Memory Lane: Seasons 1-5

[ryebread]

OK, I am now in the middle of season 4, and I am falling out of love with Luann. I understand she wants to project good manners, but to tell you the truth, her manners are not impeccable. If they were she would not point out the bad manners of others so publicly. <In my Luann voice>...one would not acknowledge ill-mannered guests.

 

Have you got to the episode where she hosts a lunch for Victoria and her friends? Luann spends a good deal of time picking apart the table manners of some of the young girls.  It was awful.  And illustrated everything that was so wrong about the Countess writing a book about manners and class.

 

It's probably a good thing my memory isn't 100% what it used to be because I grew to like Luann a tiny bit last season for the first time.  Only when I read a post like yours or see her swilling a beer from a bottle do I realize what an entitled prick she was the first few seasons.  The only time I liked her was way at the beginning when she took Ramona to task for how she treated Simon at Jill's dinner party/girls' night out.

[BucFan]

Have you got to the episode where she hosts a lunch for Victoria and her friends? Luann spends a good deal of time picking apart the table manners of some of the young girls.  It was awful.  And illustrated everything that was so wrong about the Countess writing a book about manners and class.

And in almost every scene we have watched Luann's daughter chew with her mouth open.

[ryebread]

And in almost every scene we have watched Luann's daughter chew with her mouth open.

 

Snerk.  Oh yes we have!

[Avaleigh]

Have you got to the episode where she hosts a lunch for Victoria and her friends? Luann spends a good deal of time picking apart the table manners of some of the young girls.  It was awful.  And illustrated everything that was so wrong about the Countess writing a book about manners and class.

 

 

Lol, this reminds me of something I read about Kathy Hilton hosting that show How To Be a Hilton/How to Live Like a Hilton or something along those lines. Anyway, the subject of how to properly drink a glass of champagne comes up and the girls are instructed to make sure that they hold the glass at the stem. Kathy makes a big deal out of it and by the time the task or whatever is over they're all holding champagne and Kathy is the only person who isn't holding her glass by the stem. 

[BucFan]

"Elegance Is Learned My Friends"

[Maisie Palmzer]

Have you got to the episode where she hosts a lunch for Victoria and her friends? Luann spends a good deal of time picking apart the table manners of some of the young girls.  It was awful.  And illustrated everything that was so wrong about the Countess writing a book about manners and class.

 

It's probably a good thing my memory isn't 100% what it used to be because I grew to like Luann a tiny bit last season for the first time.  Only when I read a post like yours or see her swilling a beer from a bottle do I realize what an entitled prick she was the first few seasons.  The only time I liked her was way at the beginning when she took Ramona to task for how she treated Simon at Jill's dinner party/girls' night out.

I did see that and was shocked, at the time it didn't bug me too much. I think I rolled my eyes. Now thinking back, that was really awful!

 

I did like her scolding Ramona when Ramona was rude to Simon.

And in almost every scene we have watched Luann's daughter chew with her mouth open.

That is right!!

"Elegance Is Learned My Friends"

LOL!!

[Atlanta]

Wish Lu would take Carole to task about eating with her maw open. lol

[AKA...CJ86]

"Elegance Is Learned My Friends"

I'm dead...now I have "This is the Countess speaking...we have arrived..." in that auto tuned monotone repeating in my head...over and over...

Edited January 28, 2015 by CyberJawa1986

[archer1267]

LuAnn has always been a bit of a mystery to me. On the one hand, when she relaxed her Countess routine, she would seem kind of fun…I'm remembering the time she hung out with her niece and they were laughing over an adult toy window display. But then she would do something off-putting, like greet Rosie (who'd just been overseas visiting her family) with "I'm so glad you're back, Rosie! There's a ton of laundry to do!" Or refer to her daughter's unmanicured hands as "paws."

 

The thing that irritated me the most was her tendency to talk over/interrupt anyone she didn't consider her social equal. 

 

But then, damn…she would win me back with little nuggets like "I'm the female Barry White."

 

If the stories are true about Bethenny being a diva, then it seems like she's become the very type of person she'd make fun of in S1-S3. She's Madonna, apparently.

[Atlanta]

I've only seen Lu via seasons 5 and 6 and I really like her. However, if I watched the earlier ones, I may dislike her. She comes across as the voice of sanity.

