Cat

Maybe it is my love for Caroline Laurita Manzo that is blinding me, but I have a hard time believeing that she is anti-gay. She is incredibly supportive of her first-born, she always spoke glowingly of her talented brother, Jamie, plus she seems to adore this sketchy Greg dude. Sure, I know it might be different with your own son but... I wouldn't be surprised if it was Albie himself who asked that they not make a big deal of his being gay on the show. Not because he's ashamed or closeted, but just because he doesn't want to be hassled about it now that he's in the public eye, etc. Given Juicy Joe's comments, you can see how some members of the community might react to his being gay being common knowledge.

I suspect the Dina-Caroline situation (lol, Jersey Shore flashback there) has prob been blown out of all proportion and likely concerns the fact that Dina is godmother to baby Adriana and probably sticks up for Teresa on occasion. Dina has always spoken her own mind even when it ran counter to Caroline or Jacqueline's opinions.

Basically, they ran out of EM Forster novels to adapt! And Jane Campion took over Portrait of a Lady so they were stuck in terms of the number of Henry James novels they could take on (BTW, I wanted to like Portrait of a Lady with Nicole Kidman SO MUCH but I just couldn't get into it. NK left me feeling cold. Like, I could see her trying to act. I wanted to see more Barbara Hershey). I guess MI did not want to get stuck doing late 19th/early 20th century period drama but I'm surprised they didn't try any Edith Wharton as that seems like it would have been a natural fit. Don't get me started on Le Divorce -- I'm half-French, and if I see one more movie where all the French women are amoral seductresses in couture and all the man have money to house a wife AND mistress, I will scream. Talk about cliche...

About Downton -- The Brits are big history buffs, especially when it comes to (a) the Tudors and ( b ) WWI and WW2. So I can see why Fellowes structured his show to hit the war at the end of the first season.

I love me some Merchant Ivory, LOL! I do think the MI films dealt with ambiguity and emotional complexity in a way we don't see in cinema anymore -- Howard's End is an example (I couldn't stand it the first time I say it but it took later viewings to realize that this was not A Room with a View and was not going to feature True Love and Fairy Tale endings).

I don't think WWI is the problem with Downton as it is the perfect lynchpin for the show -- a defining, apocalyptic era when attitudes towards class shifted and changed forever. And the final season of Blackadder proved perfectly that you do not need big budget battle theatrics to drive home the point about the horror of war. In fact, you can use humor, five characters and one studio to make it even more poignant. Downton + WWI work best when it is the little details like the blind soldier who killed himself, Thomas so scared that he risks having his hand shot through in order to escape the front, Edith having to write letters for convalescing, traumatised soldiers (did anybody ever see the movie Atonement, by the way? There is a great scene featuring a nurse and dying French soldier illustrating just that). On a personal level, it's not just about a generation of men wiped out but a generation of women who lost loved ones or would never be able to marry -- and some of those who decided to enter the workplace and espouse a life's vocation instead.

I will be interested to see if the 1919 Christmas special touches on the horrendous Spanish influenza epidemic which swept Europe at the end of WWI and ended up killing off another couple million of people.

I really do love this show but -- it is racing along at break-neck speed. Four episodes in and we are already in 1918? Wow, that was a quick Great War. The War was this huge emotional and societal trauma which turned Britain away forever from its feudal, aristocratic past and brought the possibility of class revolution to the forefront. No way after WWI would the working man sign up as cannon fodder while his well-born "superiors" blithely sacrifice an entire generation for God, king and country. This is dramatic stuff that impacts on every aspect of Downton Abbey but it is so rushed that I am not really feeling the pathos.

Maybe Fellowes will surprise me with the final 4 episodes. Thank God for Dame Maggie Smith, eh.

Grudging respect for Kyle for (a) owning up to being mean, ( b ) actually having the decency to feel embarassed and remorseful about it and ( c ) not blaming Bravo for the "editing." Heck, even Camille pulled that latter excuse.

I miss Dina "Bubies" Manzo, too, Cheap. She was my favorite of the NJ housewives the first two seasons. Shocked that she and Caroline are on the outs, though. I know Dina is Audriana's godmother but D + C always had each other's back. There's more going on here than any of these peeps are willing to admit to. Jealousy on all sides seems to be a part of it. That and an unwillingness to admit when they might be wrong. Maybe they should take a page out of Kyle's book.

The woman owns two restaurants and makes her own potato salad from scratch. Of course I am buying this! Lisa

I love how authoratively Giggy is sitting on his mistress's lap, one paw on the arm of the chair. It's like he's smiling at the camera, lol.

