S01.E04: Ice Queens

[Tara Ariano]

Lydia takes Jackie and Andrea on a ski trip; Chyka and Gina help Janet prepare for a date.

[HunterHunted]

It's so clear that Andrea has a problem with Gina's over the top tackiness. She just kept going and going.

[Blueeyedgirl]

It's like split into two camps, the tacky catty camp who went skiing, and the ever so slightly more mature camp who, while giggly and gossipy, if we get rid of the plastic surgery and scrubbed their faces and put them on a budget, I could hang out with.

I'm a 51 year old divorced woman. I could see, as inappropriate as it was, crashing a friend's date to check it out, or having friends of mine crash mine. Dating at 50 (I've been in a relationship for two years) has many similarities to dating at 14. Somethings are different of course, but the "does he like me?" And "should I call or wait for him" and the analyzing what happened is very similar. Not necessarily in a bad way - sometimes it is, but it is often fun and can make you feel young. :)

[RubberDuckie]

Janet looks like an older Kylie Minogue. I don't think she's really into younger men.

Andrea looked really bad when they were trying on clothing in the ski shop. She definitely needs to travel with a hair and make up team. No wonder she didn't want to take her hat off.

Lydia is so vapid.

I still like Gina.

[Baltimore Betty]

I am still laughing from the description of Gina looking like an extra from "Priscilla Queen of the Desert." So true!

[technorebel]

Poor Gina and her clothing and make-up choices.  I do think Gina would look much better with a clean face.  Maybe she'll have a makeover after she sees herself on screen.  I think she and Chyka are the brightest bulbs in the chandelier here.

 

I was surprised the other ladies didn't already know how to ski because I just think of that as something that all rich people do.  When my daughter was in high school, she was whining about all her friends going away on ski trips over Christmas break, but not us.  I told her to get poorer friends.

 

I'm kind of warming up to Jackie.  She was almost charming on this trip.  God bless and shine, shine, shine.

[jennylauren123]

Andrea looked very cute--like a different person altogether--when she was trying on the furry black hat in the ski shop.

 

I laughed when she supposed that everyone thought she knew what she was doing on the slopes, because of her cute ski wear.

 

I can safely say that no one who knows how to ski would accuse her of mad skills.

Edited August 18, 2014 by jennylauren123

[Primetimer]

The Melbourne Housewives split up, fall down, and get shagged.

Read the story

[Duke2801]

Lydia, Andrea, and Chyka are all the same age - 45, and Gina is only 2 years older than them. Chyka definitely has an "older vibe" or something though. But in a good way. Like, she seems very caring and motherly.

[technorebel]

Lydia is 45? I guess you can look young when you have a lot of money and are too stupid to have any worries.

[Duke2801]

Yeah, I saw her age on the Daily Mail and was like  whaaa?  She might be vapid and annoying, but she is beautiful and looks a good decade younger (IF that really is her real age).

 

This site also lists her as 45:

http://www.arenatv.com.au/shows/real-housewives-of-melbourne/the-housewives/lydia.html

[archer1267]

It's so clear that Andrea has a problem with Gina's over the top tackiness. She just kept going and going.

 

I feel badly for Gina, imagining how she feels watching this. She let herself get vulnerable and cry at Andrea's house, and regards Andrea as a friend...and on the ski trip, Andrea just couldn't wait to make fun of her.

 

Why aren't the cast members blogging, by the way? Would love to hear their thoughts after each episode.

 

I hope #psychicgate doesn't become the spat that resounds throughout the entire season. I had enough with #bookgate on RHONY. For someone who communes with angels, Jackie is one tightly-wound, insecure person. (I don't think secure people are constantly complimenting themselves or worrying that someone's hitting on their spouse.) And she does seem to enjoy making digs about the women, all the while accepting their invitations and attention. Somehow, the shtik worked for Bethenny, but it's not ringing true with her; maybe it's because Bethenny didn't hold herself up as this spiritually evolved person. I think she's a desperate wannabe, and it's funny that she relishes the "rock star wife" thing when she married Ben after Silverchair broke up. He seems content to putter around and focus on becoming a tequila mogul. (It worked so well for Simon Barney, why not?)

[fliptopbox]

I couldn't find any blogs on Arena's website, which is the Aussie channel equivalent of Bravo. I guess if they didn't blog there they aren't going to for us either.

[quetzal]

They never blogged and I doubt they will now since they're filming a new season.

 

I feel badly for Gina, imagining how she feels watching this. She let herself get vulnerable and cry at Andrea's house, and regards Andrea as a friend...and on the ski trip, Andrea just couldn't wait to make fun of her.

