The Real World is ready to join the Mile High Club.

ADVERTISEMENT

MTV has that the 18th season of its whiny-roommates series is setting up shop in Denver for the upcoming season.

"Denver has absolutely everything we could hope for--diversity, activities, energy and nightlife," Lois Curren, executive vice president of MTV series, said in a statement. "We're sure that the character and spirit of this picturesque city will be endlessly compelling to the seven roommates and audience alike."

Probably. But potentially more compelling will be the half-naked, hook-up-ready roommies, primed by the aforementioned activities, energy and combination.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Denver to showcase our cultural and recreational vibrancy to a very large, young audience," Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said.

"MTV has made an outstanding choice," seconded Colorado Governor Bill Owens.

The cable net's signature series will make Denver's lower downtown area its home base for four months over the summer, with production scheduled to kick off next month.

The show has already been cast, though the identities of the seven strangers, as well as their place of employment--which in the past has run the gamut from radio stations to Arena football teams to marinas--are being kept under wraps.

The announcement of Denver as the show's next locale was something of a surprise to those following the preproduction of the granddaddy of reality shows--speculation focused on Detroit as the setting for the 18th season.

Hickenlooper, though, learned of his city's casting earlier this month.

"The thing that's so appealing about it is that they consciously let the city become a character in the show," he told the Denver Post. "Every city has its own personality and idiosyncracies, and they come out in the show."

MTV is currently airing the 17th season of the show, filmed in Key West during last year's hurricane season (as if there wouldn't already be enough drama). The show is currently the highest rated on the cable net, and earning some of the series' best ratings.

Surprising though it may be, the selection of Denver, like Key West and Austin before it, follows a pattern of production straying from the major cities of seasons past.

Then again, The Real World had lackluster ratings with its forays to London and Paris and is running out of major U.S. cities.

First airing in 1992, the show has already touched down in Los Angeles, New York (twice), Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Las Vegas, among others.

The Real World: Denver joins the ranks with a 24-episode stint on MTV this fall.

END this show already! I feel so old bc I was there for the 1st season and its now going into its 18th

Haha - Yeah I was with it at Miami (Season 5) and I can't believe it's already on 18. Denver will be good though. Fun place.

Wow Cheap, that's a long time. Let's not forget that they do like two seasons a year sometimes.

LOL.

God will this show just die already?

I was home sick today and bored and flipping through the channels. To my surprise I saw Real World - Chicago being reruned on LOGO. What a different show! I forgot how GOOD it was. REAL people with REAL problems.

Nowadays it all just seems sterotyped, cliched and forced.

I want old seasons on DVD, dammit!

And Miami remains one of my favorite seasons. Not sure why but I ALWAYS remember that season (as well as Chicago) over the others.

Miami and New Orleans were the best seasons, in my personal opinion. Boston was also good, in its own way.

LET

IT

DIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!

LOL.

God will this show just die already?

I was home sick today and bored and flipping through the channels. To my surprise I saw Real World - Chicago being reruned on LOGO. What a different show! I forgot how GOOD it was. REAL people with REAL problems.

Nowadays it all just seems sterotyped, cliched and forced.

I want old seasons on DVD, dammit!

And Miami remains one of my favorite seasons. Not sure why but I ALWAYS remember that season (as well as Chicago) over the others.

it had !@#$%^&*] Flora! I loved that season bc I pretty much loved everyone with the exception of Melissa. Its rare that I love most of the cast mates but they were great that season. I have a hard time picking a favorite bc I loved the 6 w/o Melissa. Who could forgot the classic !@#$%^&*]ing between her and Dan? or Flora trying to spy on Mike having sex in the shower? lol. It was classic. I think the last good RW was Chicago. The show went downhill after B2NY. They sort of redeemed itself with Chicago but its been trash since

I will never forget that scene of Flora trying to spy on Mike having sex in the shower. I was laughing my ass off.

I loved loved loved San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami, Boston (mostly) and Hawaii (at first).

Key West is my first season. I really like the show. It's like Big Brother without the competitions. LOL

I notice Joyce Corrington was listed as an Executive Producer. I wonder if it's the same Joyce Corrington who was a soap writer.

I haven't watched RW since Chicago and even then I didn't see much of it (I should've, it's my town!!). I also saw some of Philadelphia, the season with Landon, Shavonda, etc.

Other than that, I like to watch the Real World/Road Rules competitions. Those are better than the actual shows.

My all-time favorite Real World moments happened during Miami and New Orleans.

The first was Dan and Melissa's royal !@#$%^&*]out on the staircase. I believe Melissa had opened some letter of Dan's that was sitting on the table, and when Dan found out, he was pissed! He got downright shitty. "It wasn't yours to open, you stupid !@#$%^&*]!" Loved that!

I'll never forget the episode with Flora trying to catch Mike having sex in the shower. She, Dan and Sara (that was her name, right?) were all standing outside the window, listening to the noises, when Flora suddenly gets a bright idea that Sara and Dan should hoist her up through the window to get a better look. So, up she goes, and her boobs get stuck between the slats, causing her to break the glass of the windows and come crashing down. Absolute hilarity! You could hear smacking noises coming from inside the bathroom and everything. And I loved Cynthia's commentary of it afterwards. "If I was there, I would've been throwing Holy water on all of 'em... y'all goin to hell, y'all goin to hell!" That was priceless.

My third and final favorite Real World moment happened with New Orleans. Danny had just recently come out of the closet to his family and met a man named Paul. They instantly fell in love, and Danny was cast on the show. One problem... Paul was in the military. So, for the entire first episode, Danny kept parading around the fact that he had a secret. Finally, he confessed that he was gay after Melissa saw a picture of him and Paul in an embrace and with a wink, he explained that they were "good friends." Heh. Anyway, Danny and Paul missed the hell out of one another, but Paul was afraid of coming and having his face caught on camera because of the military's don't ask/don't tell policy. Eventually, the show agreed to blur Paul's face out of the final edits, and Paul decided to pay Danny a visit. Next thing we know, Paul is outside hiding behind the bushes, shaking... he wants to see Danny so badly, but he's so afraid. So, Danny rushes outside, puts his arms around him and they embrace while John Mayer's "Back To You" plays in the background. SUCH a great moment! Loved the Danny/Paul lovestory. To this day, they're still together. MTV had a big special a few years ago finally revealing Paul's face once he was out of the military, LoL.

Key West is my first season.

Really? Wow, I thought I was the only newbie. I used to watch it in pieces when I was younger but the first full season I watched was Austin, which sucked the big one.

This show needs to end. I think we've seen enough of these !@#$%^&*]y, whiny, self-asorbed sex maniacs. The only two cities that held my interest was the first in NYC because the stereotypes weren't in place yet, and Hawaii, because of the fallout in dealing with Ruthie's alcohol problem.

The show needs to end.

This season theyre making a mockery of an eating disorder.

Whats next in Denver? Taping a guy cutting himself to release the pain?

What started out as a topical show with real people and real issues has developed into a scripted farce that feeds the flames of bigotry and ignorance, using people and their very real problems to score ratings. How can TIIC sleep at night?

Oh yea...in a pile of money...