Dana is just a try-hard... but it'll make for good story because there are a lot of social climbers in Beverly Hills! It's obvious she is insecure next to Adrienne's wealth and power (she was almost more devastated than Brandi when Adrienne called to cancel), Camille and Lisa's connections and Kyle and Kim's "we were child stars" status. That's why she kept name-checking her clothes every five seconds. And we are going to need this try-hard wannabe to bitch about once Taylor's drama wears off and Kim is emergency-rushed to Promises. Which I hope happens soon because Kim doesn't need drugs to be hilarious. Remember her comments about Camille's "psychic"? The one "puh-puh-puffing away" on her electric cigarette?

I think AshLEE is horrendous but necessary for the show. Jacqueline's interaction with her, Chris and her ex-husband was the best part of this past season. It would be great to see that idiot getting some payback, actually.

Watching RHONY Season 3. I know I am behind you guys but I just had to comment here. Holy [!@#$%^&*] and/or LMAO at:

-LuAnn's "producer" for Money Can't Buy You Class.

-Ramona paddling around the Virgin Islands in full snorkeling gear, floaters and a noodle.

-Sonja not going swimming because she didn't want to waste a good hair day.

-Bethenny's mega-prego face during the interview VTs.

-Kelly leaving her Prozac and Ritalin at home.

-Alex's uncontrollable huh-huh-huh laugh.

-Bethenny (about Kelly): "Bye lunatic. I'm going to the Hooters boat to talk to some sane people."

-That toxic, self-absorbed bitch Jill getting in the way of pro skaters like Johnny Weir on the ice-rink -- and being told to take her famewhore ass and [!@#$%^&*] off by an angry Russian skating coach.

-Jill: "Wuh-mo-nuh! Wuh-mo-nuh! Suh-PROIZE!" Ramona: Bethenny: Alex:

-Bobby Zarin trying to smooth things over. Even though I hate his wife, I really like him.

-Jill finally getting a taste of her own medicine and having her ass meangirled off the Virgin Islands. The most satisfying piece of television I have seen in years.

-LuAnn hastily backpedaling with Bethenny when she realizes Jill is no longer Queen Bee anymore.

Not sure of my reactions to Greg on RHONJ. He is a s*%t stirrer and a wannabe housewife

IA. Gorgeous Greg rubs me the wrong way. He is to the RHONJ what dana is to the RHOBH -- a wannabe try-hard.

Speaking of Dana, sit the [!@#$%^&*] DOWN, ho. The way she was attacking Brandi for confronting "my friends Kyle and Kim" -- didn't she just meet them last week? And the way Brandi was being meangirled at Game Night was horrendous. Camille's observations were spot-on. And why were the women so loathe to point out the obvious? Kim was loaded and not just with drink.

NJ:

Teresa, I... well, it's clear she's jealous (of Caroline's cooking prowess, of the success of the Brownstone probably) and unable to admit that her life is a hot mess. I am honestly just about done with all the Gorgas at this point. Melissa is smart but also sanctimonious and smug, and that rubs me the wrong way. Kathy... sigh. I do like Crazy Jeff Goldblum, though. I swear Teresa's father looks like he's about to punch somebody everytime we see him. So maybe time to phase them all out?

LMAO at Ashley changing her name to "Ashlee." What an asinine change. How about tweaking more than one letter next time? She really is too stupid to live. And have you noticed how every time somebody starts talking about working, the girl starts crying like somebody killed her pet dog? It's like "Work? Horrors! Fate worse than death." No wonder Jacqueline is so over dealing with her.

Money can't buy you class! Elegance is learrrrrrrrrned. MY FRIENDS. Who can forget that instant dance classic?

I am in the middle of watching Season 3 of RHONYC. Jesus. Jill is a vengeful, nasty bitch but, at the same time, Bethenny is a self-absorbed loudmouth who dumped her BFF as soon as she scored herself a guy. If I were Jill, I'd be pissed that Bethenny didn't even bother to check up on Bobby in the hospital.

Can't stand LuAnn. Ramona is BSC. Kelly is gorgeous but a total flake bimbo. I can't believe I actually like Alex this season.

:lol: :lol: I knew Lisa reminded me of somebody!

Um, Joey Gorga with his private parts pixalated out looks like this:

What to be said about Beverly Hills...

Brandi constantly puts her foot in her mouth. She thinks she's ballsy, but she's really just ignorant or socially awkward. That's my impression.

Dana ("did you hear?" ::::points to sunglasses:::: "25,000!") is the epitome of desperation. Don't like her. Nice, but desperate.

I'm looking forward to the "SLUT PIG" blow-out that'll start on next week's episode!

