Reality TV or Really Fake?

It makes no sense, but I want reality TV to be real.  I want to see real people doing real things and experiencing real emotions.  I still remember how betrayed I felt when I found out that so much of The Hills was staged and scripted.  If they are going to pass it off as real, I want it to be real but the thirst for drama and the competition for ratings has only gotten more intense over the years so I am having to learn to accept that half of it is fake.  Why do I watch these shows again?   

Season 1:  Monet & Vaughn, Jamie & Doug, Jason & Courtney

Is anyone else watching Married at First Sight?  Or is everyone still obsessed with The Bachelor?  I quit watching The Bachelor a long time ago.  The episodes were too long.  It was two hours weekly hours of what could have been condensed into one without all of the long pauses and elaborate rose ceremony back when I was watching it.  After the show became a hit and spun off into the Bachelorette in alternating seasons with the loser from the previous episode getting their own show it was just too obvious that everything was contrived.  The runner ups go on Dancing with the stars and all I could see is a circus for people who want a free vacation and the chance at reality TV fame.  I love drama, I really do, but I wanted to watch people fall in love and everything but was happening.  I wasn't that crazy about it to begin with.  I have fond memories of Trista and Ryan, but it wasn't too hard for me to quit.  

Then I heard about Married at First Sight.  This groundbreaking show in which people agreed to be matched up by experts, and have their first meeting at the alter right before they say their wedding vows.  Everything happens in their own city and they continue their regular lives as they are filmed for the show.  Crazy right?  I am already happily married so it's hard to say if I could bring myself to do such a thing.  I hate the idea of cameras documenting it, but...I think I might be open to it.  Some people walked out of the casting when they heard it would be a legal marriage.  Nobody knew a thing about the show yet and the ones who remained were truly interested in taking this bizarre chance to find their life partner.  Well, that was season 1 in NYC.  All the crazies came out for season 2 NYC, and it was a complete train wreck.   We are approaching the end of season 3 Atlanta, casting has already been announced for season 4 Miami and any hope for authenticity or true love is starting to look like a lost cause.

I love the idea of it.  Why not?  People meet on the internet, arranged marriages are very much a thing in some cultures, and if you have had struck out on finding a life partner on your own....well it is not entirely impossible that someone else might do a better job of it.  Married at first sight, the honeymoon, move in together and 6 weeks after "I do" the couples have to decide if they will stay married or get divorced.  On season one two out of the the three couples stayed together and are both entering their second year of marriage.  The third wife that got divorced is now part of a spin off show called Black Love.  On season two there were two out of three couples who decided to stay together, but six months later they were no longer together.  Jessica and Ryan D were  reduced to restraining orders.   Sean and Davina had geographical barriers and Davina was a raging narcissist in my opinion. All three seasons had a couple in which the wife didn't find the husband attractive.  In season one Jamie overcame this.  She and Doug are still married.  In season two Jaclyn overcame this and became attracted to Ryan, but he couldn't commit or overcome his attachment to living with his mom and niece.

Season 2 (Top): Jessica & Ryan, Sean & Davina, Jessica & Ryan // Season 3:  Sam & Neil, David & Ashley, Vanessa & Tres

Which brings us to Season 3 which is looking like only a little bit less of a train wreck than it did in the beginning.  Samantha is not initially attracted to Neil and was a plain old meanie at the beginning, but seems to be coming around.  She was so mean, rude and immature I can't believe Neil was so patient.  David continues to profess his affection and shed tears for Ashley who is probably friendlier to the cashier at the grocery store than she is to the stranger she agreed to marry.  She's so cold that even after David is accused of inviting another girl out for drinks I'm still in his corner.  Nobody made her do the show yet she acts like she is totally put out that now she has to try to like the guy.  She has a serious stick up her butt.  Maybe it's the camera's, but she is stone cold and so closed off that she probably is not a good fit for a show like this in the first place.  Tres and Vanessa had instant attraction, and that may or may not have something to do with them being the only couple out of the three to consummate their marriage.  Neil and Sam have progressed to hugs, but Ashley won't let David touch her hand.  Tres and Vanessa hit road blocks when Vanessa's daddy issues are triggered and she gets upset at him for things she is afraid he may do, but I have hope that they will last.   Only recently do I have hope for Neil and Samantha.  David and Ashley don't stand a chance.

These couples try to fit what usually happens in months and years into six weeks.  The learning to live together, the petty fights, the move towards trust, the falling in love.  People are people and marriage is tricky.  As a married person myself, I really find the expert advice, counseling sessions throughout the season and the way the couples navigate this process to be very interesting.  There is useful information in every season.

Married at First Sight seems a heck of a lot more thought out than The Bachelor Casting.  I'm sure they do a psychological evaluation as all reality TV shows probably do, but good looks and a potential story line is probably just as important if not more important as personality traits.  The experts of Married at First Sight stand by their process.  The questionnaires are thorough, every angle is considered, and they are truly matching people who they deem compatible, but any season after the first one is a bit spoiled for me because once a show "takes off" I really question the intentions of the participants.  I should probably do that anyway, but I'm one of those people who wants to believe everything is real.  Not only that, but the cameras themselves probably skew the entire process as well.  Do they just want to be on TV?  Do they just want to get paid?  I don't know if it's true or not, but I am hearing that they are paid to be on the show and that all of their living expenses are taken care of.  Are they thinking ahead to a possible spin off show like Jamie/Doug and Courtney/Jason did for staying together?  Everyone from season 1 is still on TV and Jamie has started her own jewelry line.  She is also a former Bachelor contestant.

Season one was legit.  All three couples really seemed to be in it for the right reasons and very committed to the process.   I give Jamie the side eye now and then because she seems so eager for fame, but on the other hand I think she really wanted to find love and why not capitalize on the exposure.  This show seems so much more realistic than The Bachelor.  I mean, they get legally married.  To a stranger.  I don't think anyone can take that too lightly.  I want it to be real, but in the end each episode is just a snippet of what actually happened.  There are cameras and ratings and the lines are so blurred that it is impossible to tell one way or the other.