[archer1267]

I rewatched the Scary Island episodes yesterday, which include LuAnn visiting the recording studio. And I couldn't help but think of this clip from Will and Grace, where Jack tries to sing Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time," and just can't hit the note, no matter how many times he tries.

[Maisie Palmzer]

Well, I just finished Season 4. I am not really sure what to think.

 

Alex - talk about putting her nose in where it really didn't belong. I wondered why she felt the need to fight other people's battles. The need to stay relevant? She was an annoyance, and so was her husband.

 

Cindy - why was she on? I did kind of like her, but I thought she was terribly rude. I am not really a fan of Sonja's, but really? Telling your hostess to pipe down while you take a conference call at her house, during breakfast? Either you put your phone away or do not accept the invitation.

 

Kelly - I know it is not really popular here, but I do like her. She is out there, but I I think she is harmless. Maybe there is more out there about her that I do not know?

 

Sonja - I am not sure what to make of her. I think she needs to remove her nose from Ramona's behind.

 

Jill - I know another one not too popular. She amuses me with her snide remarks. Or "owning" her behavior, says she changes and goes right back to it. I think I will miss her.

 

Ramona - what a piece of work she is. I think she is truly out of her mind. I died when she said she did not want to be in Luann's video because it sent the wrong message to her daughter. But.....she is on RHNY! Maybe I am not too bright, but, ummmm, what kind of message is she sending to her daughter?

 

Luann - I was losing my girl crush on her during the season, but I am back loving her. I loved the way she would shut down Alex. She really cracked me up.

 

So I guess Season 5 Kelly, Cindy, Alex and Jill are gone. I am wondering what the new women are going to be like.

 

 

[motorcitymom65]

Well, I just finished Season 4. I am not really sure what to think.

 

Alex - talk about putting her nose in where it really didn't belong. I wondered why she felt the need to fight other people's battles. The need to stay relevant? She was an annoyance, and so was her husband.

 

Cindy - why was she on? I did kind of like her, but I thought she was terribly rude. I am not really a fan of Sonja's, but really? Telling your hostess to pipe down while you take a conference call at her house, during breakfast? Either you put your phone away or do not accept the invitation.

 

Kelly - I know it is not really popular here, but I do like her. She is out there, but I I think she is harmless. Maybe there is more out there about her that I do not know?

 

Sonja - I am not sure what to make of her. I think she needs to remove her nose from Ramona's behind.

 

Jill - I know another one not too popular. She amuses me with her snide remarks. Or "owning" her behavior, says she changes and goes right back to it. I think I will miss her.

 

Ramona - what a piece of work she is. I think she is truly out of her mind. I died when she said she did not want to be in Luann's video because it sent the wrong message to her daughter. But.....she is on RHNY! Maybe I am not too bright, but, ummmm, what kind of message is she sending to her daughter?

 

Luann - I was losing my girl crush on her during the season, but I am back loving her. I loved the way she would shut down Alex. She really cracked me up.

 

So I guess Season 5 Kelly, Cindy, Alex and Jill are gone. I am wondering what the new women are going to be like.

I could see  how someone might like Kelly if you just saw S4. She was different that season, especially since there was no Beth.  I strongly recommend you watch S3. That season of that particular franchise will go down as one of the most incredible seasons of any HW show ever. That is the season with Scary Island, which basically began the premise that we now have on all the shows of sending the ladies away on vacation and wishing/hoping/planning for some incredible drama. You simply cannot believe Scary Island unless you see it.  Outside of that, there are lot of other great nuggets to be found in that season. 

 

That season is also interesting because it was the only one where I could stand Ramona. She came into that season planning to "renew" her life. It is a good reminder that she can control herself and behave like a normal person when she wants to. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

Kelly - I know it is not really popular here, but I do like her. She is out there, but I I think she is harmless. Maybe there is more out there about her that I do not know?

 

Have you gotten to Scary Island yet?

[Maisie Palmzer]

I could see  how someone might like Kelly if you just saw S4. She was different that season, especially since there was no Beth.  I strongly recommend you watch S3. That season of that particular franchise will go down as one of the most incredible seasons of any HW show ever. That is the season with Scary Island, which basically began the premise that we now have on all the shows of sending the ladies away on vacation and wishing/hoping/planning for some incredible drama. You simply cannot believe Scary Island unless you see it.  Outside of that, there are lot of other great nuggets to be found in that season.