Camille is just there. She clearly wants to fly under the radar this season and not be considered the villainess.

Kim is a mess. Taylor is a mess. It's a battle to the bottom.

I'm enjoying BH; it doesn't seem forced. Yet.

Agreed with so much of this. Camille is working overtime to not appear the villainess. I still think that she is exceedingly self-absorbed, self-obsessed, all the accusations that were levelled at her last year... but she is also vulnerable and has been hurt by Kelsey's affair and the divorce. Women can be more than one thing! I wish Camille would just allow all the facets of her personality to be shown, I can understand that she is wary of Bravo editing the footage to make her look bad.

Don't like Dana either. She's trying too hard -- to become a full cast member. Right now she's just a lucky ho who hooked up with an investment banker and has zero taste in clothing and accessories.

I loved Kim in the last epiosde when she was doing that booty dance on the plane and imitating Lisa's big fur puff of a hat. But this episode, it was clear the toll this drink and drug-use is having on her. Kim seems so lonely. I hope this is somewhat exaggerated for the cameras because I feel guilty about finding her flakiness entertaining. I was sort of hoping her kookiness and sense of humor was just the way she was and not induced by narcotics.

Brandi isn't so much a bitch as she calls things as she sees them, IMO. She's not super bright and not in the "in crowd". She's an ex-"model" who married a philandering, B-list TV actor. She is going to be no match against Lisa's acid tongue and the Kyle & Kim tag team but I'm sort of intrigued at how guilessly she gets on everybody's bad side.

Jacqueline and Caroline made their point -- by checking out of the Punta Cana episodes (Caroline), pulling Ashley from the show and not showing up for the reunion episodes (Jacqueline). Bravo assuaged them and milked it for all it was worth because this is saving the season from total failure. It's getting people to tune into the next season, and that's a win for Bravo.

I guess Andy Cohen is letting everybody know: don't bother showing up to the RH franchise unless you are ready to "make drama." The irony is that I think people tune in as much for the decent, "tentpole" housewives as much as for the bitch divas.

Speaking of bitch... Another day, another housewife for BH's Kyle to mean-girl. Does that woman like anybody apart from Taylor?

Wll, it's too bad. RHONJ was may favorite out of the entire RH franchise, precisely because these women felt more "real" to me. I loved Caroline, Dina, Jacqueline and Danielle. This season, however, has been a crashing disappointment and Sunday's epi was a sad illustration of that. Part of it is because Danielle and Dina are gone; part of it is that Jacqueline and Caroline have checked out in all but name. Part of it is this incessant focus on the Gorga-Giudices, all of whom are famewhores. Melissa "praying" to ThankYouJEEsus before she goes to plug that song she lipsynchs to? GMAFB. I'm not too interested in the antics of the Manzo Boys and Gorgeous Greg, either, but I guess they had to do something to fill the Jacqueline/Ashley-sized hole left in the season. I would like to see more of Caroline and her husband Albert who has the best bitchface of any straight man I have ever seen. I would also like to see more of Kathy, Rich and their kids, Kathy comes across so much better when she is interacting with people she truly loves.

Teresa's hatred and shenanigans are beyond stupid at this point. She is alienating everybody, hurting her children and God knows what is going on with Juicy Joe. I agree, WTGH, a little Kim G might also go a long way.

I forgot, you're in the UK right now, aren't you? It sounds like it's near impossible to escape Downton over there... I have a feeling after the editing of 20 minutes or so last season, PBS won't edit the American showing this Spring, but I'm not taking my chances--I'm pretty much up to date. I LOVED the Toad Hall reference, lol... (I actually thought at first it was anachronistic, as for some reason I always thought Wind in the Willows was from the 1930s--but of course Julian Fellowes would never allow that, and the book was actually written shortly after the turn of the century...)

Yep -- and its funny you should mention dating the Toad Hall reference because I wondered whether it was written in the 1920s. But of course Julian Fellowes would have looked it up. He was probably a Wind in the Willows fan when he was a boy. I remember having to read it in junior school here when I was little. It's practically a rite of passage for most little kids here (well, until some idiot government minister deems it non-PC or something).

The big question is.... will Fellowes have Matthew Crawley die in the Great War? Lord knows it's a risk as the actor has a lot of chemistry with Michelle Dockery.

I wonder what the fight was about. Apparently Tre may have set Melissa up with a stripper? If this is true, it makes me rethink my support of Teresa. I always gave her the benefit of the doubt over Melissa and Kathy.

YES.

Lieutenant Courtney. :( That blind boy was so impossibly beautiful. I can see why Thomas fell for him.

LOL at the Dowager Duchess calling Edith Toad of Toad Hall after she found out she was driving a tractor.