 

I came in to the show with a pre-dislike for Andrea due to the snotty tone she has in this commercial and the season previews that showed her discussing how she lives, eats and breathes Toorak, but her digs at Gina after opening up about her cancer to her sealed the deal for me. And while Gina totally overdoes it with her choice of warpaint, Andrea is far from a fashionista.

Oh, and I get a kick out of everytime I watch

listing the ladies occupations...and then there's Lydia's. LOL

[Mya Stone]

They never blogged and I doubt they will now since they're filming a new season.

I came in to the show with a pre-dislike for Andrea due to the snotty tone she has in

and the season previews that showed her discussing how she lives, eats and breathes Toorak, but her digs at Gina after opening up about her cancer to her sealed the deal for me. And while Gina totally overdoes it with her choice of warpaint, Andrea is far from a fashionista.

Oh, and I get a kick out of everytime I watch

listing the ladies occupations...and then there's Lydia's. LOL

Jet Owner. I can not stop laughing!

[Neurochick]

I like Lydia because to me, all the women look like they took one woman and just xeroxed her.  Lydia actually looks different, not like a slice of Wonder bread.

 

Gina is gross with all that shit on her face; I thought she was in her late 50's but if she's not even 50 she needs to take that crap off.  Wearing make up that heavy ages your face.  

 

Andrea's face is frozen.

[Blueeyedgirl]

I like Lydia because to me, all the women look like they took one woman and just xeroxed her. Lydia actually looks different, not like a slice of Wonder bread.

Gina is gross with all that shit on her face; I thought she was in her late 50's but if she's not even 50 she needs to take that crap off. Wearing make up that heavy ages your face.

Andrea's face is frozen.

While I agree that Lydia is the most attractive physically, I haven't seen anything else about her that earns my interest...I almost said "respect", but then I remembered we are talking about a Real Housewives show...

Lydia can ski, I'll give her that.

[Neurochick]

The main problem I have with these shows is frequently I can't tell the women apart; they're all blonde, overly made up, too much botox and plastic surgery.  I'm not looking for Rhodes scholars, just the ability to tell them apart.  Gina may be intelligent, but I can't take her seriously with all that shit on her face.  I wonder what she looks like natural.  Maybe she feels like she needs all that crap, but I can't stand looking at her.  

 

Jackie cracks me up.  

[Blueeyedgirl]

The main problem I have with these shows is frequently I can't tell the women apart; they're all blonde, overly made up, too much botox and plastic surgery.  I'm not looking for Rhodes scholars, just the ability to tell them apart.  Gina may be intelligent, but I can't take her seriously with all that shit on her face.  I wonder what she looks like natural.  Maybe she feels like she needs all that crap, but I can't stand looking at her.  

 

Jackie cracks me up.  

 

For me, they all have a distinct look.  and Lydia, Gina, Jackie are brunettes....J

 

anet and Andrea look surgeried & botoxed to me (Janet the most).  Janet looks terrible and her surgery/botox make her look older to me, which is too bad because you can tell she was once beautiful. 

 

Lydia looks very young and not so surgeried to me (although she may be).

 

Chykka has a hairstyle that ages her, but to me, if she updated her hairstyle, she looks her age (and not botoxed to death)..

 

Who could tell if Gina had botox or surgery or anything with the makeup she wears? 

 

and Jackie, well, she is young -- but I wouldn't be surprised if she had botox because, well, shine shine shine, and a spirit told her told.  I'm glad she cracks someone up, because as I think I said before, I find her without class, no ounce of intelligence, completely not funny, no self awareness -- let alone ability to laugh at her self. (I think I'm going to have to refrain from talking about her, she makes me so annoyed I could spit.)

[Neurochick]

Sometimes I think self awareness is overrated.  Just chill out and shine, shine, shine.

 

I find Gina without class as well; how can you have class when you're painted up like a clown?

[SistaLadybug]

I'm a makeup artist and while I find Gina's look overly painted and harsh, I have to love a lover of the paint.  I also know that the amount of makeup one wears is no indication of intelligence, good character or class.

[Baltimore Betty]

I spent an hour at Sephora on Saturday with a make up artist using a zillion different products on me and I still could not achieve the level of painted ladyness that Gina does, honestly I was a little disappointed that I still looked like me...does Gina even recognize herself with no make up on at all? Would anyone?

 

BTW, $135 was not enough to achieve Gina's look.

[Midnight Cheese]

Jackie sure thinks she's hot.  Where can I order those mirrors?  Or do you need some kind of psychological delusion to accompany the reflective surfaces?