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Fond Farewell to America's Next Top Model

The end of America's Next Top Model is not just the end of a TV show.  It's the end of an era.  I feels like it has been on forever and I've watched every single episode of every single cycle since it started in 2003.  All 22 of them.  2003!! Twelve years ago.  I didn't have DVR until 2010.  That was a lifetime ago for me.  So much has changed since then, but through it all twice a year for the last 12 years there was ANTM.  I used to stop at Golden Spoon on my way home from work so I could eat it while I watched.  It was my routine.  I even got MJ to eat yogurt and watch it with me for a few seasons.  Cycle 13 was 5'7" and under, Cycle 22 removed the 5'8" height restriction.  I guess this means the over 30 5'7" and under season that I've been waiting for is never coming. 

When I heard in October that Cycle 22 would be the last season of America's Next Top Model ever I had mixed feelings.  In the beginning it really was all about modeling and I loved it!  What it takes to be a model, what photo shoots are like, and the journey.  First they got rid of Nigel Barker (photographer), J. Manuel (Creative director for photo shoots) and J. Alexander (runway coach), after 17 cycles.  I think the ratings were down and they needed to do something to shake things up.  I get that the show needed to change and evolve to keep people interested and attract new viewers, but I liked it just the way it was.  They were trying to make things new and fresh, but for me, that was really the beginning of the end.  Cycle 17 was All-Stars.  Cycle 18 was British Invasion.  For Cycle 19 College Edition, Bryan Boy was the social media correspondent and they added a social media score that gave the viewers a say in who moves forward.  They eventually brought J. Alexander back and added dark force Kelly Cutrone.  She was to America's Next Top Model what Simon Cowell was to American Idol.  Mean, but good for ratings.  Maybe ratings went up, but in my opinion they compromised the integrity of the show to do it.  I know, I know.  How much integrity can reality TV have anyway? By this time, I wasn't even sure if I liked the show anymore, but I'd never quit the show as long as it was on the air.  Things were already going downhill and then in Cycle 20 it went from bad to worse when they brought in the guys.

I wasn't interested in watching guys model or the additional drama it would create on the show.  The show was about making it in the modeling industry, not whether or not so and so had a threesome in the hot tub.  The shoots and the cat fights were already way out of control and with the addition of men it started to look like a MTV Reality TV show.  Specifically, The Real World.  I aged out of that show long before it went off the air and really, I was aging out of ANTM.  I was most definitely not their target demographic, but my interest in modeling kept me watching.  Unlike shows like The Real Housewives of whatever, at least there was a point, even if was buried under the bizarre photo shoots and  over the top Tyovers.  That is a Tyra Banks make over for those who don't know.  On Cycle 21 one of the guys got a beard weave.  Yes, a beard weave.  It was a rug for his face and it was ridiculous.  Another model was given half white half black hair dye job with opposite eyebrows colored to match.  That was bad enough, but the half shaved head in Cycle 22 nearly pushed me over the edge. 

"ANTM Cycle 22 Cast" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

America's Next Top Model brought us awesome words like smize and booty-tooch, but it did a lot more than that.  For Tyra, it was a platform for her to revive her career and a launch pad for numerous business ventures.  She certainly helped herself, but in the process helped a lot of other people too.  There is always talk about, well where are ANTM winners?  Are they even famous?  Eva Pigford (Cycle 3 winner) has 27 credits on IMBD.  The runner up for that cycle Yaya DaCosta has 31. I follow Reina Hein runner-up from Cycle 14 on Instagram.  She is definitely working and was recently hired by Tyra for the Tyra Beauty cosmetics line.  I see them in adds all the time.  You may not know their names or remember their faces, but a lot ANTM contestants are working in the industry.  Only a few have walked in the much sought after couture runways and maybe they aren't on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, but that is rare air many working models never see.  Some have found that being on the show was a burden.  Rene Alway (Cycle 7) is in jail.  Jael Strauss (Cycle 8) found herself in an intervention on Dr. Phil and Lisa D'Amato (Cycle 5) ended up on Dr. Drew's celebrity rehab.  I still don't know what happened to her spread for Express.  I never saw it.  Being a finalist on the show does not automatically lead to success.  That is not realistic anyway, but doors were opened for a lot of people.

Cycle 7 winner CariDee English posted an interesting comment here.   

Tyra won't do anything. She provided a wonderful platform for girls to have a chance at their dream, but, after there is no "Tyra Mail". I had to guide myself, and even though I won a model competition I still had no idea what the modeling BUSINESS was like.  The fashion industry had NO idea how to market us. Our agents, our managers..... because we become a instant celeb.... but had a portfolio of a rookie model. Even though we just were named "TOP" our place in line at Fashion World was at the bottom.  The industry many times didn't care about our name, but did turn a snobby cheek to the name ANTM. 

She struggled after the show but made this list of 15 Most Successful ANTM contestants.

I like Tyra Banks.  She will be the first to tell you she looks totally different without make and that this modeling thing is all smoke and mirrors.  She runs modeling contests on Instagram and seems to genuinely enjoy helping models get started.  I like it that she encourages contestants to follow in her footsteps by being business minded and thinking beyond modeling.  I raised my eyebrows at many contestants over the years wondering why they got picked, but Tyra was looking for unconventional.  She pushed the industry to recognize that beauty and model material comes in many shapes, sizes and colors that don't fit industry standard. 

A reality show is a reality show these days no matter how cloaked in a greater purpose it tries to be, but if you can look past the cliche casting and situations that catered to ratings America's Next Top Model had a lot of heart.  It appealed to that side of me loves a rags to riches fairy tale story and reminded me of what reality shows used to be, before they evolved into the not scripted but scripted train wrecks that most of them are today.  I got excited for how far they came and all the exciting things they get to do.  Dreams did come true on that show.  Everyone has a back story and it's always interesting to see how it all plays out on the show.  One episode invited the mom's of the finalist to do photo shoots with their kids and had her mom be the photographer.  It was so sweet.  I was in tears for half of it.  The last cycle did not include an international trip for the first time in a long time...or ever?  There was a Vegas jaunt to shoot for Zappos and then the show finished off with the final runway show in Los Angeles.  Nyle DiMarco was the very last winner of America's Next Top Model ever.  He also just so happens to be deaf.  There is no way that anyone could argue that this show isn't doing something for him or his platform to make American Sign Language more mainstream.  The show definitely went out with a bang.

I formed a great attachment to this show over the years.  I will miss it, but I think it ran it's course and this was a good time for it to go.

