RW: Hawaii (1999)

[Bastet]

Re-watching this, I've been posting some thoughts in the Past Seasons thread, but I figured I'd give it its own thread. I'll move my posts over here.  First:

Since Hawaii is up on YouTube, I figured I would revisit that season next (I just re-watched Seattle).

Oh my.  They cast some real doozies for this one.  Kaia saying (in VO) a few minutes into the first episode that she has so much charisma, when she walks into a room people stop and look at her, quickly reminded me just how insufferable she can be.  But she's wonderful compared to Matt.  That, I had not forgotten.

I also remember how disappointing it was when Justin turned into a manipulative weirdo, because I loved that he was going to use his Harvard law degree to work for civil rights, not protecting corporations (I read in one of those "Where Are They Now" things while looking for updated info on Stephen that he worked for the Civil Rights Bureau of the NY State Attorney's office, so I'm glad he wound up doing it) and I related to how uncomfortable he was that everyone else seemed to be so comfortable immediately.

I only watched the first two episodes, and I can already tell I'm going to be a lot more fair to Amaya this time around.  Originally, I largely dismissed her because she was so annoying about Colin, but the way she takes care of Ruthie on their first night out and speaks so openly with everyone about her body issues reminds me there's a lot more to her than that.

Edited September 7, 2021 by Bastet

[Bastet]

Matt is The Worst.  (This is not a revelation to me; I remembered that clearly from the first time around, but damn.)  His creepy paternalistic obsession with Ruthie is bad enough, but he believes himself to be some sort of guru regarding everyone - he can discern everyone's nature, ask probing questions, and gain the wisdom to know what they each need to do ... so he'll go ask some more probing questions, of multiple people, and report back to Person A what B said and to B what A said, all designed to "facilitate".

Colin is a gaslighting jerk (again, not a revelation).  And, once again, the producers are horrible with how they frame the storyline.  Yes, Amaya is pathetic about him.  But he's also pathetic about her.  And, most importantly, she's not a jerk to him.  She's needy, and she's melodramatic, but she's honest.  He is two-faced, and doesn't treat her with the respect anyone deserves.

Yet she's presented as the problem.  That she overreacts to things is shown and commented on ad nauseum, but Colin's actions to which she is overreacting are brushed aside.  If her reaction to something should be a five, but it's a ten, that's an issue, but what about the fact he did something to which a lesser reaction is completely warranted in the first place?  What's the bigger flaw here?  Colin's, of course, but the producers built an entire season around Amaya's.

As I said yesterday, I remember there being some weirdness with Justin before he left, but so far - I've watched the first ten episodes - I can certainly understand why he is frustrated with these people.  With the Colin and Amaya nightly drama playing out feet above his head, and with the Colin and Matt Bro Show.  Episode eight is filled with Justin speaking truth, while Colin and Matt dismiss the very notion of their privilege.  Colin absolutely does not get it, when he tells Matt that Justin sees it as "I'm gay, and I have three heterosexual male roommates" and they don't see it that way.  Matt even, with a straight face, claims Justin is "heterophobic".  As if that's a thing.  I'm just waiting for him to tell us about "reverse racism".

Some of the Justin truth bombs:

Reflecting on needing to explain to Matt why stereotyping, diminishing, and demeaning comments are inappropriate:  "What you find, time and time again, is that they - white, heterosexual men - just haven't thought about it.  It never occurred to them, never crossed their mind."

On Matt's defensive reaction to that inappropriateness being pointed out:  "I think he feels threatened by it.  I think his image is threatened by it, because he tries so hard to maintain a sensitive image, to treat people well, to be caring, etc."

About him requesting that Colin and Amaya not conduct their bed business above his head every single night (after having never once been asked if he minds):  "I think about why it's so much more likely that heterosexual roommates wouldn't ask, and wouldn't think to ask, about the kind of behavior Colin and Amaya have exhibited, whereas a gay roommate has to walk into every kind of situation like that with what they've been told for years and years, which is: Expect that you're different, expect that what you're doing will make people uncomfortable, and a bit squeamish, and you better clear it if you're going to do something like that."

At a meeting he set up to discuss with their boss some parameters that should be set after a comedian used sexist and homophobic "humor" in his set: "We audition bands - you can play X loud, we're looking for this style of music, don't use any kind of obscenities in your songs as there are probably kids in the audience" - so advising of a policy against "sexist references to women, racial/ethnic slurs, degrading comments about sexual orientation or gender identity" should be part of auditioning comedians.

[LemonSoda]

On 9/7/2021 at 11:55 AM, Bastet said:

I only watched the first two episodes, and I can already tell I'm going to be a lot more fair to Amaya this time around.  Originally, I largely dismissed her because she was so annoying about Colin, but the way she takes care of Ruthie on their first night out and speaks so openly with everyone about her body issues reminds me there's a lot more to her than that.

Thank you for posting that it’s on YouTube! 

I thought she displayed a lot of vulnerability that was used against her. She’s insecure so I can pull her strings! Ugh hate watching that. 
Maybe it’s age but I now see her (and some other cast members) in a much different light. 
 

 

[Hiyo]

Amaya was clingy and needy, Colin was an immature asshole. It was never going to work.

Matt was the worst, though, and up there on the list of Worst RW Housemates on any show. His shifting his affections from Ruthie onto her twin sister when he couldn't get anywhere with Ruthie romantically was just....ew.

[Glade]

On 9/7/2021 at 9:06 AM, Bastet said:

As I said yesterday, I remember there being some weirdness with Justin before he left, but so far - I've watched the first ten episodes - I can certainly understand why he is frustrated with these people.  With the Colin and Amaya nightly drama playing out feet above his head, and with the Colin and Matt Bro Show.  Episode eight is filled with Justin speaking truth, while Colin and Matt dismiss the very notion of their privilege.  Colin absolutely does not get it, when he tells Matt that Justin sees it as "I'm gay, and I have three heterosexual male roommates" and they don't see it that way.  Matt even, with a straight face, claims Justin is "heterophobic".  As if that's a thing.  I'm just waiting for him to tell us about "reverse racism".

 

I just watched ep 8 and I so agree, Matt's incessant 'compassionate' gaslighting is the worst "While I was participating in a Howard-Stern esque sexist fratbro fest at the radio station, Justin seemed melancholy, I wonder why?"  And that room Justin and Colin shared was basically a closet with a set of twin sized bunk-beds crammed into it, but yeah, they never thought to ask if it was okay if they if they climbed over him to the top bunk every night.  I deeply relate to what Justin says about growing up gay, and his take on the room-mates is really right on.  Now I'm sad that the deal for Hawaii to be Homecoming S3 fell through at the last minute. 