 

Lydia is very young-looking IMO for her age and having birthed a few babies.  Great skin, hair, nice figure.  Sadly, she's a boring and arrogant moron.

 

Janet and Gina are a bit harsh to look at with the injections and war paint respectively, but they seem charming and intelligent.  Andrea sucks and has a root-vegetable head.  I don't know what that means, either.  Chyka seems ok.

[Duke2801]

Andrea looked really bad when they were trying on clothing in the ski shop. She definitely needs to travel with a hair and make up team. No wonder she didn't want to take her hat off

 

 

Right?  I was almost mesmerized by her hair in that ski shop scene.  Like, had they just come in from skiing and her hair was tousled (to put it mildly) from the wind/snow?  Or was she trying to... intentionally achieve that look with mousse and Aqua Net hairspray? 

 

Although Jackie is still annoying, I was sort of feeling her in that scene where Lydia and Andrea were talking about how you have to "mold" your husband in order to make him acceptable.  I liked her "dafuq??" expression and her talking head on the subject. 

[sasha206]

While I agree that Lydia is the most attractive physically, I haven't seen anything else about her that earns my interest...I almost said "respect", but then I remembered we are talking about a Real Housewives show...

Lydia can ski, I'll give her that.

 

Agreed on Lydia.  

 

Am I the only one who saw this ski chalet they all raved about with the fake deer heads and thought: this chick is trying to be an interior designer?  She had one tiny picture wall, blank walls everywhere else and then fake deer heads.  I hope her hubby doesn't put her in charge of interior design.

 

Jackie is just obnoxious.  I feel like she's trying to be a character on a reality show and it's coming off badly.  Her dumpy husband can hardly even form a sentence. Sorry, he may play drums for a defunct band but he certainly isn't a "rock star."   Silverchair was a one-hit wonder in the US weren't they? I'm sure they were bigger in Australia but still.  Anyone who claims to be able to see your future and your past automatically gets nothing but disgust from me.  You're either pulling a scam and preying on innocent people or you are just nuts.  I believe there are some people that are intuitive but this bullshit of seeing angels hover over everyone is crap.

 

And Gina reminds me so much of Joan Cusak in Working Girl.  I love her but my God.  I can't believe that she thinks that's a good look.  

 

 

 

 

Andrea is a piece of shit. She seems to hold an unusually high view of herself.  

 

Janet's face scares me.  And sorry, but her date might have been younger but he was a chub with bad teeth and not at all attractive.  I think for her banging a young guy was some sort of "I've still got it" notch on her belt.  I wonder how pretty she would've looked if she aged naturally.  Her face looks so pulled and pinched that without make-up it looks really bad.

Edited August 21, 2014 by sasha206

[jennylauren123]

Yeah, when I think "rock star," I think Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, guys like that. You know, stars! Not someone from a band whose name I recognized, made up of guys whose names I definitely do not know.

 

And I shouldn't have to look up such a big rock star on Wikipedia and youtube. 

 

I find their pairing kind of interesting. They seem to be in love. How did they meet? What drew them to one another? It might be that they just blow smoke up each other's (faces), and that's what makes them tick.

Edited August 22, 2014 by jennylauren123

[Duke2801]

Right.  I mean here in the US, I can guarantee that the majority of people (like, the general population, not people who are really *into* the music scene) don't even know who Silverchair is by name alone, let alone Ben Gillies (sp?)   Now, if you say... Oh remember that "fat boy" song from the mid 90s? and start humming the tune, yes, they will probably remember. 

 

I would be interested to hear from some Aussies, though, so see how "huge" they are (or were) over there. 

Edited August 22, 2014 by Duke2801

[fliptopbox]

I can understand that most people probably don't know much about Silverchair, considering the majority of the popularity they had ended around 2001 in the US. They did have a couple of hits besides that song Tomorrow, but none quite as big. I was a huge fan of theirs though, even going so far as to record and trade bootlegs of their concerts with other fans through online trading groups. I wish I still had my collection (and a Walkman) cos it was pretty extensive. And thanks to them I learned about the existence of a lot of other great Aussie bands that I would have never known otherwise. So seeing that this is the kind of 'fame' Ben has been reduced to is just depressing to me. Being a drummer in a formerly well known band is pretty cool....being the has-been drummer that's married to a psychic famewhore is not. It's like he's turning himself into a joke. Supposedly Jackie in Ben knew each other from school and later reconnected. Which to me sounds like she basically ignored him until he became famous and then decided she wanted a piece. She seems like a gold digger.

 

I also checked out Silverchair's website and noticed they haven't toured here since 2007. That's probably a big part of why not too many people remember them. And, as much as I hate to say it, their albums after Neon Ballroom kind of sucked.