 
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You Either Got It or You Don't

My first thought.  Wow. Just wow. The kid's hair is wild and she's so young that she doesn't even have all of her teeth but if I weren't looking at her I'd think she was a 30-40 something singing in some fancy Jazz club in New York city.  This is a perfect example of someone who is literally born to do something.  I'm not saying that she doesn't have to practice or that she won't have to work hard at it but at that age or any age you don't sound this way unless you were gifted with a talent.

My second thought is why not me?  I love Karaoke but I can't sing to save my life and I'm certain that even if I worked at it 8 hours a day 5 days a week I would never sound even close to this.  I don't have to be a singer, it just  would have been nice to have been born with some natural talent besides being the only one in the room that will notice a spider or maintain muscle tone even if I don't work out.  Seriously.  I thought really hard-those are the only things I could think of and they aren't even talents!!  Am I really jealous of an 8 year old?

You either got it or you don't and Angelina Jordan REALLY has it.  She's adorable.  The rat nest hair could be her signature look, she'll eventually have all of her teeth and hopefully she is off to a great career doing something she is not only uniquely talented at but that she enjoys.  Basically living the dream.

  

If You Want Something Go Get it

Funny how sometimes you don't even realize that you need a little inspiration until after you get it.  Sports and athleticism is everything that dreams are made of.  Hard work, determination, challenge, pain, fear, victory and defeat.  This video made my eyes tear up and a sticky lump form in my throat.  I can't even pin point exactly why.  I do know that it has nothing to do with my crushed dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast.  As much as I loved and still love gymnastics I wasn't really that great at it.

I might sound like a pessimist saying this but sometimes it's so annoying to constantly hear that if you work hard enough you can be anything that you want to be and do anything that you want to do.  The people you hear saying it are usually the ones that found that pot at the end of the rainbow.  It feels all nice and fuzzy to say it but the reality is that no matter how hard you try not all dreams come true.  I hate to be a Debbie downer but that's the truth of the matter.  There is absolutely no guarantee etched in stone somewhere that dreams come true.  It is true that it's possible to dream big and accomplish something even bigger but hard work and dreaming it doesn't always make it so.  That's no reason to quit or give up though, and I think you should believe wholeheartedly that it can come true.  Don't stop dreaming.  Don't stop believing.  You kind of have to in order to keep reaching for it but in the end the only thing you can control is whether or not you really and truly did your best and tried your hardest.

Reality TV has gotten so trashy along the way but that's not how it started.  In the beginning most of them seemed to be centered around dream chasing and that's what attracted me to it the most.  The Real World started out with seven strangers with stars in their eyes off to New York City.  A lot of people know Lucy Hale from Pretty Little Liars.  She was on American Juniors 10 years ago.  I watched every single episode.  And this was before DVR.  I don't watch the show but when I saw that she was on it, I thought to myself.  Wow.  She made it.  I cried like a baby when Kelly Clarkson won American Idol and season after season tears fall down my face when I watch the winner of America's Next Top Model announced.  I even watched a few episodes of Food Court Wars and I can't wait to start watching the first episode of Chasing Nashville.  Against all odds.  Despite the day to day challenges of life.  It's such a beautiful and inspirational thing to see people realize their dreams.  I really can't get enough of it.

My emotional response to this video is without completed fill in the blank answers but at the same time very telling.  True, I cry when fictional characters die in movies and when people win reality TV shows.  And I'm a sucker for beautiful Gymnastics but it was more then that.  It stirred up something else inside of me.  I may not know what's behind it but I can only hope that some day I will figure it out.

Listen to the words.  What do they say to you?

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I Watch Too Much TV

I admit it.  I watch a hell of a lot of TV.  Or do I really?  It sure looks that way based on this looooong list of shows that I've been watching or plan to watch.  Is it any surprise that most of the TV watching I do is made up of non scripted shows?  And don't you just love this whole scripted vs non scripted distinction?  It's funny to think that there is a generation of children who don't know a day before reality TV and Reality TV "stars" existed.  I'm really picky about adding any new shows to my lineup because it's already so full.  Reality TV has taken over and I let it happen.  Oh goodness.  What am I doing with my life?

OVER 
Naked and Afraid
This show is nuts! Somehow I came across it on the Discovery Channel.  The title alone piqued my curiosity.  I tried to convince myself that I wasn't really watching it by not scheduling it to record in my DVR.  I recorded it episode by episode on my Direct TV app.  But who was I kidding?  I was hooked.  And I watched every single episode.  They take two people; a man and a woman with specialized survivalist skills and drop them into the middle of nowhere totally naked with only one survival item each for 21 days.  The camera crew is not to intervene unless there is a medical emergency. These people are hard core to even think about doing this if you asked me.  The swamps of the Bayou and the jungles of Panama are just two dreadful examples of places these people have been dumped.  There are snakes, alligators and leeches among other horrible creatures lurking all around them.  The couple in the Bayou were basically living in a swamp. Every person on the show has lost at least 18 lbs from near starvation and dehydration.  Talk about a crazy crash diet.  I would die! I'm afraid of any and all bugs.  I'm even afraid of fish.  I would not last a minute. They are casting for the next season if anyone is crazy enough or has a death wish.


ON NOW
Breaking Amish: LA
I watched Breaking Amish: Brave New World when they went to NYC too.  That title.  How dramatic can you get?  Well the shenanigans on that show definitely lived up to it.  There was so much ridiculous drama that I'm convinced it has to be fake.  It's like they were purposefully acting like jerks just so they would have stuff to fight about.  The only person I could tolerate by the end of the season was Kate; and they all seemed to gang up on her just for kicks.  LA is more of the same.  They get on a plane, experience electricity and running water for the first time.  Then they wear "English" clothes for the first time.  Once they step out of those farm clothes the madness begins.  This season is even worse.  There is already a bonafide witch and a lesbian sex scandal.  

Dance Mom's
Yep.  Still watching.  Abby is so critical.  She plays favorites and intentionally tries to pit the girls against each other.  She would adopt Maddie if Melissa would let her and she makes no secret of her distaste for Chloe, Brooke and Paige.  All the mom's do is yell and argue.  They basically seem to hate each other.  They  introduce new mom's into the mix just hoping for a fight and it usually happens.  Some of the mom's are so immature it's ridiculous.  They cuss, call each other names and get up in each others faces.  It's really bad!  The most refreshing thing about this show is how much the girls genuinely seem care about one another even when Abby is obviously trying to play one against the other.  The hugs and the kisses and words of encouragement that they give each other takes a backseat to all the drama but I can tell these girls are close in spite of all the drama.  I love watching them dance.  They are so talented.  Mj and I usually watch this together but it's really "my" show so he'll just have to miss out or catch up.  Which he won't, so I'll just tell him what happened.