[ljenkins782]

15 hours ago, Glade said:

Quote

As I said yesterday, I remember there being some weirdness with Justin before he left, but so far - I've watched the first ten episodes - I can certainly understand why he is frustrated with these people.  With the Colin and Amaya nightly drama playing out feet above his head, and with the Colin and Matt Bro Show.  Episode eight is filled with Justin speaking truth, while Colin and Matt dismiss the very notion of their privilege.  Colin absolutely does not get it, when he tells Matt that Justin sees it as "I'm gay, and I have three heterosexual male roommates" and they don't see it that way.  Matt even, with a straight face, claims Justin is "heterophobic".  As if that's a thing.  I'm just waiting for him to tell us about "reverse racism".

I just watched ep 8 and I so agree, Matt's incessant 'compassionate' gaslighting is the worst "While I was participating in a Howard-Stern esque sexist fratbro fest at the radio station, Justin seemed melancholy, I wonder why?"  And that room Justin and Colin shared was basically a closet with a set of twin sized bunk-beds crammed into it, but yeah, they never thought to ask if it was okay if they if they climbed over him to the top bunk every night.  I deeply relate to what Justin says about growing up gay, and his take on the room-mates is really right on.  Now I'm sad that the deal for Hawaii to be Homecoming S3 fell through at the last minute. 

I'm telling you, late 90s/early 2000s MTV television does NOT hold up to present day rewatching. I'd been pining for the RW/RR casting special they did before B2NY and RR The Quest, remembering it being amazing television, and then when I finally found, I squirmed through much it. The casual racism, homophobia, misogyny, PLUS the truly fucked up idea of what constitutes a "nice guy." Like, the girls all swooning at the idea that a guy would stand up to his racist father and bring home a black girl if she was hot enough. Um, that's not enlightenment, dummies.

Matt is one of the grossest examples of a "nice guy" because he's just enough in the inner circle to be dangerous. A lot of so called nice guys are on the outside looking in, wondering why girls go for "jerks" over them and slowly becoming bitter. Matt was in with the group, he just felt himself to be above almost everyone. And thought he had some superior insights and was fooling everyone. I remember one of the RW books subtly slamming him for his intrusions into the process, like he'd go to the camera people and offer to "help them get the story." Ugh, he's just the worst and his treatment of Amaya was extra gross, her insecurities were right there on the surface and he picked that raw nerve every chance he got.

As for Justin, I watched that episode recently as well and he's 100% correct with most of his statements, but especially the part about "they just haven't thought about it." And he was about 18 years ahead of his time, unfortunately. I remember his ending on the show being a very negative portrayal, but haven't seen the final episodes of his time. I suspect I will have a completely different reading on it with the benefit of time and evolution of social attitudes. And this show has a long history of using the editing to paint reasonable points of view as insane with strategic use of out-of-context confessionals and weaving them into scenes in a way that supports whatever narrative they're creating. 

[Bastet]

On 12/1/2021 at 11:01 AM, ljenkins782 said:

I remember his ending on the show being a very negative portrayal, but haven't seen the final episodes of his time. I suspect I will have a completely different reading on it with the benefit of time and evolution of social attitudes. And this show has a long history of using the editing to paint reasonable points of view as insane with strategic use of out-of-context confessionals and weaving them into scenes in a way that supports whatever narrative they're creating. 

I watched the second half of the season recently, and the editing was so strange.  Other than the Colin-Amaya drama that producers included in every fucking episode, all the storylines popped up out of nowhere.  Justin entertaining himself by planting different seeds in Colin and Amaya's heads?  The roommates not being receptive to Justin when he's in the house, because he's constantly removing himself from the group?  Kaia having the hots for Matt?!  There's been none of that shown, and then all of a sudden it's presented as a fact known by all.

Despite casting some pretty intelligent people, this season was a dud.  Matt and Colin are total gaslighting jerks, but producers chose to make the entire season about Amaya's neediness.  Which, yes, is annoying to watch and would be utterly exhausting to live with.  But being manipulative is a hell of a lot worse than being needy.

I like that Ruthie, who felt ganged up on by everyone and took particular issue with how Amaya treated her when she returned to the house, refused to be part of ganging up on Amaya, and talked honestly with her.  She really helped her, and I like Amaya saying Kaia thinks she is responsible for Amaya finding some inner strength, but it was actually Ruthie; she never would have imagined it, but Ruthie gave her the best gift ever.

[ljenkins782]

On 12/3/2021 at 4:47 PM, Bastet said:

I watched the second half of the season recently, and the editing was so strange.  Other than the Colin-Amaya drama that producers included in every fucking episode, all the storylines popped up out of nowhere.  Justin entertaining himself by planting different seeds in Colin and Amaya's heads?  The roommates not being receptive to Justin when he's in the house, because he's constantly removing himself from the group?  Kaia having the hots for Matt?!  There's been none of that shown, and then all of a sudden it's presented as a fact known by all.

Despite casting some pretty intelligent people, this season was a dud.  Matt and Colin are total gaslighting jerks, but producers chose to make the entire season about Amaya's neediness.  Which, yes, is annoying to watch and would be utterly exhausting to live with.  But being manipulative is a hell of a lot worse than being needy.

I like that Ruthie, who felt ganged up on by everyone and took particular issue with how Amaya treated her when she returned to the house, refused to be part of ganging up on Amaya, and talked honestly with her.  She really helped her, and I like Amaya saying Kaia thinks she is responsible for Amaya finding some inner strength, but it was actually Ruthie; she never would have imagined it, but Ruthie gave her the best gift ever.

Wow, I'm up to the India trip and it's rich that the editing decided that Justin is planting seeds between Amaya and Colin when Matt had clearly (and even self-admitted to it) been doing that all along. 

Matt's behavior during the whole Ruthie debacle is disgusting, IMO. The pretense of being the ONLY ONE who cared about how Ruthie's behavior is affecting Ruthie vs how it's affecting the rest of the house, I find that hard to believe. Let's flip it and it's Amaya who needs help, does Matt care so deeply about whether or not everyone is concerned about how it's affecting Amaya's life?? Not likely at all. Again, Justin's description of Matt wanting to be seen as a good guy vs him actually being a good guy is apt.

I feel like this show owes Justin a huge apology, especially given his background. Even for the terrible things he said, I guarantee they all said equally terrible things about one another. The stitching together of his worst comments within the same context of him being embarrassed at times by their behavior overseas set the stage of this horrible edit. Not to say that he was a genius or even a good person, I have no idea either way. But this edit seems entirely unfair and vindictive, like he pissed somebody off on his way out.

