon* and Houston banning their mom from wearing a Cougar T-shirt), their lives. It was so amazing! It was the best. What a contrast with the I Hate Mary brigade in Season 2, not least that wannabe Amanda Hansen (in her suburban cottage), who didn't even know Mary but was happy to play Jody and Ronnie's attack dog for 15 minutes of exposure. I have no clue what Amanda is doing these days (still brewing her tea?), but I understand that Slice have given Jody and Mia a spinoff show. What a way to reward those two. In other news, Jody Claman is apparently divorcing her husband. I hope it won't be too acrimonious for the sake of Joshua and Hannah but you never know with that one. Meanwhile, Ronnie Negus has been in London promoting RHoV which launched here to ratings and acclaim. It seems to be the most popular of the franchises actually. She was in London with Marika and Christina's gay BFF in S1. They all seemed to be having an awesome time, so I hope this means that Ronnie has either adjusted her medication and found herself in a better place. I doubt she and Mary will ever be friends again, though. Mary seems to be very close with Robin still. And Christina has put RHoV behind her and totally reinvented herself. She is based in Toronto and appears to be a travel writer. Her Twitter is very full of her travels, her hobbies and horse-riding.

NBA, this ^^ is why Andy needs to jump on this while the iron is hot because Marlo vs Nene is JUST what RHoA needs. I know he loves Nene but he can also point out to her that this is going to give her some SL. In any case, the final edit on RHoA will always favor Nene when all is said and done. I guarantee it.

Maybe Nene is changing tack with regards to getting Marlo on RHoA. Instead of pushing the friendship angle, she's pushing the "we could be a really great rivalry" angle to get Andy to bite. Alternatively, maybe Nene and Marlo did have a real falling out. Maybe Marlo got too thirsty about possibly joining the main show and it got to Nene. Maybe Nene watched back the IDoN episodes and is jealous at how much good editing Marlo is getting. Maybe she's jealous of all the buzz Marlo has been getting recently. Who knows. The outcome is still the same -- Marlo needs to come to RHoA to stir [!@#$%^&*] up. --------- For some reason this morning, I watched the first episode of the first season of Real Housewives of Vancouver. THIS show was what the RH was all about. The luxury cars! The clothes! The houses! The locales! What an amazing show it was and what a shame it had such a messy nervous breakdown in S2. Getting rid of the sane, down-to-earth Reiko was a big mistake as she would have anchored the show after Christina's departure. Plus she would have had a great SL in S2 -- divorcing her husband and falling in love with a female DJ. Jody was a great bitch before she went full-on psycho sadist, Ronnie was the stunning Queen Bee, Reiko the emotionally together can-do HW, Mary the sweetie pie and Christina the raucous, hedonistic good-time girl. The fact that Mary and Christina became such good friends (on paper you wouldn't think they would) was even better -- it pissed Jody off so much. And the Ronnie-Mary dynamic was a psychiatrist's wet dream. I liked how they had so many events, travels and we got to see their families as well. This was the creme de la creme of the RH 'franchise' and unfortunately, its demise serves as a lesson to Andy Cohen about not letting the in-fighting on these shows get out of hand. I wonder if he's even aware of this show. And Christina -- one of the best HWs ever. "Vancouver's a gold-mine. And I love to go digging." If she ever showed up on RHoNY or BH, oh my god....

Oh Elsa! Your fabulous self does not post enough on this thread. And you should! That last line alone...

MAMA ELSA!! :wub: She's back! I missed her. She makes Marysol more interesting. And Mr. Patton and her have reconciled? Cuteness. I love old people in love. The only thing that worried me was how depressed she really seemed and her seeming denial that she had a stroke. Alexia and Peter's issues are really interesting. Yes, maybe it is TMI for TV but at least it is real and not manufactured drama. Peter is so effed up but I am starting to feel a little sorry for him. He identifies himself with his mobster dad and so does Alexia in a way -- the vibe between Alexia and Peter is, uh, interesting. And very different from the one she has with Frankie. No Lea?! And I'm starting to not really care about Lisa anymore. Isn't that awful? Lauren looks great as a woman and should really join the show. But that 'bachelorette party' -- oy. I love Adriana but burning that dress just proves she did more than have a quickie, hush-hush wedding at Town Hall. I can kind of see why people have abandoned RHoM, even though I enjoy it. Viewers can smell fakery a mile away and 80% of SLs on RHoM feel totally faked as opposed to partially derived from reality as they do on most other RH shows. And the Romain/Joanna scene capped it all off. I think I saw more of Joanna's ladybits than her ob-gyn at one point. So much for wanting to protect her image like she told Adriana. Romain is insanely hot, but that scene was just a big, fake tease. OT but in Joanna's VT where she has that lion mane of hair, she looks a-mazing. Adriana looks fab with her hair down in her VT, too.