Breaking Pointe
This is a Summer show and is only about 6 weeks long.  It came on last Summer and I deleted it from my DVR because I didn't think it would ever come on again.  I'm so glad I didn't miss it.  This is a behind the scenes drama filled look at Ballet West out of Salt Lake City, UT.  I'm totally intrigued my the concept of being a professional ballerina and I love Ballet so even though I really wish there was more ballet and more about ballet life then just drama I really enjoy watching the show.

America's Next Top Model
This show has been around for 10 years!! And I kid you not.  I have watched every single episode.  Every one!!! Even before I had DVR.  I love watching the girls compete and I love watching someone's dream come true at the end.  And it really does.  You don't even have to win the show to end up being a working model.  If you aren't a die hard fan of the show you may not notice it but I spot ANTM discoveries all over the place.  They fired all the original judges last season with I wasn't too thrilled about.  This season they are changing it up again by allowing Men to compete for the first time ever.  I wasn't too thrilled about that at all.  I just wasn't interested in  watching men model but a few episodes in and it turns out it's not so bad.  The men cry just like the girls when they get eliminated. 

So You Think You Can Dance
So you'd think I'd be watching this show since I love Dance but it turns out that I just couldn't do it.  I watched the first part of the season where they were still doing auditions and trying to make it to the audience vote portion.  I really liked watching the stories behind each dancer.  I even watched the first top 20 elimination show and then I remembered why I can't watch.  It's too damn long!!  I know I'm a TV junkie and all but even with the fast forwarding I cannot commit to watching a show that is 2 hours long every single week.  It's ridiculous.  Every week people get cut and yet the show is still 2 hours long! The dancers are positively amazing and talented.  I am so impressed with the beautiful things they can do with their bodies but I see it as a big time commitment and I just can't do it.  

COMING SOON
Cheer Perfection
I wasn't so sure if this would be back for another season either.  The mom's on this show; one in particular are outrageous.  I used to be a cheerleader so I have to watch it.  Really, I have no choice.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Teen Mom 3
Time for some fresh meat.  I wasn't sure that this show would be back again but the stars have been chosen and even though I kinda don't want to I will be watching.  Why are the girls always from the South or the Midwest?  I'm pretty sure there are teen mom's on the West Coast too.  I'm thinking it might be the last group of Teen Mom's.

Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition
I watched the first season and I'm so glad it's coming back.  They compete each week and one girl wins a dance scholarship to a prestigious ballet company and lots of money.  There will be tons of cat fights and drama of course.  And I love watching the girls dance.  This year the girls look a bit older.

As far as "scripted' shows go we both watch Breaking Bad and have just started getting into Orange is the New Black.  I have this weird prison fascination so that show is perfect for me.  I'm being a good wife and not watching either one until Mj gets back.  If anyone spoils the Breaking Bad season finale for me I'm going to be pissed! We also watch Modern Family which starts up again next month.  House Hunters and Property Virgins seems to be on hiatus at the moment but I'm still watching those too.  We also watch Son's of Anarchy.  A season that we missed is currently piling up in our DVR.  I can't believe I only watch 4 non reality TV shows.  And notice how none of them are shows that I watch all on my own?

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What I'm Not Watching and Why

Reality TV has gotten so out of control. Every single channel from Animal Planet to National Geographic has gotten in on the craze. Some I refuse to watch and others I'm hopelessly addicted to. 

Not Watching:

The Bachelor

It's way too long, way too much drama and nobody ever stays together.  I can't bear to watch the girls crying about how they love him and they don't get to spend enough time with him.  This guy that they just barely met and are somehow falling in love with.  I love it that Trista and Ryan actually met this way and stayed together but they are the exception and not the rule.  I lost hope that it would ever happen again so I stopped watching after the Melissa Rycroft season of The Bachelorette.

Starter Wives Confidential

Ridiculous.  I can't believe they made a show about a bunch of ex wives of famous people.  I don't know much about the show but all it took was one preview for me to say NO WAY!

Gypsy Sister's

I watched My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding but the buck stops here.  It was really interesting finding out about their culture and lifestyle but those sister's are crazy and I just don't feel like getting into their shenanigans.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo 

I never watched this and never will.  This family is just too much for me.  I'm appalled and very turned off by a lot of the clips I've seen so even though I was curious at first left it alone.

American Idol

The last season I watched was when Ruben Stoddard won but up to that point I watched it religiously.  Sometimes I think about watching but I guess I just lost interest.

The Biggest Loser

Mj and I watched one season of this together.  It was so time consuming!  Two hour long episodes is just too much and I got annoyed that they only focus on exercise when diet accounts for a good 90% of weight loss.  I wish they would show more on what they are eating and the challenges of trying to maintain a healthy diet.  I thought about watching again since Jillian Michaels is back but didn't.

Real Housewives of Anything

I watched Orange County, New York and a few seasons of Atlanta then I quit.  I got sick of watching these people living their excessive lifestyles.  It was too much fighting, arguing and drama among people that aren't even friends.  If they hated each other so much they wouldn't hang out but they do because they are thrown together for the show and the drama that they will hopefully create.  I can't stand watching spoiled grown women act so immature and petty.

There might be a bunch that I won't watch but I have plenty of guilty pleasures that I can't get enough of.

Watching:

[Photo Source]

Dance Mom's

This is one of my favorites!  I love watching these talented girls perform.  They are so cute.  Chloe is my favorite and she was getting a lot more solos but is now suspended.  Maddie has fallen from grace but seems to be on her way back up after finally getting another solo and winning.  Abby is straight evil.  It's not just being a tough teacher she is down right rude and mean.   The mom's react to it of course and then it's just this terrible yelling match and power struggle.  It's getting harder and harder to watch.  Just when I think it can't get crazier it does.  The moms are upset and screaming, the kids are crying.  I don't know how these girls focus on their dancing with all the drama going on.  There has got to be another dance studio in Pennsylvania that they can go to.   There is so much jaw dropping drama on this show that Mj has even started watching it with me.