And a lot of this India trip footage is curiously lacking names. Like, "we should do this..." is attached to a narrative of Amaya, but is that who was being talked about? The editing is very striking here. 

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, ljenkins782 said:

But this edit seems entirely unfair and vindictive, like he pissed somebody off on his way out.

Yeah, I figure they were pissed he left early - and that he was totally over the people and the process by then - and crafted his final episodes accordingly.  Because there's certainly no foundation ever been laid for it, and, as you said, what they strung together for those couple of episodes included a lot of vague comments that could have been made at any time about anyone.

Am I really supposed to believe that Justin wasted this all-expenses-paid trip to the destination he lobbied for by spending the entire time entertaining himself by watching Colin and Amaya take the bait?  Come on.  Yes, he asked some leading questions - probably in a desperate effort to get one or both of them to catch a fucking clue and stop playing out this ridiculous melodrama over his head each night - during their time on the train, but I feel confident he spent the majority of his time in India exploring, ya know, India, not the psyches of the two immature twits he had to room with.

And, yes, he had some disparaging things to say about the roomies.  So did the others.  So does everyone, always, living that way for months.  (He was also pretty damn spot on in his analysis of them; it's notable that in compiling the harshest things he ever said in a confessional, he was rarely unfair.) 

I bet Justin and Irene could have one hell of a conversation.

[Glade]

I agree that it was a very odd editing choice to make the India episode all about how supposedly malicious and hateful Justin is, because he got in the way of Colin/Amaya's unhealthy, codependant relationship.   Colin even admitted he wasn't actually trying to be with Amaya again, he just couldn't stand hanging out with anyone else in the house (yet we didn't see footage of him listing the reasons why he finds everyone else so annoying - and I'm sure Justin wasn't the only person who made such a rant.)  And it was very easy for the producers to do this since he was about to leave and thus there wouldn't be any more footage of him being much more reasonable once he isn't spending all day/night sweating to death on crowded trains.  I'm sorry he was absent for the rest of the run.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Glade

[Liamsmom617]

OK, yes, Matt was the worst in many ways, but I can't believe no one here is hating on Kaia. She was irritating and performative on EVERY level. Walking around topless b/c "I'm comfortable with my body!" etc.; toward the end, suddenly, out of the blue, deciding she was hot for Matt of all people? WHAT?! Perhaps it was just editing, but to me it seemed that she decided she "wanted" Matt just b/c he was so obsessed w/Sara, Ruthie's sister. And did y'all notice that she (Kaia) was apparently stuffing her bra (?!) or else had had a boob job that no one talked about right during those final two episodes? 

  Best/worst line: From Matt (when pontificating about how torn up he was over Ruthie and her drinking): "There are tears of pain in my gut, and they're jumping out of my eyes." (or something--I need to see if these are still on YT, b/c I haven't watched this season since it aired in '99!)  Second best/worst line: From Kaia's poem (about Matt) at that talent night: "A green, terry-cloth shirt, brightening the room again, and again, and again..."

  OH YEAH--and Kaia snarking on naked Ruthie doing a back flip into the pool on that final episode with, "How can she just exploit her body like that?" and then a fake shudder. She, of the topless beach stroll in Episode 1! Shut up, Kaia.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Liamsmom617

[Bastet]

37 minutes ago, Liamsmom617 said:

I can't believe no one here is hating on Kaia. She was irritating and performative on EVERY level.

Painfully so, yes.  (My first comment in the thread was:

Quote

Oh my.  They cast some real doozies for this one.  Kaia saying (in VO) a few minutes into the first episode that she has so much charisma, when she walks into a room people stop and look at her, quickly reminded me just how insufferable she can be. But she's wonderful compared to Matt.  That, I had not forgotten.

 

39 minutes ago, Liamsmom617 said:

I need to see if these are still on YT,

Yep; I just finished watching there last week, and some episodes are still showing up in my recommendations, so it's still there.

[ljenkins782]

On 12/8/2021 at 8:36 PM, Liamsmom617 said:

OK, yes, Matt was the worst in many ways, but I can't believe no one here is hating on Kaia. She was irritating and performative on EVERY level. Walking around topless b/c "I'm comfortable with my body!" etc.; toward the end, suddenly, out of the blue, deciding she was hot for Matt of all people? WHAT?! Perhaps it was just editing, but to me it seemed that she decided she "wanted" Matt just b/c he was so obsessed w/Sara, Ruthie's sister. And did y'all notice that she (Kaia) was apparently stuffing her bra (?!) or else had had a boob job that no one talked about right during those final two episodes? 

  Best/worst line: From Matt (when pontificating about how torn up he was over Ruthie and her drinking): "There are tears of pain in my gut, and they're jumping out of my eyes." (or something--I need to see if these are still on YT, b/c I haven't watched this season since it aired in '99!)  Second best/worst line: From Kaia's poem (about Matt) at that talent night: "A green, terry-cloth shirt, brightening the room again, and again, and again..."

  OH YEAH--and Kaia snarking on naked Ruthie doing a back flip into the pool on that final episode with, "How can she just exploit her body like that?" and then a fake shudder. She, of the topless beach stroll in Episode 1! Shut up, Kaia.

Kaia is always right up there with Matt as the worst of the season, but to me, Kaia is just laughable, where Matt is insidious. She's a walking satire, from her first appearance on the casting special. She's so over the top that you see her ridiculousness coming a mile away and I kinda think that underneath, she knew it. 

Matt, OTOH, believes that the qualities he's trying so hard to portray are being bought hook, line, and sinker. He's that guy "consoling" drunk girls at bars believing that his true intentions of taking a vulnerable person home and taking advantage of them are TOTALLY hidden by his facade of caring.

Quote

I like that Ruthie, who felt ganged up on by everyone and took particular issue with how Amaya treated her when she returned to the house, refused to be part of ganging up on Amaya, and talked honestly with her.  She really helped her, and I like Amaya saying Kaia thinks she is responsible for Amaya finding some inner strength, but it was actually Ruthie; she never would have imagined it, but Ruthie gave her the best gift ever.

I finally watched the last episodes and while it was good that Amaya found some inner strength, her attempt to stand up to Kaia was cringe-worthy. Amaya, in a quavering voice, begging Kaia to come talk to her and Kaia just blows her off entirely, so Amaya continues to stand there and try to make a stand with absolutely zero conviction behind it. 

