RW: Chicago (2002)

[ljenkins782]

On 5/9/2022 at 5:56 PM, Tatum said:

I watched it and posted a lot on TWoP. Keri was definitely a fan favorite, especially towards the end. Tonya was ragged on the most during the beginning, and then it was Kyle and Cara (Tonya was still ragged on, but not as much as the other two by the end).

I didn't really like Keri. I felt sorry for her towards the end (I think she was really hurt and embarrassed by the way Kyle treated her), but she seemed like one of those women who liked to point out how "not like other women" she is, as though being a woman is somehow bad by design and being more like a man is aspirational for women. I can respect though, that she didn't really talk a lot of shit about people.

Yeah, nowadays, I think more people would recognize the bit of Cool Girl syndrome in Keri. And it hit her right in the cool girl spot that Kyle backed off midway through and Cara swooped in to be Kyle's confidante, she's used to being that girl that guys go to to bitch about other girls and it clearly really embarrassed her to find herself in that role of "clingy girl". But yeah, the "I'm not like other girls" routine wears a bit thin, ditto for her pride at her already long history of drinking, which isn't actually a great thing.

But overall, she seemed to get along with everyone and didn't jump on every opportunity to talk vicious shit on everyone (cough, Cara/Kyle) and like she'd be a fun person to know. She, and Theo, both seemed like their most irritating aspects were products of their ages and they probably both grew out of a lot of them. 

Quote

Kyle deserved every insult he got. What a condescending asshole. Cara, I actually felt pretty sorry for, even though she could be annoying. She clearly had low self esteem and was always looking for attention from men as a temporary pick me up. I think she showed Tonya a lot of kindness and was deeply hurt when it got back to her all the truly nasty things Tonya said about her behind her back.

I have to disagree, I think Tonya had more reason to be hurt by Cara's shit-talking BECAUSE Cara went out of her way to show kindness to her face. It felt especially cruel to see Cara sitting by her hospital bed or nursing her through the evening and then talking massive amounts of shit about her afterward. I'm not sure whether Cara showed kindness because she was genuinely moved to, or because her people-pleaser nature made her do it.

Tonya was an imperfect victim, obviously, because she wasn't the most gracious patient or roommate, but she also had the hardest road in life by far and it had an impact on her emotional and social skills. And yeah, she talked a lot of shit, but it was out of insecurity and feeling isolated, whereas Cara had all the support in the world and could afford to be a little more gracious, IMO. I wasn't a Tonya fan, but I understood why she lashed out and I would have felt similarly uncomfortable in that situation, with 24/7 camera footage capturing the awkwardness of her contrasted with the relative ease of the other castmates, who mostly got along well and were comfortable with new people.

[Tatum]

44 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

have to disagree, I think Tonya had more reason to be hurt by Cara's shit-talking BECAUSE Cara went out of her way to show kindness to her face. It felt especially cruel to see Cara sitting by her hospital bed or nursing her through the evening and then talking massive amounts of shit about her afterward. I'm not sure whether Cara showed kindness because she was genuinely moved to, or because her people-pleaser nature made her do it.

I really don’t recall Cara talking that much shit about Tonya in the house, other than once commenting that her breasts were “huge, saline, and tan.” In fact, I remember her defending Tonya when Aneesa was always ragging on her. What else did Cara say? 

[choclatechip45]

Tonya did an interview back in 2016 with buzzfeed for a piece they did on the show, she said she was sober and wished fans of the show could see how well she was doing. Hopefully she still is.

Edited May 14, 2022 by choclatechip45

[seltzer3]

Cara just got interviewed.

 

[choclatechip45]

I listened to the interview. She still talks to Kyle and Aneesa. She said she would do a Real World Homecoming, but said her and Kyle were texting nervous that they would put Real World Chicago on Paramount. 

Never did a Challenge because she is not athletic. 

Edited May 21, 2022 by choclatechip45

[Tatum]

On 5/20/2022 at 8:36 PM, choclatechip45 said:

but said her and Kyle were texting nervous that they would put Real World Chicago on Paramount. 

Did she say why? I hope they do put it on! I don't really recall anything scandalous from that season. I mean, Kyle looked like an ass, but he was also 22 years old.

[choclatechip45]

38 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Did she say why? I hope they do put it on! I don't really recall anything scandalous from that season. I mean, Kyle looked like an ass, but he was also 22 years old.

Cara did not like her edit and thought it was somewhat sexist which I agree with, but I got the impression both of them did not want to have to relive stuff they did when they were 22/23. 