 

I am watching the series in order, so I did see Scary Island. Kelly definitely had problems there. No question about it. But, all in all, I would prefer Kelly over Bethany and Alex any day.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2015 by Maisie Palmzer

[Maisie Palmzer]

Have you gotten to Scary Island yet?

Yes, I did see Scary Island. She was off the rails, but I don't think she is horrible.

[quaintirene]

I"m gonna defend Kelly here.  Yes, she's crazy.  But her kids are some of the best-behaved, most grounded kids I've seen on any of the shows.  And she did seem to care a great deal about their upbringing.  Her older daughter had some puppy fat on her, but unlike Jill, this was not brought up and harped on over and over.  And unlike Kandi from ATLA, we did see her preparing healthy meals for the girls.  She expected a level of polite behaviour from them and she got it.  Not like she deserves the Nobel Prize for Parenting.  As far as I'm concerned she was only doing what she should be doing.  But she didn't seem to spoil them.  She didn't curse at them.  She didn't dress them up like mini-mes.  She didn't treat them like tiny adults.  She didn't seem to parade her more bizarre behaviour in front of them.  I've never disliked her!

[archer1267]

I re-watched Scary Island recently and while I do think Kelly snapped (the accusations of Bethenny trying to kill her and "going after" Kelly's daughters in the press), and was unnecessarily aggressive to Bethenny (the chef vs. cook thing), I can understand a couple of things that were seen as loopy. Like, I think her "satchels of gold" comment was really just her own positive affirmation. And she didn't get Bethenny's "You can't handle the truth!" reference from A Few Good Men. I can see why she might have thought it was Al Sharpton instead. 

 

Kelly wasn't without points, either. They'd just sat down for lunch on their first day and already Ramona's bringing up Jill. I can totally see where Kelly would be irked by that, as well as the constant discussion of feelings and rehashing arguments. It's like, "we're in a beautiful place, have a staff waiting on us hand and foot…why are we talking about crap that happened back in New York?"

 

How much of Kelly's meltdown was triggered by Bethenny, I can only guess. She did seem most comfortable when she was photographing the women and interacting with them one-on-one - when Bethenny wasn't there. I think Kelly gets "lost" in a group of women, and maybe that's why she only spends 10-15 minutes at a party….less because she's so in-demand and has appearances to make all over town.

 

As much as I liked Bethenny during Season 3, she could have let some of the Kellyisms go, like the whole thing about stomping grapes. Kelly didn't get the joke and it was a small enough thing that Bethenny could have just tuned her out instead of saying, "It's called a joke."

[KFC]

I still think Kelly dislikes any group where she is either A) not the center of attention or B) isn't surrounded by the "fabulosity crowd" that speaks strictly in air kisses.

 

I thought her being irked by the Jill talk at lunch on the yacht was disingenuous because, let's be real, it's a reality show and these women were having legit issues with Jill. Of course they're going to talk about the most obvious beef going on in their circle. There wouldn't be a show otherwise. If anything, I thought drunk Sonja called it later on that night when she said any talk of emotions or feelings makes Kelly uncomfortable, and she was totally right about that.

[FozzyBear]

So I'm re watching S3 and I'm at the begining of the Scary Island trip. Oh Kelly. To quote Woody from Cheers "Kelly, Kelly, Kelly". Although I think she is a horrible person at her core (selfish, mean, spoiled) I can actually see how someone could have a different take on her. BUT, she's so...hard to deal with. She's a black and white thinker who had zero tolerance for other points of view, but she's also incredibly inarticulate so it's hard to even figure out what she's lecturing you about. And she lectures a lot! She's also the Queen of contradictions so you get things like "I only eat natural foods, pass the gummy bears" and "I don't drink, Patrone tequila are me favorite shots". It's such a nonsensical grab-bag of philosophies and grievances. I still want to know what happened behind the scenes on that trip.

OMG! Somehow I forgot about Turtle Time! Damn that was a good trip!