I get that it was symbolic for her, but it was a weak display. But I guess that was fitting, because this was a weak season and if they made half the season about Amaya's neediness, I guess this was as close to a redemption moment as they could find. There was so much more in that house to work with, but the theme of Amaya and Colin overwhelmed the entire season. I guess they were the very first RW couple so production thought that was where the story was, just turns out that story wasn't terribly interesting. 

Going back to the Ruthie drama, I did get to relive the infamous "what if we had company?" moment and that was one of the only times the entire season I felt we saw the real Teck. Not Teck Money, but the real guy, and I wish we'd seen more of that side of him. And I also wish we'd gotten more of his commentary on the others, he made a few offhanded comments about Kaia that cut right to the pretentious heart. I'd rather have heard more from him and Justin than the bland, surface musings of Matt & Colin.

[Garrettbdp]

On 9/7/2021 at 12:06 PM, Bastet said:

Matt is The Worst.  (This is not a revelation to me; I remembered that clearly from the first time around, but damn.)  His creepy paternalistic obsession with Ruthie is bad enough, but he believes himself to be some sort of guru regarding everyone - he can discern everyone's nature, ask probing questions, and gain the wisdom to know what they each need to do ... so he'll go ask some more probing questions, of multiple people, and report back to Person A what B said and to B what A said, all designed to "facilitate".

So I’ve been watching this on YT the past two days and I seriously never realized just how unbearably disgusting Matt was. I was only 11 at the time it aired originally and honestly Matt was an after thought to me and Teck & Ruthie were the major stand outs but after watching this…I TOOOOOOOOOTALLY understand why Justin left. These people were unbearable to watch,let alone live with.

Its ironic in the casting special one of the producers saw Matt for what he was instantly. An instigator who plays on people’s vulnerability and uses it against them. Kaia originally to me was cool but she’s ALL bark with absolutely no bite and her & Matt really are make/female versions of eachother and I honestly think they were so manipulative because they both were dull as dishwater.

Teck said some questionable things but they were never out of malice or being mean spirited.

Justin was above all these ppl and I totally get it now,especially with Amaya giving the kids in India blow pop suckers when they’re teeth are rotting,just tone deaf and self centered. I love that he left Kaia’s photos and address behind,he realized what an exhausting c*nt she really was.

Colin was productions pet. From the whole reject nonsense down to his edit…someone on production really was pulling for him. His wishy washy opinions and courage in confessionals but being everybody’s friend and Anaya’s lover to her face was so lame.

i loved Ruthie and still do HOWEVER even she came off completely self centered and just unrealistic in her reaction to things. I will say tho,I think editing gave her a raw deal because when I watched this as a kid it came off like her drinking was from sun up to sun down and just off the richter scale when in reality,  I think drinking was her escape from not being able to smoke weed. AND the nervousness of being on tv because if you notice,her problem wasnt necessarily drinking per say,it was her not being able to “turn up” enough when they would go out but storyline purposes it was intensified with editing.

conclusion this was a great season for what it was but like someone else said a lot 90s MTV stuff just dies NOT age well at all and this was one of those things. I have to think they’re revising Seasons 5-10 heavily because castmembers like Matt just do not age well and I see why he wont do The Homecoming special. He’s AWFUL.

[Garrettbdp]

On 9/7/2021 at 12:06 PM, Bastet said:

Matt is The Worst.  (This is not a revelation to me; I remembered that clearly from the first time around, but damn.)  His creepy paternalistic obsession with Ruthie is bad enough, but he believes himself to be some sort of guru regarding everyone - he can discern everyone's nature, ask probing questions, and gain the wisdom to know what they each need to do ... so he'll go ask some more probing questions, of multiple people, and report back to Person A what B said and to B what A said, all designed to "facilitate".

So I’ve been watching this on YT the past two days and I seriously never realized just how unbearably disgusting Matt was. I was only 11 at the time it aired originally and honestly Matt was an after thought to me and Teck & Ruthie were the major stand outs but after watching this…I TOOOOOOOOOTALLY understand why Justin left. These people were unbearable to watch,let alone live with.

Its ironic in the casting special one of the producers saw Matt for what he was instantly. An instigator who plays on people’s vulnerability and uses it against them. Kaia originally to me was cool but she’s ALL bark with absolutely no bite and her & Matt really are make/female versions of eachother and I honestly think they were so manipulative because they both were dull as dishwater.

Teck said some questionable things but they were never out of malice or being mean spirited.

Justin was above all these ppl and I totally get it now,especially with Amaya giving the kids in India blow pop suckers when they’re teeth are rotting,just tone deaf and self centered. I love that he left Kaia’s photos and address behind,he realized what an exhausting c*nt she really was.

Colin was productions pet. From the whole reject nonsense down to his edit…someone on production really was pulling for him. His wishy washy opinions and courage in confessionals but being everybody’s friend and Anaya’s lover to her face was so lame.

i loved Ruthie and still do HOWEVER even she came off completely self centered and just unrealistic in her reaction to things. I will say tho,I think editing gave her a raw deal because when I watched this as a kid it came off like her drinking was from sun up to sun down and just off the richter scale when in reality,  I think drinking was her escape from not being able to smoke weed. AND the nervousness of being on tv because if you notice,her problem wasnt necessarily drinking per say,it was her not being able to “turn up” enough when they would go out but storyline purposes it was intensified with editing.

conclusion this was a great season for what it was but like someone else said a lot 90s MTV stuff just dies NOT age well at all and this was one of those things. I have to think they’re revising Seasons 5-10 heavily because castmembers like Matt just do not age well and I see why he wont do The Homecoming special. He’s AWFUL.

[Asp Burger]

What Matt is up to now, with a recent picture: 

https://www.shaker.org/protected/ArticleView.aspx?iid=6Y3AU22&dasi=2YB

There are some older articles (2013-14) about his time in the California schools, which reference his television past and link up with the details of the one above, so I'm fairly sure that's the right guy.

I found him teeth-grittingly awful in the Hawaii season, but I have to give credit to anyone who can teach high-school students after being a Real World cast member (and not even a cool one).

I've said before that the Hawaii cast was one of the most intelligent and substantive groups that B/M ever put together...and both the kids themselves and the producers disguised that beautifully. I had no idea how bright almost all of them were until I read about or saw them away from RW and The Challenge. 

[Asp Burger]

I'm watching some of Hawaii in the smeary, buzzy, but better-than-nothing YT uploads that will have to suffice until Paramount+ de-songifies its missing seasons. 

Man, some of these people are hard to listen to. Amaya, Matt, and Kaia are a lot of grating tones in one place. 