I did like her response about why she didn't get along with Tonya in the house she said I thought she was racist and she thought I would agree with her because we were both white and blonde. 

[Bastet]

I imagine Cara does not want to relive (by having people see it anew and commenting on it, even if she doesn't watch it again herself) the utter embarrassment of how desperate she was for validation via male attention back then.  She was bad enough on her own, but then the way she was edited made it far worse (the reunion for this season was filmed shortly after the episodes finished airing, so the cast was all freshly irritated with each other, yet everyone banded together to say Cara and Tonya both got terrible edits; they did the things shown, of course, but it was presented like they did nothing else, which in Cara's case was hook up with guys, but plenty of RW men before her had far more partners and it wasn't turned into a season-long storyline). 

4 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

I did like her response about why she didn't get along with Tonya in the house she said I thought she was racist and she thought I would agree with her because we were both white and blonde. 

Gods, yes, Tonya was racist.  And homophobic (as was Theo).

Edited May 25, 2022 by Bastet

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I imagine Cara does not want to relive (by having people see it anew and commenting on it, even if she doesn't watch it again herself) the utter embarrassment of how desperate she was for validation via male attention back then.  She was bad enough on her own, but then the way she was edited made it far worse (the reunion for this season was filmed shortly after the episodes finished airing, so the cast was all freshly irritated with each other, yet everyone banded together to say Cara and Tonya both got terrible edits; they did the things shown, of course, but it was presented like they did nothing else, which in Cara's case was hook up with guys, but plenty of RW men before here had far more partners and it wasn't harped on the same way). 

Gods, yes, Tonya was racist.  And homophobic (as was Theo).

The one interesting thing she did mention is that she is out of work trying to find the job. She no longer hawks whatever product she was hawking on QVC so I wonder if that is part of it as well. She did mention a friend of hers found the casting special on YouTube so I imagine it's stuff like that not wanting to deal with it on a day to day basis when your edit was pretty terrible. 

Oddly enough she did ask Mike Lewis how he watched her season she said she might not watch it, but wanted access to it. All of her VHS tapes are at her parents house.

I watched some episodes recently and Tonya thinking Theo was scary because he was black is pretty jarring. I have no idea how anyone can think Theo is scary looking dude looks like he is 110 pounds!

[ljenkins782]

5 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Quote

   6 HOURS AGO,  TATUM SAID: 

Did she say why? I hope they do put it on! I don't really recall anything scandalous from that season. I mean, Kyle looked like an ass, but he was also 22 years old.

Cara did not like her edit and thought it was somewhat sexist which I agree with, but I got the impression both of them did not want to have to relive stuff they did when they were 22/23. 

I did like her response about why she didn't get along with Tonya in the house she said I thought she was racist and she thought I would agree with her because we were both white and blonde. 

It was definitely scandalous back then, I think Cara's brother was in politics and she felt her portrayal hurt his career somehow. And I believe she has said (not sure if this is verified or not) that she wasn't aware of cameras or microphones in certain spots, so she wasn't aware that she was having sex in front of an audience.

[choclatechip45]

7 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

It was definitely scandalous back then, I think Cara's brother was in politics and she felt her portrayal hurt his career somehow. And I believe she has said (not sure if this is verified or not) that she wasn't aware of cameras or microphones in certain spots, so she wasn't aware that she was having sex in front of an audience.

Yes her brother is Jeff Nussbaum who is a speechwriter for various high profile Democratic politicans. A young Jake Tapper wrote about it in 2002 https://www.salon.com/2002/04/04/nussbaum_2/

Wasn't Chicago the first season they used night vision cameras?

Cara did mention she was happy Vegas was the season after hers and people forgot about her antics. 

[ljenkins782]

5 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

Yes her brother is Jeff Nussbaum who is a speechwriter for various high profile Democratic politicans. A young Jake Tapper wrote about it in 2002 https://www.salon.com/2002/04/04/nussbaum_2/

Wasn't Chicago the first season they used night vision cameras?

Cara did mention she was happy Vegas was the season after hers and people forgot about her antics. 

That probably was what she was referring to. 

And they also used a lot of Cara in the season previews that unfairly highlighted her relatively few encounters in the house.

[choclatechip45]

21 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

That probably was what she was referring to. 

And they also used a lot of Cara in the season previews that unfairly highlighted her relatively few encounters in the house.

Interesting! I was to young to watch Chicago live so I like hearing things about previews!