Toddlers and Tiara's

I know, I know.  It's so terrible that these little girls are wearing more make-up then I do, fake nails, fake lashes, fake teeth, fake hair, tanning and then being trotted out onto a stage to be judged on their facial beauty.  I removed it from my DVR one season only to manually record a bunch of them and add it back the next season.  I'm fascinated by mom's who spend thousands of dollars on these pageants and the little girls who control them.  There are even a few pageant Dad's that seem to love it.

Cheer Perfection

I used to be a cheerleader.  I can't not watch this show.  I like watching the girls perform at practice and competitions.  This show comes with it's own set of mama drama.  Anne in particular drives me crazy because for some reason I haven't figured out yet she thinks she's way better then everyone else.  How superior can you be if you think that when you go #2 on a coach bus it falls into the street. 

 

Teen Mom 2

Uggg.  I did a whole rant about this one.  You can find it here.  19 year old Leah who is already a mother to twins had a miscarriage which is indeed sad but she was beyond foolish for wanting another baby in the first place.  Chelsea is still having unprotected sex with the father of her child who is an absolute mean jerk.  I mean really.  Haven't these girls learned their lesson?  The new season starts up again next week and according to the previews the drama is a MOTHER and I'll be right there watching it.  As annoyed as I get with these girls I can't help it.

The Face

I will watch any and all modeling reality TV shows because I love modeling.  This is a new one on Oxygen and Nigel Barker who got booted off of the judging panel of America's Next Top Model is the host.  Successful models Karolina Kurkova, Coco Rocha and Naomi Campbell each lead teams in challenges against each other but only one girl will be the face of an Ulta campaign.   I predict lots of drama, cat fights and tears as one by one their modeling dream shatters.  Too bad Oxygen doesn't have an HD channel.

House Hunters

Always!  Mj is way over it but I never get sick of this one.  The only drama on this show is when couples don't agree on if they should live in the city or the suburbs.

We got into Walking Dead, Son's of Anarchy and Breaking Bad on Netflix.  I didn't even want to start watching those.  We also watch Modern Family and The Office together.   Those are my "scripted" shows.  I love how there is now that distinction of scripted vs non scripted since reality TV has taken over.  There are so many good shows I'm not watching and that's fine with me because I don't want to spend time watching them.  The Carrie Diaries looks really cute and Smash looks like my kind of show. Mj's watching The Followers and The Americans but I can't  want get involved.  As much as I love my couch I don't want to spend my life on it watching TV. 

Teen Mom 2 Dish

As if the girls of Teen Mom 2 hadn't already caused my jaw to drop enough there was a crazy discovery on this week's episode.  We already know that Jenelle's undying love obsession for Ke$ha means that she'd rather do long term jail time then miss her concert.  She'd also prefer to go to jail then quit smoking pot but since she got hauled into jail by her probation officer after failing a urine test she seems to be on the straight and narrow.  She's gone through about 2 roommates in as many months.  Three if you count her mom.

Source: mtv.com via CeCe on Pinterest

  Chelsea crying black mascara streaked tears
Poor Chelsea's little dog got attacked and killed by the neighbor's dog so she had to up and move.  She already has a replacement dog. She just took her last GED test and has been keeping her distance from her horrible ex but for the most part is chronically incapable of getting over him even though he treats her like crap.   I can't be the only one that's wondering what is going on with her shaggy poof of bleached blonde hair.  It looks like ramen noodles.  She also wears a TON of make up and should probably give the tanning a rest.  She's turning Orange.

Let's see...Kailyn cheated on a really great guy to try rekindling things with her baby's daddy.  That didn't work out.  She got lonely and somehow managed to get her ex to take her back then turned around and dumped him because she needed space.  Huh?  She's not allowed to move and take the baby to Florida so she moved into a new house instead.

Leah takes the cake for the most foolish one of all right now.  Will she ever learn?  She married the father of her twins only to be divorced within 6 months.  She was the one who cheated so she begged Corey to take her back and try again.  He refused.  After going on and on about how she rushed everything from getting pregnant, to moving in together to getting married and how she would never ever do that again she moved in with and is engaged to a man she's been dating for about 2 months.  The kicker however, is that she's already pregnant!!!  Oh, and after going on about how much she wanted to provide for her girls and have a career she dropped out of Nursing school.  Thank goodness she moved out of that awful trailer.  She actually wears more mascara then Chelsea.  It's really weird how they all picked up and moved at about the same time.

I liked the original Teen Mom group so much better.  Not that they didn't drive me nuts too.  Farrah annoyed me the most and Amber made me want to scream 90% of the time but I really liked Macy and Catelynn.  There is something about every single one of this new batch of girls and the horrible decisions they make that is very hard to watch.  Season one was good but I'm really sort of over season 2.  Mj stopped watching it a while ago and part of me wants to stop too but for some reason I can't.  A lot of people have claimed that this show glamorizes teen pregnancy but I personally do not see how.  With the exception of Amber the nightmare from Teen Mom 1 and Jenelle I'd say all of them have been really good mom's but their lives are total train wrecks!  They show how incredibly hard it is to balance school, work, relationships and life in general after having a child so young.  I'm not ready for a child at my age let alone theirs and there is nothing glamorous or fun about the crap these girls are dealing with.  Anyone else out there with a love hate relationship with this crazy show or is it just me? 

American Gypsies and Hutterites

First there was My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and now there's My Big Fat AMERICAN Gypsy Wedding and being the nut that I am I watched them both.  I'm just fascinated by this lifestyle.  The show has featured communities in N. Augusta, S. Carolina, Martinsburg W. Virginia, Roanoke, N. Carolina and Hagerstown, Maryland.  I've never heard of any of these cities.

Stage performance by bride and groom [Photo Source:  TLC.com]

In the wealthy almost exclusively Gypsy town of Murphy's Village in S. Carolina  weddings are held in front of their mansion (they're all rich) on a stage right outside the front door.  It begins with a performance by the brides sister's and then a poetry reading and performance by the bride and the groom.  It's like a play or a performance.  The poetry is set to music and pre recorded so that their voices are piped over a loud speaker and the couple dances to the words and the music.  The poetry topic?  It's basically a poem where they brag about how awesome they are and how much money they have.  The whole performance in this episode was embarrassingly bad and just plain old weird.  Then, they change into the must have giant over the top wedding dress for the ceremony.    