Colin (at least, at his 1999 age) looks more like San Francisco Rachel's brother than San Francisco Rachel's actual brother looked when he appeared. They both even do that thing in interviews where they widen their eyes when trying to emphasize that something is deeply felt.

[BelleBrit]

The worst Hawaii Matt episode for me was the one where he was eavesdropping on Amaya during her STD scare and asked Teck and Kaia"Why do women visit the gynecologist?"(!) and he said something in his interview to the effect of "Why isn't Amaya being more careful with who she shares her genitalia with?"

[Hiyo]

For me, that's up there with Matt trying to score with Ruthie's twin sister when Ruthie pretty much rejected him. Like, ew.

[Asp Burger]

One of the rave reviews for Justin's debut novel, Lone Stars, which was published in 2021. "A life-affirming story about how people of all orientations can inspire one another to live their best life. It’s the kind of story we need right now."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/lone-stars-book-review/2021/02/09/20189d36-6b0f-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html

[choclatechip45]

Matt is insufferable. I'm glad he became one of those cast members who never showed up again even if it would be funny for Coral to tell him off during an episode of The Challenge. 

[Asp Burger]

Before now, I had never seen the casting special for this season (and Semester at Sea), in which Colin was a reject and then got told he was in the cast. I'd only seen the scenes recycled within the Hawaii season itself. 

If that whole story wasn't "made for TV" (and Colin does seem legitimately surprised when he hears the news), I wonder if Colin got his slot because that martial-arts enthusiast they were all so in love with turned out to have serious legal charges pending against him. Yikes. That was a bullet dodged. 

A Bunim/Murray Productions woman (not Mary-Ellis) says about Matt that he won't be "the life of the party," but these shows also need "instigators," and if there's drama going on in the house, Matt is sure to be in the thick of it. Not only do I hope that woman rose high in the organization, I want her to tell me which lottery numbers to pick. 

Some predictions from other members of the team weren't so astute. A male member of the team says he expects Justin to really dive into the Local Motion performance café assignment and bring a lot of creativity. At least in the parts we saw, he did not. His main contribution was proposing that they screen the comedians for offensive material. And someone says that Amaya will be a great addition to the cast because she'll bring comedy. Not so much. I can't remember her ever being funny, intentionally or unintentionally. She brought...not "tragedy," exactly. Very wet melodrama. 

[choclatechip45]

On 5/14/2022 at 1:40 AM, Asp Burger said:

Before now, I had never seen the casting special for this season (and Semester at Sea), in which Colin was a reject and then got told he was in the cast. I'd only seen the scenes recycled within the Hawaii season itself. 

If that whole story wasn't "made for TV" (and Colin does seem legitimately surprised when he hears the news), I wonder if Colin got his slot because that martial-arts enthusiast they were all so in love with turned out to have serious legal charges pending against him. Yikes. That was a bullet dodged. 

A Bunim/Murray Productions woman (not Mary-Ellis) says about Matt that he won't be "the life of the party," but these shows also need "instigators," and if there's drama going on in the house, Matt is sure to be in the thick of it. Not only do I hope that woman rose high in the organization, I want her to tell me which lottery numbers to pick. 

Some predictions from other members of the team weren't so astute. A male member of the team says he expects Justin to really dive into the Local Motion performance café assignment and bring a lot of creativity. At least in the parts we saw, he did not. His main contribution was proposing that they screen the comedians for offensive material. And someone says that Amaya will be a great addition to the cast because she'll bring comedy. Not so much. I can't remember her ever being funny, intentionally or unintentionally. She brought...not "tragedy," exactly. Very wet melodrama. 

What where the legal charges?

[Asp Burger]

2 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

What where the legal charges?

He (the karate enthusiast from New Jersey) was carrying on with a married woman, and her husband had a restraining order against him, which he violated. They mention unspecified "other charges," and he didn't show for final interviews because he was in jail with bail set at $50,000.

So, the guy sounds violent. In the scene where the Bunim/Murray people are learning this, I keep expecting someone to say they're glad they found out before they put him in the house with six other kids, because I'm still naïve like that. But Mary-Ellis just sighs and says, well, he can't be here for the interviews, like that's the disqualifying thing. 

The guy was 20, dark-haired, muscular, and had a boyish face, so it's reasonable to assume Colin got "his" slot. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Asp Burger

[choclatechip45]

44 minutes ago, Asp Burger said:

He (the karate enthusiast from New Jersey) was carrying on with a married woman, and her husband had a restraining order against him, which he violated. They mention unspecified "other charges," and he didn't show for final interviews because he was in jail with bail set at $50,000.

So, the guy sounds violent. In the scene where the Bunim/Murray people are learning this, I keep expecting someone to say they're glad they found out before they put him in the house with six other kids, because I'm still naïve like that. But Mary-Ellis just sighs and says, well, he can't be here for the interviews, like that's the disqualifying thing. 

The guy was 20, dark-haired, muscular, and had a boyish face, so it's reasonable to assume Colin got "his" slot. 

Oh I vaguely remember this.  I remember hearing from Amaya she was suppose to be on Road Rules, but she had already graduated so she couldn't participate in Semester at Sea. I always wondered what Road Rules 8 female was suppose to be on Real World.

[Asp Burger]

Veronica is the answer that makes sense. As things stood, anyway, assuming Kaia and Ruthie had secure places in the Hawaii cast. I just can't see a Real World season of that era with the female contingent consisting of Kaia, Ruthie, and Pua, or Kaia, Ruthie, and Ayanna. 

Veronica and Amaya had that intense rivalry on their first Challenge, and it seemed to be as much about things in common as differences.

Imagine an alternate reality in which, instead of Amaya and Colin as the big "romance" of the Hawaii season, it was kleptomaniac Veronica and aggro Karate Kid.

[choclatechip45]

2 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

Veronica is the answer that makes sense. As things stood, anyway, assuming Kaia and Ruthie had secure places in the Hawaii cast. I just can't see a Real World season of that era with the female contingent consisting of Kaia, Ruthie, and Pua, or Kaia, Ruthie, and Ayanna. 

Veronica and Amaya had that intense rivalry on their first Challenge, and it seemed to be as much about things in common as differences.

Imagine an alternate reality in which, instead of Amaya and Colin as the big "romance" of the Hawaii season, it was kleptomaniac Veronica and aggro Karate Kid.

I always thought Veronica, but Road Rules had a storyline of her visiting her relatives in Cuba. Ayanna had her storyline with going to South Africa, but I can't imagine Pua who was from Hawaii on the Real World. 