[ljenkins782]

30 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

Interesting! I was to young to watch Chicago live so I like hearing things about previews!

OMG, that means you means the ad nauseam shots of Cara sitting the kitchen counter saying "I slipped off his sweat"

She had some sort of encounter with the lead singer of Big Head Todd, which in retrospect was probably a bad thing because it seemed to establish her reputation in the season.

ETA: this season's promos also had this weird attempt to promote a musical group and they chose City High, who have one of the most sexist songs of all time "what would you do" 

they had some Chicago season specific songs too but I can't remember them

Edited May 25, 2022 by ljenkins782

[choclatechip45]

15 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

OMG, that means you means the ad nauseam shots of Cara sitting the kitchen counter saying "I slipped off his sweat"

She had some sort of encounter with the lead singer of Big Head Todd, which in retrospect was probably a bad thing because it seemed to establish her reputation in the season.

ETA: this season's promos also had this weird attempt to promote a musical group and they chose City High, who have one of the most sexist songs of all time "what would you do" 

they had some Chicago season specific songs too but I can't remember them

Oh wow!  Those songs sound interesting. Yes that made it on to one of the episodes! 

I remember hearing that Brynn from Vegas made it far in the casting process for Chicago, but they told her it wasn’t a good fit. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Wasn't Chicago the first season they used night vision cameras?

That's what I've always assumed the difference was.  No one was dumb enough not to know there were cameras mounted in the bedrooms, as everyone - even Tonya with Justin when she was home alone - pulled the covers all the way up over their heads when getting busy, but reactions afterward indicated they didn't realize it would still be crystal clear, and thus broadcast, what was happening.

[Tatum]

Did Cara have sex in the house with anyone besides Kyle's friend? I can't remember if the "Rock Star" was in the house or not, and she didn't admit to having sex with him. The only other guy they showed her hooking up with was her ex boyfriend (not the one she visited in St Louis) and I want to say they went into a public bathroom stall.

Tonya said in the reunion that Cara would have guys in their shared bedroom, and it was always pretty innocent. I remember being surprised- not surprised that it was innocent, but like, who were these guys Tonya was talking about? Also, Tonya was the only one in the house who said anything about who Cara was or was not sleeping with- she is the one who told Justin, on camera, that Cara had been with 8, 9, 10 guys in the house, something that was refuted by pretty much everyone else.

I don't know how the general public reacted to Cara's televised hookups, but the posters at TWoP were far less interested in ragging on her for that, and way harsher on her for the way she threw Keri under the bus in an effort to ingratiate herself with Kyle, and totally egged him and his massive ego and penchant for revisionist history on.

Keri was also very unhappy with her edit. A friend of hers posted on TWoP (unverified, but who would make this up), that Keri had a great time in Chicago and left the house thinking she was on great terms with everyone and that it was a great experience. She even signed up to do a Challenge (this was confirmed, she was on the early leaked list of cast members participating in the original Battle of the Sexes), and watched the season where the entire second half would indicate that Keri sat around pouting the whole time because Kyle wouldn't pay any attention to her. She also had no idea how often Kyle and Cara discussed how "jealous" and "possessive" and "obsessed" over Kyle she was and was pretty mortified. She pulled out of the Challenge and never had anything further to do with Bunim/Murray.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Tatum

[Tatum]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

That's what I've always assumed the difference was.  No one was dumb enough not to know there were cameras mounted in the bedrooms, as everyone - even Tonya with Justin when she was home alone - pulled the covers all the way up over their heads when getting busy, but reactions afterward indicated they didn't realize it would still be crystal clear, and thus broadcast, what was happening.

I still remember people on TWoP joking over Kyle's sad little boner when he gets out of Keri's bed just wearing boxers.

[Asp Burger]

10 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

ETA: this season's promos also had this weird attempt to promote a musical group and they chose City High, who have one of the most sexist songs of all time "what would you do" 

they had some Chicago season specific songs too but I can't remember them

The rhyme I remember is "Theo is the playa who thinks Chris is wrong / But they're gonna have to work it out, they gotta get along / In the Real World / Chicago!" 

(I doubt anyone needs this primer, but the reference to Theo thinking Chris was "wrong" was about homosexuality. Theo was a total preacher's-son stereotype sexing up any woman who would have him -- basically, a surlier Teck from Hawaii, skinny build and all -- and he gave lesbianism a partial pass if the women were hot, but he thought "dudes is disgusting." Ironically, Chris became his closest friend in the house, but he never really changed his view.) 