NEW JERSEY: Based on tweets, last night was the Posche fashion show, and there was drama (a soap actress, Martha Byrne said there was a fight in the bathroom and Tre was in the bathroom). And Joe Gorga tweeted this morning that he thought blood was supposed to be thicker than water.

OMFG. ATWT and RHoNJ in one crazy cross-pollination of drama! I've died and gone to heaven!

LOL. That is spooky. I swear I just had a visual of Lily and Teresa pulling each other's hair out! In reality, though, I hope Melissa got her ass beat and handed to her.

Ehhhh, I don't blame her for trashing Cibrian publically. He really did her wrong and LeAnn wasn't too gracious either, stalking her and bad-mouthing her in public at a time when Brandi was not a public figure. However, she did come across as a trashy bimbo in the last episode. It's like she expected to be part of the BH social firmament as soon as she showed up at the charity event and couldn't comprehend why people weren't opening up their arms to welcome her. She certainly didn't endear herself.

LOL, did anybody notice Taylor being super-friendly to Brandi and then running back to Kyle and Lisa to bitch about her?

http://jezebel.com/lisa-vanderpump/

Apparently, before Lisa met Ken and his dogs, she was in the videos for ABC's 80s hits Look of Love and Poison Arrow ("shoot that poison arrow to my hah-heart!"). LOL.

Sigh. I just love Lisa and Adrienne on RHOBH. I sort of wish Adrienne had gone out on the court and announced that the Kings were staying in Sacramento, though.

Brandi = blah, so far. Creepy publicist Eliott Mintz, OTOH? We need more of him and his weird way of holding a wine glass.

What happened between Melissa and Jay Mohr?

Joe Gorga and Melissa are not as well off as they seem. They have an upcoming $1 million dollar payment on their balloon mortgage, which they cannot afford.

Caroline and Teresa's friendship imploded once Teresa lost her money.

Kathy is really a hairdresser. She and Rich are going bankrupt trying to front "the lifestyle" the show demands.

There's a persistent rumor of the Radziwill widow being cast. She's Jackie O's younger sister.

1. http://www.realityshowbuzz.com/news/2011/09/17/melissa-gorga-and-jay-mohr-get-%E2%80%9Ctwisted%E2%80%9D-in-twitter-feud-jay-says-melissa-asked-him-to-trash-teresa-giudice-in-his-blogs/

Apparently Melissa is sore about something Jay said about her on the show.

2. I was going to say... in this economy, with the residential sector STILL in recession for a third year straight, I am surprised Joey Gorgonzola is making any money based on construction at the moment.

3. So... did Caroline dump Teresa once the money went? I like Caroline on the show so that would make me sad.

4. All this pretence. What's wrong with being a hairdresser and still being part of the RHONJ? Caroline and Dina never hid their family's working class roots.

5. I am STUNNED by this rumor. Lee Radziwell is as famously private as her late sister Jackie. Plus she is a big name among the US and European "aristocracy" and I couldn't see her circle really supporting her in a reality show endeavour. Not that I wouldn't love to watch her, of course, LOL.

She must be a big SCTV fan.

I wish people wouldn't give attention to the toxic Dina Lohan. She's not entertaining, or worth spit.

I worry that in a reboot of either RHONY or BH, Andy Cohen panics and invites Dina Lohan into the mix. What would be the point? We already know she's a cokehead and child pimp.

The real Ramona is even more of a hot mess than that parody! I don't know whether it is bipolar issues, drunkeness or serious OCD, but Ramona comes across as very odd sometimes.

Re: BH -- looks like it is a race to the bottom for both Taylor and Kim. Who will have a medication-fuelled breakdown first? Sigh. It's so funny seeing Adrienne trying to look alarmed by all this when her entire face can't move.

^^ Sure I get that -- Teresa is a monster of her own creation, with equally monstrous relations and a truly monstrous husband. She has run after fame and fortune at any cost. She is a total fake. But I feel sorry for her in a way. She has her own blood laughing at her because her husband went bankrupt -- at this point in time with everybody struggling, destitution is no joke IMO. She's working overtime to present this perfect image of family and working those darn cookbooks for all they are worth. Meanwhile her hubby is mobbed up to the eyeballs, out of a job, drunk and threatening her half the time. She's got no support from her idiot brother, nor his famewhore wife and nasty cousin who smugly rejoice at Tre's misfortune. So, even though she's had it coming, payback really is a bitch for her and I can't help feeling pity for her and especially her kids. Then again, I always felt a little sorry for Danielle and her girls, too, so maybe it's just a question of the twisted characters that appeal to me on this show.