[Hiyo]

Quote

I can't imagine Pua who was from Hawaii on the Real World

Since Ruthie was from Hawaii, I guess they maybe didn't want 2 locals on that season?

[BelleBrit]

I remember that the casting special was edited to imply that Colin had potential romantic chemistry with the Polish “beauty queen” who grew up in a tough neighborhood (and, was edited to imply that he was very put off byAmaya and got a “very 90210 feel” from her). I remember Jason from Real World Boston being the one who said that Amaya would “bring comedy” to the cast. I have a lot of empathy for Amaya when I watch the episodes now, but I definitely remember laughing more at her than with her.

I remember reading in one of the books that Justin said that there was one night when he drank with Amaya, and Amaya was very drunk and crawled onto the top bunk with Colin. Colin pushed her and she fell off the top bunk. Amaya took her blankets and slept, for some reason, on the treadmill. Justin said that he felt partially responsible since he was the one who got drunk with Amaya, but that he also became obsessed with the idea of turning on the treadmill to see what would happen.

Edited May 16, 2022 by BelleBrit

[Asp Burger]

Ha! Yes. He said he was glad he was able to resist the temptation. That's in the appendix of the New Orleans book. They catch up with Justin, Ruthie, Teck, and Amaya from the previous year's cast. 

I still don't understand what Amaya had against her own damn perfectly nice bed, but I'll never understand the choices of the version of her we saw on Real World Hawaii. I watched that season again recently, and I still found her hard to take. I hope poor Pam (Calvin's erstwhile girlfriend, who then had a status change to "Amaya's friend") was getting more out of that friendship than it appeared. It seemed all the poor woman did was listen to this girl's tearful complaints.

[choclatechip45]

On 5/16/2022 at 2:49 AM, Hiyo said:

Since Ruthie was from Hawaii, I guess they maybe didn't want 2 locals on that season?

Maybe. Ruthie told her casting story recently she had missed the deadline sending in a tape and sent an email telling them she was a Hawaii native who was bisexual and raised in foster care. She was later told they added her to the top 30. 

[Asp Burger]

It's interesting that Colin says in the Hawaii book that he'll be taking a semester off to tape the Challenge that fall. Amaya and Teck also say they'll be doing it. Colin says he hopes he and Amaya can keep it civil. But he wasn't on that Challenge, although Amaya and Teck were. If he changed his mind, was Seattle David or Miami Mike his replacement? 

That would have been a Real World team heavily loaded with Hawaii cast members, but it was a popular season when it was airing.  

Ugh. Imagine eleven more episodes of the Colin/Amaya "relationship."

[BelleBrit]

Wasn't Colin on a very short lived TV show following his season, or was that not until later on? Maybe he had an agent who wanted him to try out for pilots instead, and that conflicted with the Challenge timing.  I remember Amaya said in one of the books (the New Orleans one that had the Hawaii updates) that she thought it was funny because Colin always swore that he did not want to be an actor.

[Asp Burger]

Yeah, Colin had a main-cast role on M.Y.O.B. with Lauren Graham and Katharine Towne. I'm not sure when that show was in production, but four of the eight completed episodes aired in summer 2000, at the time Real World New Orleans was running. 

So, it is a plausible scenario that shortly after leaving Hawaii, he got hooked up with an agent who told him that distancing himself from Bunim/Murray would be a good move for his acting career, hence his withdrawal from The Challenge and his no-show at both the 2000 and 2001 reunions. Then he was over the aspirations to an acting career by the time he joined Battle of the Sexes in 2002.

I do wonder which Challenge 2000 guy got the call to be his replacement. The final lineup for the RW side was Amaya, Heather, Kat, David, Mike, and Teck. I'm thinking Miami Mike was the one whose number came up in Rolodex Roulette when they lost Colin.

The Hawaii cast was heavy on wannabe Hollywood people. Teck and Ruthie obviously wanted entertainment careers. (Ruthie kept talking about "this opportunity" being taken away when they were trying to get her into alcohol treatment.) Kaia says in the book that she wants to be in movies. Matt wanted to write/direct.

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, Asp Burger said:

Yeah, Colin had a main-cast role on M.Y.O.B. with Lauren Graham and Katharine Towne. I'm not sure when that show was in production, but four of the eight completed episodes aired in summer 2000, at the time Real World New Orleans was running. 

So, it is a plausible scenario that shortly after leaving Hawaii, he got hooked up with an agent who told him that distancing himself from Bunim/Murray would be a good move for his acting career, hence his withdrawal from The Challenge and his no-show at both the 2000 and 2001 reunions. Then he was over the aspirations to an acting career by the time he joined Battle of the Sexes in 2002.

I do wonder which Challenge 2000 guy got the call to be his replacement. The final lineup for the RW side was Amaya, Heather, Kat, David, Mike, and Teck. I'm thinking Miami Mike was the one whose number came up in Rolodex Roulette when they lost Colin.

The Hawaii cast was heavy on wannabe Hollywood people. Teck and Ruthie obviously wanted entertainment careers. (Ruthie kept talking about "this opportunity" being taken away when they were trying to get her into alcohol treatment.) Kaia says in the book that she wants to be in movies. Matt wanted to write/direct.

Colin did Battle of the Sexes because he wanted to promote his book that had recently came out. I remember Melissa about this  from her wesbite entry with her conversation with Jon Murray on the plane. I remember him mentioning to Melissa we've been trying to get Colin forever and Melissa wrote because he wanted to promote his book!

[BelleBrit]

So has anyone ever read Colin's "A New Ladies Man" book or whatever dreck? 😬 There is no justice in this world where Colin was given a book deal and Melissa from New Orleans wasn't.

11 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

Kaia says in the book that she wants to be in movies. Matt wanted to write/direct.

Did not know that Kaia wanted to be in the movies. Now I'm thinking of the skit that Kaia and Matt did in the finale. "Five. Long. YEARS, Mickey!" 😜

Edited June 14, 2022 by BelleBrit

[ljenkins782]

14 minutes ago, BelleBrit said:

So has anyone ever read Colin's "A New Ladies Man" book or whatever dreck? 😬 There is no justice in this world where Colin was given a book deal and Melissa from New Orleans wasn't.

Did not know that Kaia wanted to be in the movies. Now I'm thinking of the skit that Kaia and Matt did in the finale. "Five. Whole. YEARS, Mickey!" 😜

OMG, that skit was so awful. Not at all surprised that Hollywood didn't come knocking after that display.

As for Colin getting a book deal and Melissa not, mediocre white guy given an opportunity over a more well-spoken and humorous woman of color...yep, that sounds fully on brand for the time (and probably now, but definitely then.)