[FozzyBear]

On to season 4. As many times as I watch it (this is my 3rd time) I still don't understand the argument between Ramona and Cindy's brother at the wedding over a dead guy's cigar. I just don't get it. Cindy's brother was smoking a cigar that belonged to a dead friend of Ramona's and she was offended he said so...or something? The first time I saw it I got confused and thought the cigar was made out of the dead guy, now I think it was just a cigar he owned? I have no idea. Ramona is weird. Cindy and her cigar smoking brother are weird. I don't know.

[Avaleigh]

Everything with Cindy is such a fog for me. The three things I remember most with her were her comment about some cast member's main achievement in life being having landed a "golden dick" or something like that; the breakfast at Sonja's where she was all rude and loud while she was on her phone (maybe she even brought a personal assistant with her and made some comment to prevent Sonja from offering the woman food?); and the pictures of the camel ride where Sonja made sure to crop Cindy out of the pictures.

 

I also recall her having some babies that she treated like accessories but I don't recall how I arrived at that impression. I only saw season 4 once so I'd like to give it another look one of these days. Hopefully Bravo will re-air them all marathon style prior to the premiere of next season. I'm most interested in seeing seasons three and four again. 

[archer1267]

Season 4 is my least favorite season and I don't really know what Cindy added to the mix. She wasn't a bad person, but didn't really seem to have any warmth to her, even with her own family.

 

The Ramona, Howie & the cigar incident is about this, as far as I could make out:

 

Howie's girlfriend, Carol, used to be married to Jeff, a friend of Ramona's. Jeff died and Carol, his widow, gave his cigars to Howie. Ramona was affronted by that, and while I personally do think it's a bit odd to be offering your BF things that used to belong to your deceased husband, it really wasn't any of Ramona's business. I don't know if clothing got involved, maybe it did - I remember Ramona asking Andy at the Reunion "Would you wear a dead man's coat?" and him just saying "I don't know."

 

If you've got Hulu, Avaleigh, you can catch all the past seasons on there. Other HW franchises too!

[FozzyBear]

Cindy just doesn't make for good TV. At all. She may be very nice, but came across as a sour kill joy on TV. Just vaguely bitchy, without being entertainingly bitchy. Sort of dull and unpleasant at the same time.

[Grneyedldy]

Yeah I think Bravo thought a professional pubes remover and vajazzler was going to be more interesting. Major fail.

[FozzyBear]

Yeah I think Bravo thought a professional pubes remover and vajazzler was going to be more interesting. Major fail.

You know on paper she must have looked great. The "close" relationship with her brother whose GF could have been Cindy's twin, the ex BF/father of her children who was sort of there and sort of not, the never-say-die-1980s Joan Jet style, plus she was kind of a bitch, plus she decorated rich lady bits for a living! How could that not be a glorious Bravo style train wreck? Yet, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. How can anyone not be interesting with that bio? Ask Cindy.

[Almost 3000]

Everything with Cindy is such a fog for me. The three things I remember most with her were her comment about some cast member's main achievement in life being having landed a "golden dick" or something like that; the breakfast at Sonja's where she was all rude and loud while she was on her phone (maybe she even brought a personal assistant with her and made some comment to prevent Sonja from offering the woman food?); and the pictures of the camel ride where Sonja made sure to crop Cindy out of the pictures.

 

I also recall her having some babies that she treated like accessories but I don't recall how I arrived at that impression. I only saw season 4 once so I'd like to give it another look one of these days. Hopefully Bravo will re-air them all marathon style prior to the premiere of next season. I'm most interested in seeing seasons three and four again. 

I remember her babies in egg shaped highchairs that looked like an early Woody Allen movie.

[FozzyBear]

Morocco. This is one of the few HW trips I was insanely jealous of! I have always wanted to go to Morocco and Ramona and Sonjia were such horribly dirty Anericans. I felt bad for Alex that she got stuck with them by default and because she didn't get along that well with Kelly or Jill. This was another instance of bitchy Kelly. For someone who was so disgusted with gossiping she sure doesn't mind doing it herself. Not that I think gossiping is the worst thing in the world. I do it, I'll admit it, but I don't throw hissy fits when others engage either. Kelly is just hard for me. She's so needy. It's like a listening to a child. Between her and Ramonjia I felt bad for all of Morocco.