Edited August 22, 2014 by fliptopbox

[MiamiGuy]

In Australia, Silverchair were certainly more than the one-hit wonders they were in the US. They had five consecutive No. 1 albums, had several top 10 singles, and headlined arenas. In the Australian context, they were rock stars. So Jackie isn't incorrect though it also makes Ben appearing in this extra sad. They were also more popular in the UK than the US.

 

And I would disagree that the later albums weren't good. "Diorama" is actually a little slice of awesome.

[fliptopbox]

I don't mind Diorama and Young Modern now....but when they were initially released I really didn't care for either. I miss Silverchair, and I'm glad to read that Daniel Johns is still making music solo. I just can't believe it has been since 2007 that I last saw them live. Damn I feel old, lol.

Oh and oddly enough Silverchair has a HUUUUUGE following in South America, specifically Brazil. They were headliners of the Rock in Rio festival numerous times.

[poeticlicensed]

Was I the only one who was underwhelmed by the ski house? It looked like a cookie cutter condo. The fireplace was cool, but it certainly wasn't over the top "lifestyles of the rich and famous" like she wants to portray herself. I also was put off when they went to what looked like a charming restaurant in Thredbo, and proclaimed it one of TOP restaurants? What is up with the top this and top that? How about just say the food is good.   Andrea has a stick up her butt and she sure does like to hate on Gina, which I don't get. And I interpreted the mold your husband comments along the lines of "got me a rich guy, need to keep control so he and his money don't kick me to the curb". 

 

I want to like Janet, she seems like a wounded bird. I assume  her husband's cheating and divorce was horrible. I thought the date was a total set up for the cameras I am 100% sure she didn't bang that guy. 

 

I like Gina, but she has to stop with the weirdness about demons and psychics.

Edited August 24, 2014 by poeticlicensed

[SistaLadybug]

I am annoyed that Andrea kept saying that Gina confronted Ben and Jackie at their housewarming party.  That is NOT TRUE.  She did not confront them.  Ben pushed that issue and while Gina tried to move on and make it clear that she didn't want to discuss it during the party, they kept at it. 

[technorebel]

I am annoyed that Andrea kept saying that Gina confronted Ben and Jackie at their housewarming party. That is NOT TRUE. She did not confront them. Ben pushed that issue and while Gina tried to move on and make it clear that she didn't want to discuss it during the party, they kept at it.

Well, poor brain-damaged Ben couldn't help but repeat himself over and over! But, you're right, Gina didn't want to discuss it. Ben and Jackie forced her to.

Andrea was just shit-stirring. It wasn't any of her business to begin with. It's amusing to me that she's not publishing her book now because "the show trashed it". Yes, that's why your book won't sell. It doesn't have anything to do your snotty attitude.

[Neurochick]

I'm a makeup artist and while I find Gina's look overly painted and harsh, I have to love a lover of the paint.  I also know that the amount of makeup one wears is no indication of intelligence, good character or class.

 

I have to disagree with that.  If you feel the need to paint your face that much, it makes me wonder what are you hiding?  Why are you afraid to show your true face to the world?  If you're so smart, why do you need to look like a clown?

[Almost 3000]

Was I the only one who was underwhelmed by the ski house? It looked like a cookie cutter condo. The fireplace was cool, but it certainly wasn't over the top "lifestyles of the rich and famous" like she wants to portray herself. I also was put off when they went to what looked like a charming restaurant in Thredbo, and proclaimed it one of TOP restaurants? What is up with the top this and top that? How about just say the food is good.   Andrea has a stick up her butt and she sure does like to hate on Gina, which I don't get. And I interpreted the mold your husband comments along the lines of "got me a rich guy, need to keep control so he and his money don't kick me to the curb". 

 

I want to like Janet, she seems like a wounded bird. I assume  her husband's cheating and divorce was horrible. I thought the date was a total set up for the cameras I am 100% sure she didn't bang that guy. 

 

I like Gina, but she has to stop with the weirdness about demons and psychics.

Janet's date was a rip off of RHNJ Danielle's younger man date. I remember giggling Teresa and Jacqueline sneaking into the restaurant in the exact same way but Danielle definitely took her guy on an around the world tour.

[sasha206]

Was I the only one who was underwhelmed by the ski house? It looked like a cookie cutter condo. The fireplace was cool, but it certainly wasn't over the top "lifestyles of the rich and famous" like she wants to portray herself. .

 

What I thought was the hilarious part of this was that it was decorated by Lydia.  *This* woman wants to decorate professionally?  One picture wall, tacky weird deer head plasters, and blank walls everywhere else.