Quote

Colin did Battle of the Sexes because he wanted to promote his book that had recently came out. I remember Melissa about this  from her wesbite entry with her conversation with Jon Murray on the plane. I remember him mentioning to Melissa we've been trying to get Colin forever and Melissa wrote because he wanted to promote his book!

I mean, Colin did well on the season and I did enjoy his blog for the insider scoop, but I'm still not sure why his presence was such a coup. 

[BelleBrit]

26 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

As for Colin getting a book deal and Melissa not, mediocre white guy given an opportunity over a more well-spoken and humorous woman of color...yep, that sounds fully on brand for the time (and probably now, but definitely then.)

Big Chicago Kyle energy.

26 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

I mean, Colin did well on the season and I did enjoy his blog for the insider scoop, but I'm still not sure why his presence was such a coup. 

I never got production's infatuation with Colin. If only he had stayed in the reject pile.

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, ljenkins782 said:

OMG, that skit was so awful. Not at all surprised that Hollywood didn't come knocking after that display.

As for Colin getting a book deal and Melissa not, mediocre white guy given an opportunity over a more well-spoken and humorous woman of color...yep, that sounds fully on brand for the time (and probably now, but definitely then.)

I mean, Colin did well on the season and I did enjoy his blog for the insider scoop, but I'm still not sure why his presence was such a coup. 

Me neither, but production was trying to get him on every Challenge season and he kept saying no. So I guess when he finally said yes it was a big deal. 

[Asp Burger]

I found Colin more likable and genuine than Kyle. I didn't mind him relative to some others in that cast. He just seemed young and had some unexamined privilege. There were moments that made me think his heart could be in the right place. I liked his rapport with Ruthie toward the end of the season, as well as what he contributed to the work meeting about comedians saying offensive things. 

The Hawaii book is a good one. I've been looking through it since I watched that season again recently on YT. What hits me about it is that this cast came in with an unusually high level of arrogance, and then they got knocked on their asses. I think several of them believed they knew how the game was played and could beat the house, so to speak, and then they got a rude awakening when they saw the footage they'd given the producers to work with and how it was assembled. Probably the only one who got away completely unscathed, got exactly what he wanted from the experience, was Teck. Colin's edit wasn't as bad as some, and maybe not as bad as it could have been. Matt, Ruthie, Justin, Kaia, and Amaya all got creamed in one way or another.

[Bastet]

Colin was a gaslighting jerk, and the way producers framed that relationship was grossly sexist, and unfair to Amaya.  She was annoying and clingy, but she was honest with him.  He was a two-faced jackass who did not treat her with a basic level of respect.

And the Matt and Colin bro show, of two straight white dudes who do not examine their privilege even when it's pointed out to them, was excruciating to watch, so I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Justin to live with.

[choclatechip45]

3 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

I found Colin more likable and genuine than Kyle. I didn't mind him relative to some others in that cast. He just seemed young and had some unexamined privilege. There were moments that made me think his heart could be in the right place. I liked his rapport with Ruthie toward the end of the season, as well as what he contributed to the work meeting about comedians saying offensive things. 

The Hawaii book is a good one. I've been looking through it since I watched that season again recently on YT. What hits me about it is that this cast came in with an unusually high level of arrogance, and then they got knocked on their asses. I think several of them believed they knew how the game was played and could beat the house, so to speak, and then they got a rude awakening when they saw the footage they'd given the producers to work with and how it was assembled. Probably the only one who got away completely unscathed, got exactly what he wanted from the experience, was Teck. Colin's edit wasn't as bad as some, and maybe not as bad as it could have been. Matt, Ruthie, Justin, Kaia, and Amaya all got creamed in one way or another.

I preferred Colin over Kyle and some of the other jerks we've seen on The Real World. I always forget Hawaii was an older cast minus Colin who was 19. A lot of the things that bothered me about Colin was immature crap, but I thought he did have his heart in the right place and I liked that he listened to Justin. 

The producers really had it out for Amaya.

[ljenkins782]

5 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

I preferred Colin over Kyle and some of the other jerks we've seen on The Real World. I always forget Hawaii was an older cast minus Colin who was 19. A lot of the things that bothered me about Colin was immature crap, but I thought he did have his heart in the right place and I liked that he listened to Justin. 

The producers really had it out for Amaya.

I preferred Colin over Kyle too, but that's an awfully low bar to clear, lol. Colin is one I'd be interested to see now because a lot of what I found annoying then fell in the realm of young guy, unaware of privilege, and frankly, a product of those times. As I noticed with stunning clarity when I finally ran across the infamous RWB2NY/RR The Quest casting special, the late 90s/early 00s feel very far away in terms of what was acceptable to say and do. Very, very casual racism/homophobia/misogyny was tossed around very lightly and it was as if people didn't even know to object to it.

The whole of the editing around Amaya feels like a product of those years. The whole of the editing around Lori/Kevin and Keri/Kyle feels like a product of those years. One of the most troubling producer statements I ever heard was a description of Lori as "the most insecure beautiful woman I ever met." It bothered me because it brings to mind that the ultimate coup for a "Nice Guy" would be to get a beautiful woman who's unencumbered by that pesky confidence thing that makes women intolerant to bad treatment. They want the physical package, but not for them to feel secure enough to stand up for themselves. And the edit of Amaya trailing after Colin and Lori pining over Kevin fed right into that whole vibe.

Quote

Colin was a gaslighting jerk, and the way producers framed that relationship was grossly sexist, and unfair to Amaya.  She was annoying and clingy, but she was honest with him.  He was a two-faced jackass who did not treat her with a basic level of respect.

And the Matt and Colin bro show, of two straight white dudes who do not examine their privilege even when it's pointed out to them, was excruciating to watch, so I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Justin to live with.

Unfortunately for Justin, he was leaps and bounds ahead of his time in noting things like privilege and misogyny. The things he talked about then are things that have only come into the collective consciousness over the last decade, so I don't hold Colin as responsible then as I would now if he pulled a Becky and showed up (to the fictional reunion) still clinging to those beliefs. 

Matt OTOH, was just irredeemable and gaslighting seemed to be in his DNA. He was quite practiced at it even at his young age. He's another one I'd like to see again only to see how he turned out and to see he recognizes how problematic most of his behavior was. His distancing himself from the show either means he did see it OR he felt the show caused that portrayal and it was unfair.