I would agree that both NJ and NY need to go -- or NJ cancelled and NY 'rested' until the magic chemistry that was Bethenny, Alex, LuAnn, Jill and Ramona is erased from our collective memories. And Miami will probably be cancelled -- ratings are ratings. I am just bummed to be backing a losing horse. I love Adriana, Lea, Mama Elsa, Alexia, Karent, Lisa, all of them.

That is devastating to me. That POS RhONJ is still pulling in +2 million viewers and Miami can barely get 500,000? Miami, despite some of its flaws this season, is making my life right now. Plus Mama Elsa is back in this latest episode (which I am about to watch now)!! I am just heartbroken at the possibility that we may not get a Reunion or a Season 4. Or maybe even the rest of the episodes.

I knew I liked crazy Camille Paglia for a reason. This is exactly why I love the Real Housewives -- and her aim at today's Daytime soaps (with the possible exception of Days) is dead-on. I hope BH's lead-in eventually gives Miami the bump in ratings it needs and deserves because it is one of the better RH franchises. I have been glued to it.

It sucks about the low ratings because RHoM is in the top 3 of my favourite HW shows. I'd even put it at #2 after BH. In some ways I more invested at this point in Season 3 than at the same point in Season 2 when it was almost too many supporting players. Like Thomas Kramer and a lot of drag artistes fighting and it was kind of exhausting keeping track. Also, while I like Ana a lot right now, last year her SL was boretastic. This year they have gone too far in the opposite direction and cut too much. I miss the housekeepers and mothers dispensing good advice. Mama Elsa having a stroke was terribly bad luck as I pretty much watch for her first and foremost. Still, I think Miami remains very viable with its current cast and, in some ways, S3 has allowed me to appreciate Lea Black and Alexia's SLs more whereas last year they sort of got lost in the shuffle. Like I said, i still love these HWs -- which is more than I can say for NJ.

I am watching RHoM right now and holy [!@#$%^&*], Joanna's LA home! It is absolutely stunning and I can only guess that next to the Waltons house she has in Miami, this LA [!@#$%^&*] must be rented. Loving Lisa, Joanna and Mama Jolanta. Thus far, this is shaping up to a fun episode. Alexia, oy. She's still making excuses for Peter but even she, now, hears how hollow they sound. At least she is (kind of) owning it.

That's where I saw it-- on Reality Tea. Though they were just quoting the Star report. I'm no fan of Gretched but this girl makes things happen on the show and it would be rash of Andy to dump her. After all, she is no Toxic Jill Zarin. The dynamic between her and Vicki is especially interesting; it's like the one between Stephanie Forrester and Brooke Logan on B&B. They are a lot more alike than they imagine.

Star magazine is reporting that Alexis and Gretchen have been fired from OC. Then again, it is Star magazine... I'd give more credence if it was In Touch!

I don't know... the clip they showed of her, wasn't she shouting at Ken?! Not something Lisa would likely forgive very easily.

I have been obsessed with RHoM and this season is no exception. However, I have to agree with you that the blame for cutting down the number of HWs and, perhaps more egregiously, ramping up the fake drama should be laid squarely at Bravo's door. This 4-year secret wedding mess was either something Bravo knew about and actively encouraged as a "storyline".... or Adriana totally blindsided them with the news, which came out after Bravo had decided that Adriana's wedding vs. Joanna's wedding was the way to go this season. I personally think it is the latter. Think about it -- the promos were all about Joanna waking up from the nightmare of seeing Adriana at her wedding... but thus far there has been NO Adriana vs. Joanna interaction. Instead, it has been all about Adriana trying to tear down Lea and trying to detract attention from her marriage fakery. And it has only made her look worse and even more sketchy! Bear in mind, Adriana is the Kyle Richards of RHoM in that she was the one who lobbied Andy Cohen to get a series done in Miami. She was a fan of other RH franchises and wanted to star in her version. So she perhaps dreamed up the Duelling Weddings scenario, sold it to Bravo... and then got caught out. The editing is making Adriana look so bad, I have to believe that it is not just Lea but Bravo that is pissed about her hiding her marriage to Frederic. At the rate she is going, Adriana is turning into another Adrienne and could get her ass kicked off the show. This would probably break her heart because she is so invested in being a RHW.

That's too bad. There is more truth ("troof") on that website than in the entire show!