[KFC]

Season 4 is also my least favorite because you have the dullard addition of the ever-humorless Cindy, Bethenny's absence meant the Jill/Luann/Kelly (I won't call them Mean Girls, although they do totally give off a Regina/Gretchen/Karen dynamic, incidentally) had no one sober/coherent enough to stand up to them, and the most painful thing to me was watching Alex.

 

It was one thing when she and Simon were being the absurd pretenders of S1 and everyone was snarking on them, but by S4 it was just damn painful watching someone with no real allies get walked all over, and what's worse is her attempts at staying relevant by going toe-to-toe with Kelly and Luann were so uncomfortable to watch. They weren't fair fights because those two would never deign to view Alex on the same level, so it always just felt like we were watching a kid get picked on. I don't mind a HW catfight if it feels like the participants are on equal footing, but that was just uncomfortable much in the same way it was ugly watching Alexis Bellino get kicked out of the Cut dinner party on RHOC. I don't like watching inarticulate, flustered women drown around the HWs who are more camera-ready with their stinging one-liners. It's never fun to watch.

[Sun-Bun]

Season 4 is also my least favorite because you have the dullard addition of the ever-humorless Cindy, Bethenny's absence meant the Jill/Luann/Kelly (I won't call them Mean Girls, although they do totally give off a Regina/Gretchen/Karen dynamic, incidentally) had no one sober/coherent enough to stand up to them, and the most painful thing to me was watching Alex.

It was one thing when she and Simon were being the absurd pretenders of S1 and everyone was snarking on them, but by S4 it was just damn painful watching someone with no real allies get walked all over, and what's worse is her attempts at staying relevant by going toe-to-toe with Kelly and Luann were so uncomfortable to watch. They weren't fair fights because those two would never deign to view Alex on the same level, so it always just felt like we were watching a kid get picked on. I don't mind a HW catfight if it feels like the participants are on equal footing, but that was just uncomfortable much in the same way it was ugly watching Alexis Bellino get kicked out of the Cut dinner party on RHOC. I don't like watching inarticulate, flustered women drown around the HWs who are more camera-ready with their stinging one-liners. It's never fun to watch.

Agreed on all accounts---I cringed for poor awkward Alex throughout that entire season, although it did give us Kelly's one inspired and amusing talking head, when she mentioned that sometimes Alex would get all dramatic like a stage actress and literally become "Alexxxe"!!!

She didn't fit in with *anyone* by then and it was just painful to watch her flail so hard. I was glad to see her gone if only for her sanity's sake, and no, it's not fun to watch someone who's the butt of all the jokes yet has no idea that she isn't in on the joke.

Also, Cindy is perhaps one of the worst HW's ever. Not a shred of humor or fun there, always had the most sourpuss look on her face and haughty attitude, and just took herself wayyy too seriously, especially whenever she was interacting with Sonja. I always wanted to shake her and scream, "You paste plastic gems on and wax rich lady's vaginas! Get over yourself!!!!"

[FozzyBear]

Oh gross. Back from Morocco, Ramona and Alex have romantic evenings with Mario and Simon. *shudder* I may need therapy now.

[FozzyBear]

Oh Alex. I like her, but she went off the rails in S4. She picked an absurd number of fights and half the time I couldn't tell why she was so upset. It also became apparent how little in common she had with the other women. She probably had the most in common with Luanne and Kelly, but she didn't like Luanne and Kelly...well Kelly is Kelly. I think Alex was still trying to minimize the amount of contact she had with her since Scary Island. She spent most of the season with Sonjia and Ramona by default, but it was so painfully obvious they had next to nothing to actually talk about.

[ryebread]

Oh gross. Back from Morocco, Ramona and Alex have romantic evenings with Mario and Simon. *shudder* I may need therapy now.

 

Yeah, I try hard not to remember Alex, standing in the doorway, modeling all the lingerie Simon bought for her while he looked on creepily.

 

And Mario's disinterest in Ramona's sad advances when she got home kind of make sense now.

[AKA...CJ86]

All this talk of Cindy and I'm still trying to figure out if it was Cigars or a suit that flipped the Ramona bitch switch?

[motorcitymom65]

All this talk of Cindy and I'm still trying to figure out if it was Cigars or a suit that flipped the Ramona bitch switch?