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, ljenkins782 said:

I preferred Colin over Kyle too, but that's an awfully low bar to clear, lol. Colin is one I'd be interested to see now because a lot of what I found annoying then fell in the realm of young guy, unaware of privilege, and frankly, a product of those times. As I noticed with stunning clarity when I finally ran across the infamous RWB2NY/RR The Quest casting special, the late 90s/early 00s feel very far away in terms of what was acceptable to say and do. Very, very casual racism/homophobia/misogyny was tossed around very lightly and it was as if people didn't even know to object to it.

The whole of the editing around Amaya feels like a product of those years. The whole of the editing around Lori/Kevin and Keri/Kyle feels like a product of those years. One of the most troubling producer statements I ever heard was a description of Lori as "the most insecure beautiful woman I ever met." It bothered me because it brings to mind that the ultimate coup for a "Nice Guy" would be to get a beautiful woman who's unencumbered by that pesky confidence thing that makes women intolerant to bad treatment. They want the physical package, but not for them to feel secure enough to stand up for themselves. And the edit of Amaya trailing after Colin and Lori pining over Kevin fed right into that whole vibe.

Unfortunately for Justin, he was leaps and bounds ahead of his time in noting things like privilege and misogyny. The things he talked about then are things that have only come into the collective consciousness over the last decade, so I don't hold Colin as responsible then as I would now if he pulled a Becky and showed up (to the fictional reunion) still clinging to those beliefs. 

Matt OTOH, was just irredeemable and gaslighting seemed to be in his DNA. He was quite practiced at it even at his young age. He's another one I'd like to see again only to see how he turned out and to see he recognizes how problematic most of his behavior was. His distancing himself from the show either means he did see it OR he felt the show caused that portrayal and it was unfair.

Amaya did an interview with Susie from Road Rules on her patreon  and said she still talks Matt Kunitz who was the producer on screen the day after Ruthie drove drunk.

Teck said Matt reached out to him when the homecoming talks started and said it's been 20 years since he has been on TV and didn't feel comfortable being in the public eye again which is pretty ambiguous. Teck said he was happy Matt gave him a reason unlike Kaia or Colin. 

[Asp Burger]

I don't see why Teck needs each individual holdout to give him a reason. Every time I hear that they can't get all seven people from a cast together again, I'll assume the reason is that people have moved on with their lives, they don't want to be on television again, and they specifically don't want to be vivisected in the Bunim/Murray lab again. I understand that. I'll watch a Homecoming for a season I enjoyed, but if I were a former cast member, the three seasons to date would not make Homecoming more tempting to me. Quite the opposite.  

Teck got off lightly in 1999 and then parlayed the experience into a career as an MTV personality and sometime actor, and maybe his point of view on fame hasn't changed much. Some of his castmates didn't have a great MTV experience, and now they have careers and families far from the entertainment world. While "low six figures" is a nice amount for a few weeks of your life, not everyone will be swayed by that.

Matt, for example, is a teacher. By the accounts I've read, he's good at it and well liked by colleagues and students. I can see him thinking it's bad enough that anyone can go to YouTube and find the 1999 version of him with watery eyes saying "I sense the torture in Ruthie's soul," without risking embarrassment a second time. 

[Bastet]

I don't think anyone owes their former castmates a reason beyond "I don't want to" in opting not to sign up for this final round of exploitation, but, because a holdout can torpedo a lucrative project for the rest, I understand someone appreciating an "Hey, sorry, I don't want to do this because X" message over silence.

[BelleBrit]

Agreed-I think that cast mates should at least say that they do not want to do it, they don't even have to give a reason, I think there has been an implication that some ghosted instead of saying "I cannot do this, I wish you well, please do not contact me about this again." I believe that Nathan from the Seattle season implied that when he tried to get in touch with some people on his cast regarding a Homecoming season, contact was not returned, and the implication was that it was Lindsey/Janet. I think that unless you ended on really bad terms with people, there is a minimum of loyalty/kindness that is owed, though of course we never know the full behind the scenes details. Jon Murray had mentioned in an interview that while Homecoming has not yet been renewed, that they had a few seasons/casts "in their pocket" who they could go to, so I doubt any future Homecomings would be for casts that I'm interested in.

When I compared Chicago Kyle to Hawaii Colin, it was more in the sense of them being mediocre white boys who got opportunities. I also preferred Colin to Kyle, even though I did think he was gaslight-y and immature re: his relationship with Amaya, I do think that he felt genuinely hurt when Amaya was interested in his friend.

Edited June 16, 2022 by BelleBrit

[choclatechip45]

10 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

I don't see why Teck needs each individual holdout to give him a reason. Every time I hear that they can't get all seven people from a cast together again, I'll assume the reason is that people have moved on with their lives, they don't want to be on television again, and they specifically don't want to be vivisected in the Bunim/Murray lab again. I understand that. I'll watch a Homecoming for a season I enjoyed, but if I were a former cast member, the three seasons to date would not make Homecoming more tempting to me. Quite the opposite.  

Teck got off lightly in 1999 and then parlayed the experience into a career as an MTV personality and sometime actor, and maybe his point of view on fame hasn't changed much. Some of his castmates didn't have a great MTV experience, and now they have careers and families far from the entertainment world. While "low six figures" is a nice amount for a few weeks of your life, not everyone will be swayed by that.

Matt, for example, is a teacher. By the accounts I've read, he's good at it and well liked by colleagues and students. I can see him thinking it's bad enough that anyone can go to YouTube and find the 1999 version of him with watery eyes saying "I sense the torture in Ruthie's soul," without risking embarrassment a second time. 

Apparently Kaia and Colin both said yes originally. Colin changed his mind and which led Kaia to change her mind. It sounds like Kaia was talking to everyone and one day ghosted everyone. Amaya posted this in the comments on one of her instagram posts. I kind of get being hurt that you regain contact with someone and then they decide to ghost you.

[Asp Burger]

Just something else for the "how the sausage was made" file, from the Hawaii book. 

In the "how they were cast" section, Colin describes the experience of an open casting call. He, his friend Trevor, and a young woman named Sol were sitting at a table with Mary-Ellis Bunim herself.

Per Colin, Bunim instructed Trevor to ask Sol something that would "really embarrass" her. Trevor asked Sol something "obscene," and Sol had a good comeback to it. Bunim told the three of them they had an interesting dynamic. Someone else told them they would get a call by Sunday if they were going to be part of either Real World Hawaii or Road Rules Semester at Sea. You know the rest of the story. None of them got a call, and Sol, Trevor, and Colin became three of the four "rejects" who hosted the casting special. 

So, that's where the process was by 1998-99. The co-creator of the show wanted to see how a boy would go about humiliating a girl and how the girl would handle it.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Asp Burger

[SilverLake0315]

Amaya posted this on IG 😔