Some other interesting Gypsy community factoids:

• Muskers is the Gypsy word for cops and non gypsy's are called gorgers.
• The girls marry fast and young.  Teenage brides and mom's are the norm.  Marrying outside the culture is strongly frowned upon.
• Gypsy boys mess around with gorgers but they marry Gypsy girls so by marriage it's okay for the boys to have been sexually active but they fully expect the girls to be virgins and that her first kiss is on her wedding day.
•  It's not uncommon to marry your first cousin.  If you're in love, you're in love.  One couple had to go to Winchester, Virginia for the wedding because it was not legal in their own state.
• Their go to dress maker is in Boston and they literally hop on planes to go in for the fittings to get outfitted for parties.  Their wedding dresses can weight 100 + pounds.  They look mighty funny hobbling down the aisle in a dress they can barely walk in. 
• Most boys and girls drop out of school after middle school.  The boys drop out to start working and earning money and the girls drop out to help around the house.
• Their style of dress is extremely provocative.  Even for little girls.  Short shorts and skirts and short tops.  The tighter and more blinged out the better.  They are virgins who look like strippers.
•  The girls aren't allowed to date.  Parties are  the only opportunity to interact with boys and find a potential husband so they gotta look hot.
• Men typically aren't present during the birth of their child.  
• Women aren't allowed to drink when they are out and at parties.  The  men can.
• The men spend much of the year traveling around working so the child rearing and household responsibilities are left to the wife.  A lot of them do blacktopping and paving to support their family.
• The gypsy wives that live in trailers get to travel with their husband for work season.
• Girls are expected to cook, clean and take care of siblings and are not allowed to go anywhere alone but boys are free to play all day long and come and go as they please.  
• Even with gypsy communities that don't seem to be that wealthy it's all about image and status.  They want to have the best clothes, best parties, best dresses, the cleanest home and the purest virgin daughters.
• Most Gypsy women actually don't want anything more out of life.  One woman explained that she does not want to do anything else but cook and clean for her family and her husband.  According to her there is no other feeling like the one you get when your husband comes home to a hot dinner that you made.  It's the best feeling in the world.  If that's not a dedicated career housewife I don't know what is.

Isn't it funny how these reality shows give birth to new ones?  There is a new show on Nat Geo called American Gypsies that starts tonight but I'm good.  I won't be watching it.  I've got to draw the line somewhere.  Which leads me to yet another reality show featuring a different way of life.

Photo Source:  Nationalgeographic.com

American Colony:  Meet The Hutterites  is also on Nat Geo.  I've heard of the Amish but I'd never heard of the Hutterites.  They have a very distinct accent and a style of dress similar to the Amish and make up a self sustained very religious community where work and money is shared communally among everyone.  The community featured on the show is King Colony in Montana which is made up of 16 families and 59 people who are almost all related.

• The colony is ruled by the elders.  Anyone who goes against colony rules risk being shunned.  Parents can also be shunned for their kids behavior.  In order to be unshunned the shunned person would have to go around and ask all of the elders for forgiveness.
• You must get permission from the preacher to be baptized and this normally happens in your 20's.  If you've misbehaved or gone against colony rules you could be barred.
• You can't get married until after you are Baptized.
• Only men who have baptized get to vote on colony business.  Women do not get a vote at all.
• On this particular colony some of them do have cell phones and computers but that is considered very progressive.
• The girls are not allowed to wear any make up or their hair down.  They wear their hair split into two twists,one on each side with the ends put up.   They must cover their head with a scarf and wear long dresses that they make themselves.  No wild prints or pants allowed on women.
• Dating is slim pickings.  Most people are either related to you or already taken.
• To marry a Non Hutterite (English person) means that they would basically have to leave the colony because it's forbidden.  
• They don't own their own cars.  All the cars belong to the colony and permission must be asked for use.
• Once you are assigned a job it's yours for life.  Different jobs on the colony include a Kitchen Boss, Field Boss, Cattle Boss, Garden Boss, and Money Boss.   
• Men and women both work hard but the jobs are very defined based on gender.  Making soap, tending the garden, cooking and cleaning is for the women and men do the outside jobs. 
• They earn money and put food on the table with soap making, farming and agriculture.  What they bring in for selling their Cattle every year is one of their main sources of income and they cook and eat what they grow. 
• The kids don't go to school beyond the age of 15 years old so they can stay at home and help out on the colony.  They are expected to work and marry on the colony so I suppose there really is no point.

It's funny how these extremely different cultures actually have some similarities.  So, if you had to choose would you rather be a Gypsy or a Hutterite? This is a tough one because neither option sounds appealing to me.  I kind of like the idea of the simple life with it's shared communal living where I don't have to really think about bills or a mortgage and material items are non existent but that life seems so incredibly boring and stifling.  The Gypsy life seems way too materialistic and also very stifling and rigid.  Would I rather dress like a nun or a prostitute?  Would I rather go to a Harvest Party on the farm and watch fireworks or go to a big party in a slutty fancy dress and dance all night long?  I guess I'd be a Gypsy. Either way, as a women I'm going to be oppressed and subject to rules on top of rules but something tells me Gypsies have way more fun.

Reality TV Randoms

I started watching house hunters back in 2009 when we were first starting to look for houses.  I thought maybe it was a phase because I was in house hunting mode but nope.  I'm still addicted.  I just watched an episode about a couple looking for a house in Hendersonville, TN and got to thinking that maybe we should up move there.  With a $350,000 budget you can get a large mansion like 4200 square foot 4 bedroom 3 bath move in ready home with hard wood floors throughout and sky high ceilings.  Granite counter tops included.  Oh, and an office.  Did I mention the 1200 square foot finished basement with a wet bar?  We don't ever want or need a place bigger then 2,500 square feet so just Imagine how little we would have to spend on the house of our dreams there.  I love So Cal but the Sunshine tax is such a high price to pay.   You can't get anything close to that here for that price.   But...on the other hand when I think about the perfect weather we have here it's worth it.  I guess.