Was that the same episode when Cindy didn't have any Pinot for Ramona? That is my memory of Cindy. When Sonja came over later to shame her for this sin and to make sure she was aware there was a "pecking order". Cindy was dull as dirt water, but I appreciated that she thought these women were nuts.

Oh, and the lunch were she was eating with someone (maybe her mom) and she had her twins with her. She was completely incapable of caring for them and had to call an assistant or nanny over to the restaurant to take them off her hands. I have never seen a less interested parent on any of these shows.

[Rhetorica]

Wasn't she involved in hanger gate?

[Avaleigh]

Who did Cindy make the golden dick comment about? 

[FozzyBear]

Who did Cindy make the golden dick comment about?

Sonjia. She really hated Sonjia. To be fair I got the impression at the reunion that she didn't really get along with anyone, not even the brunette team she got lumped in with. At one point she told Luanne to shut up. Cindy didn't have much of a sense of humor, to put it mildly.

[archer1267]

Oh Alex. I like her, but she went off the rails in S4. She picked an absurd number of fights and half the time I couldn't tell why she was so upset.

 

 

I know. I couldn't even understand her motives during S3 (i.e. delivering "the message" from Bethenny to Jill), but tended to brush over that because I couldn't stand Jill at that point either. And then that kind of became her thing in S4, confronting people. She started with Sonja and the Marriage Equality parade and branched out from there. I thought at first that she and Cindy might become friendly, being a little more bohemian and downtown as opposed to UES, but...

 

That post-Morocco coffee with LuAnn was painful. LuAnn's facial expressions and body language made it crystal clear that she was only there to humor Alex, but really didn't care what Alex had to say…and Alex so earnestly wanted to be heard. 

 

I think Alex might have done better on the more recent seasons, with HWs like Kristin, Carole and Heather. Carole's copped to liking weird people and probably would have found Simon and Alex at least initially amusing. And since someone like Heather doesn't even bother with the "in" vacation spots (like the Hamptons), Alex wouldn't have to pretend that she goes to St. Barth's in the off-season wholly by choice.

[ryebread]

Just because.  Bless her heart.  Remember how it was speculated that Bethenny signed on to Skating with the Stars or whatever it was called, just to show Jill she could do it better? 

 

Now that's the way I want to see the Hos one up each other.  Enough of this slapping and weave pulling.

 

[Grneyedldy]

One of my favorite Jill moments. Ah good times.

[MatildaMoody]

Just because.  Bless her heart.  Remember how it was speculated that Bethenny signed on to Skating with the Stars or whatever it was called, just to show Jill she could do it better? 

 

Now that's the way I want to see the Hos one up each other.  Enough of this slapping and weave pulling.

 

You know what's funny is I always thought that Jill wanted to do this skating segment because Bethenny had already decided to do Skating with the Stars and Jill was trying to one up her and do it better. But, yeah, I agree. These are the ways I want the Wives to try to one up each other. 

[Satchels of gold]

YOUR RUINING THE FUCKING SURPRISE!!

Black Bobby at the track

Its always nice to be photographed

Kelly letting her "hair down"

Take a Xanax !

Oh New York, how I have missed you.

[Bossa Nova]

 

Oh, and the lunch were she was eating with someone (maybe her mom) and she had her twins with her. She was completely incapable of caring for them and had to call an assistant or nanny over to the restaurant to take them off her hands. I have never seen a less interested parent on any of these shows.

Re: Cindy. Oh I remember that restaurant scene well ! And to be clear, she didn't have the "twins" with her - she only had one baby along !!

Edited March 15, 2015 by Bossa Nova

[jenny2682]

People!!! Season one marathon on today!!! Next week SCARY ISLAND!!!

[Lisin]

People!!! Season one marathon on today!!! Next week SCARY ISLAND!!!

 

THANK YOU! I've somehow managed to never see Scary Island which is a travesty I must fix pronto! 

[MyAimIsTrue]

THANK YOU! I've somehow managed to never see Scary Island which is a travesty I must fix pronto! 

 

YES, you must!!!

[Lisin]

Just set my DVR from my phone because THAT IS HOW EXCITED I AM! 

[MyAimIsTrue]

It's times like this I wish I had a DVR because I'd love to see all of the Scary Island episodes again.  I think there are three total.

[archer1267]

All the past seasons (with the exception of this most recent one) can be viewed if you have Hulu Plus.