There is Basketball Wives, Baseball Wives and House Wives of:  Atlanta, New Jersey, New York, Orange County and Beverly Hills.  Did I leave any out?  Well, the other night I stumbled upon Prison Wives.  Let's just say it's way different then those other shows.  There is nothing glamorous about this one.  Annika Powell; a single mom with three kids decides to marry Anthony who is a convicted murderer serving time in a maximum security prison.  She was hooked up by the fiance of one of his cell mates.  Her and her kids have moved 5 times in 3 years to follow Anthony when he gets transferred to different prisons.  She's sort of like a military wife except when Anthony gets transferred it's certainly not for a new job and he never brings home a paycheck.  In fact, he never comes home.  Ever.  And he never will because he is a lifer with no chance of parole.  She survives on food stamps.  Anthony has stepped in from behind the walls of prison to be a much loved step dad to her kids.  She even wants Anthony to legally adopt the kids and have them change their last name to his.  That would require a man who is not imprisoned, albeit a dead beat, to give up his parental rights so I can't imagine any court in the country allowing this.  Annika's mom even got in on the inmate action.  Anthony found a pen pal for grandma who promptly fell in love as well.  When he got transferred to a different prison grandma moved out of Annika's house to move closer to him.

Photo Source and Video of Mia's mom behaving badly

I tried so hard to give up Toddler's and Tiaras.  I removed it from my DVR and basically quit it for a couple seasons.  There is something so wrong yet so enjoyable about watching these little girls and their moms go out to compete and kick butt in the cut throat world of pageants.  The next thing I knew I was watching it again.  There are kids who are so sweet and hard working in spite of their awful parents and kids who have some major behavioral issues and drive their poor parents nuts.  Last Week's episode featured precious little 4 year old Mia who competed her heart out. Her music ended before she left the stage in the Beauty competition so her mom was ranting and raving that she better forget about winning and that the judges hated her when she hadn't even finished the competition.  What kind of parent discourages their young child that way?  Then, when she won  $500 bucks and the second biggest title mom says that is nothing to her.  She wanted the $10,000 prize and now her dreams and her life are ruined because Mia didn't win it.  Okay...how is this pageant her life and how is her 4 year old daughter responsible for it?  One mom spent $1,200 bucks on a dress and her daughter didn't even get a crown.  Mia's mom says she is Russian therefore very competitive but that's no excuse.  Not that this has anything to do with anything but incidentally, she is a mail order bride.  She met her husband on the internet while she was still in Russia then she came out and got married.  Some parents take it way too far and push their kids way too hard.  I don't agree with packing on all of that make up and the concept of little girls being judged on their "facial beauty."  Regardless, I remain fascinated by the show and can't stop watching.  Please tell me I'm not alone.

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Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders 6

Training Camp [Photo Source:  CMT.com]

It's the same thing every year.  It starts with a cattle call mass audition.  Hundreds of hopefuls from all over show up to collect what is hopefully their lucky number and a chance to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.  The first round of auditions is freestyle dancing.  The bunch is narrowed down to about 100 and those select girls are invited back for another round of auditions the next week and are given quite a choreography challenge.  They learn a fast paced routine and then are expected to perform it 45 minutes later-including prep time to reapply the make up that is now dripping down their faces.  The girls who make it past that go back for yet a 3rd day of auditions the next week.  This time they are joined by the returning veteran cheerleaders.   They start the day with an intensive round of interviews and then they perform an original routine for the judges and then the routine they learned the week before.  Those who stand out and are good enough to make it past that last grueling day of auditions are invited to Green Valley Ranch four weeks later and into the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders training camp.  This is where the hard work REALLY begins.  Daily three hour practices, uniform fittings, make overs, final team cuts and about 50 dance routines later the chosen few will make the team and take that official DCC group photo.  It's hard work but it seems so fun and exciting.

I watched Season Four but missed it last year and Six seasons in it's still the same cycle just a new set of girls.  A whole new group of big hair, full make up and gyrating bodies with the dream of being a DCC.  I'm still lovin' it!  I love dance and I'm totally fascinated by the process.  Kelli and Judi don't miss anything cutting girls left and right reducing many to tears.  They make comments like, Are those cankles or just muscular ankles? She's got those thick arms and What a shame that her body is so short because she's so beautiful.  She's a little thick and stocky.  They are brutal.  I can't even imagine the pressure of trying to learn a dance and perform it soon after with their eyes boring into me while they take notes and talk into a voice recorder.  If you get called into their office after a practice watch out.  One girl was told not smiling while she dances could get her cut while two others were confronted with questionable pictures found on the Internet and asked to do some explaining.

Where do these girls come from?  Every girl that made it into camp has this long flowing hair and giant eyes.  If your tummy is not flat as a washing board the coaches will not hesitate to let you know and you'd better fix it or risk being cut.  Looks are equally as important as dancing ability.  Back in my cheerleader days I was actually coordinated enough to learn choreography but I was never really a strong dancer.  I might be able to fit my booty into those tiny shorts but never in a million years even if I trained eight hours a day I don't think my dancing skills would ever be good enough to make that prestigious team...or any NFL dance team for that matter!  Plus, I don't think I have nearly enough hair...or boobs.  Hey, maybe that would make a really good reality TV show to see if such a thing would even be possible for a total non dancer like myself.  Nope, I don't think being an NFL Cheerleader is in the cards for me but I can certainly live out my fantasy by watching this show.

It comes on Friday's at 10 pm Eastern on the C.M.T channel.

The Real World?

The Real World, New York, Season 1 (1992) [Photo Source:  MTV.com]

 There was a time when I did not miss an episode of The Real World.  It was the first reality show of it's kind spawning an entire Reality TV genre back in 1992.  I watched enthralled by this concept of a show about real people living real lives.  I remember when those seven strangers picked to live in a house had dreams like dancing, modeling and acting.  They had stories to tell, things to do and causes to support.  Sure there were altercations and drama drove ratings but it felt like the show at least had a story to tell.  My oh my how it has changed.  Now, they just hang out, get in fights, party, drink, have sex in hot tubs and quite often get kicked off of the show.  Most of them really should be ashamed of themselves.  How do you hold your head high in public and go out for a job in the actual "Real World" after having something like that broadcast on television?.  Well, maybe you don't and that's why you see so many former cast members recycled through the spin off challenge shows for years and years on end.  Hey, maybe they have the right idea.  It has to be funner then a regular old office job. 

I quit watching it after the outrageous first Las Vegas season (Season 12, 2002) and gave it one more try when it moved to San Diego in 2004.  Just because I live here.  That was the ONLY thing that got me to tune in.  They even had them hold down jobs to try to give them some sort of purpose I guess, but even that could not disguise the overall pointlessness of it.  Well, the show came back to San Diego for it's 26th season.  Yes, Season 26!!! I thought it would be cool to see my city on TV again and maybe get back into it so I thought about watching it for about 2 seconds, twice.  But ultimately, I could not bring myself to do it.  I've been known to enjoy more then a few ridiculous reality TV shows but I have my limits.  If I want to see that kind of drama I can watch Basketball Wives which is at least made up of people my age instead of teenagers.  The last "coming soon" clip of The Real World I happened to see featured several of the cast members wearing boxers and physically fighting each other.  That's when I knew I made the right decision to skip it and every other season that I haven't watched.  I've pretty much"aged out" of it.

What I really loved most about Reality TV when they first started to pop up everywhere was the chance to take a peak inside lives of regular people similar to or very different from myself.  I find it interesting to see how other people live and to watch their stories play out.  MTV still has some reality shows I like.  I'm really enjoying the Chelsea Settles Show.  I also watch I Used to Be Fat, True Life and Teen Mom.  I like watching shows about people pursuing dreams, embarking on a new journey or overcoming an obstacle.  I am still a huge long time fan of America's Next Top Model with all of it's cat fights.  I have really gotten into Dance Mom's where the mom's are yelling and arguing constantly.  Those shows are still full of people behaving badly but at least it's about people DOING something with some sort of story to tell.  Now they often just cast a bunch of people together who either don't know each other or don't like each other, hope for lots of drama  and call it a show.  Which works out fine in the end because drama sells and there really is something to suit the tastes and tolerance levels of all ages and interests.  And you don't get to season 26 of any show without doing something right.

You know you are old when you can no longer stomach the raunchy antics and immature behavior displayed by the typical cast of The Real World.  There may have been something real about it when it first started out but not anymore; or maybe I'm just too old to see it.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding



A bride with her bridesmaids on her wedding day
[Photo Source:  TLC]

I've been watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding on TLC.  At first I wasn't interested in watching it at all because I'm kind over wedding reality shows but this one is different.  I caught one episode and I was intrigued.  The show is about the traditions and lifestyle of Roma Gypsies and Irish Travellers in the UK.  It's not just about the wedding day it's about a lifestyle very different then anything I've ever seen.  Weddings are a huge part of that lifestyle so it actually makes sense that a show about this community would center around that.  Little girls dream about their wedding day practically from birth.  That's not totally unusual to me but the type of wedding that they dream about and the implications of that wedding on their life is.

The lifestyle

• They marry young.  Usually around 16 and by the time you are 19 you are considered an old bride. 
• Travellers usually only marry Travellers and then once they get married they move from their parents house into a tiny caravan together in a communal living land site.  They usually prefer caravans to houses and ideally, one without a toilet because it's considered disgusting to use a toilet inside a caravan.  They use sheds outside instead.
• A lot of them do travel around but some of them stay put in their caravans especially if there are younger children going to school.
• The men go to work and the women stay home.  Men typically do odd job and manual labor type work.  In fact, women usually drop out of school by the age of 16 to help take care of younger siblings and help mom with household duties.  They aren't planning to have a career so why bother?  Their responsibility in life is to tend to their husband, the home and to have children.
• Women aren't allowed to go anywhere without their husband once they are married and before that not without siblings or someone else to accompany them.  Boys can pretty much come and go whenever they choose and never have any responsibilities around the house.
• Brides absolutely DO NOT live with their fiance or have sex with their fiance for that matter prior to being married. 
• Young girls wear tons of make up.  They run around in tight, bright, sparkly, revealing clothing at parties and weddings with the intention of attracting a husband.  Their going out attire looks like stripper costumes.  This seems to be in great contrast to their devout catholic religion and strict upbringing. 
• It's a male dominated culture.  Women basically belong to their parents until they get married and then they belong to their husband.
• This community is often discriminated against and marginalized because of their lifestyle.

A Traveller bride with her massive cake at her wedding
[Photo Source:  TLC]

The Wedding

• Their weddings are really over the top.  The decor often includes things like balloons, butterfly's, hearts, and all kinds of other whimsical fairy tale sparkly things.  And lots of it.
• There are no invitations.  The news of a wedding is spread by word of mouth.  Anyone who wants to come shows up and weddings are often used as a place young men to look for a wife.
• The wedding location and even the date is a closely guarded secret.  Sometimes even the cake and dress vendor will not know the location up to the very last minute.  Guests find out about the wedding location at the ceremony which is always held in a catholic church.  Gypsies have a rowdy reputation so they have to keep their Gypsy identity secret .  It's typical for brides to be cancelled upon or refused multiple times by venues before securing a location and date.
• The bride's mode of transportation on the wedding day ranges anywhere from a horse drawn carriage a la Cinderella to a hot pink hummer. 
• The dresses are BIG and considered the most important part of the wedding.  As they walk they have to kick the skirt ahead of them in order not to trip and they barely fit inside doorways and into cars. The bride usually designs her own dress then has it custom made.  No store sells the type of dress that these girls want.  They can weigh twice the bride and are so heavy that they often end up with scars on their hips from wearing them all day.  Think Cinderella on steroids and that is your gypsy bride wedding dress.  Their accessories often include elbow length gloves, massive tiaras, large quantities of make up and heavy spray tans.
• The bridesmaids dresses are almost as big and twice as bright.  The bride is responsible for getting them custom made along with her own dress.  Color combination such as hot pink and neon yellow are not uncommon.  The bride's little sisters are dressed as the "mini bride" and wears and exact replica of the bride's dress.
• The only thing bigger then the dresses is the cake.  There will often be one very large cake and then a bunch of other surrounding smaller cakes.  They are usually done up in fairly tale themes in the shape of a castle or carriage and adorned by barbie dolls.
• Cost is never discussed by the gypsies or their vendors but I can only imagine.

I could not live that kind of a life dedicated to finding a man, getting married and then keeping house as a second class citizen.  Sounds awfully limiting and sad.  Aside from that those caravans are tiny!  It's like camping out 24/7.  As for the weddings I'm wondering things like how can they give numbers to the hotel if there are no invitations and RSVP's?  How on earth can they afford such elaborate weddings and what happens if you can't?  On the show they say you haven't really been to a wedding until you've been to a Traveller wedding and I believe it.