There were also some later City High promos in which they weren't making music; the three of them were just sitting around shooting the shit about what the roommates had done in a recent episode. I recall that the two guys were big fans of Theo, and the girl liked Keri.  

11 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Wasn't Chicago the first season they used night vision cameras?

I think Back to New York the previous year debuted the night-vision cameras, but we didn't see as much footage from them. They definitely used them for the scene in which Kevin blows up his nice-guy image by boasting that every woman is going to want to party with him when he has his Real World fame working for him.  

2 hours ago, Tatum said:

Did Cara have sex in the house with anyone besides Kyle's friend? I can't remember if the "Rock Star" was in the house or not, and she didn't admit to having sex with him.

From her comments, I inferred that she, uh, took matters in hand. But it definitely wasn't in the house. It was backstage wherever they went to hear the band.  

Edited May 25, 2022 by Asp Burger

[Tatum]

6 minutes ago, Asp Burger said:

From her comments, I inferred that she, uh, took matters in hand. But it definitely wasn't in the house. It was backstage wherever they went to hear the band.  

Yeah, I am pretty sure her little sing-songy phrase was "I made out with a rock star" not "I fucked a rock star". I do remember the boards were speculating plenty on what all she actually did, but pretty sure she only copped to making out. So, really, only one confirmed guy she had sex with during her time in Chicago (I think she also denied actually fucking her ex in the bathroom).

Cara was pretty split though between wanting to be sexually free spirited like the ladies of Sex and the City,  and not wanting to be judged as a "slut" by viewers. I mean, did being called a slut bother her because she actually did not sleep with more than 2 men over a 6 month period, or did she object to women being called sluts in general, regardless of who they slept with? If it was the latter, she definitely would have been ahead of her time.

I think Cara got a fair edit in general though. I am sure a lot of what she saw embarrassed her, but she was needy and desperate for validation. Other than Tonya's comments that aired, I don't think editing tried to make her look more sexually active than she was. If anything, it sounds like they were guys she was casually dating that never appeared onscreen or were even referenced.

Tonya admitted during the reunion that while the editing showed a very nasty side to her, it was fair, and she really was that bad. I thought it was pretty brave of her to admit it and say she wanted to do better going forward. Which she largely did, until the mid 2000s when substance abuse and untreated mental health issues started getting worse.

I do think Keri got kind of a raw deal. Every argument she had with Kyle over a 6 month period managed to make it into an episode, and thanks to Cara and Kyle, she looked a lot more focused on him than she actually was. I think she did like him, and she was hurt by him, but that doesn't mean for 6 months she obsessed over him and couldn't move on.

[choclatechip45]

I was searching some old websites and found this! 

https://web.archive.org/web/20010824220018/http://realitytvworld.homestead.com/rw11.html

[heatherchandler]

On 5/25/2022 at 12:02 AM, ljenkins782 said:

OMG, that means you means the ad nauseam shots of Cara sitting the kitchen counter saying "I slipped off his sweat"

She had some sort of encounter with the lead singer of Big Head Todd, which in retrospect was probably a bad thing because it seemed to establish her reputation in the season.

ETA: this season's promos also had this weird attempt to promote a musical group and they chose City High, who have one of the most sexist songs of all time "what would you do" 

they had some Chicago season specific songs too but I can't remember them

“I can like smell the testosterone on my hand..”

[CeeBeeGee]

On 5/27/2021 at 12:58 PM, ljenkins782 said:

ith the door open? I have to agree with Tonya here, that's just rude and the bathroom thing is rude AND disgusting. I understand that she walks around naked at home, but she's not at home and she's living with strangers. There's making yourself at home and then there's being inconsiderate of other people.

That seemed to be a pattern with her anyway, like not doing her part of the chores and then flying off the handle if anyone dared mention it to her. 

Aneesa got on my nerves hardcore. I can't stand people who go through life trying to be edgy and shocking and don't respect boundaries, and not wanting to see your naughty bits is a perfectly understandable boundary. And yes, the bathroom thing is hella disgusting.

Cara said in the book that Aneesa would always ask to borrow her makeup (BAD IDEA, no one should share eye or lip cosmetics, too easy to spread an infection that way). And she  said she would always get her eyeshadow back with holes dug into it.

On 5/27/2021 at 2:45 AM, Asp Burger said:

I haven't seen that reunion since it first aired, but I remember it was super-uncomfortable. The host was awful even for a Real World or Challenge reunion host. He didn't know when to follow up or how to manage questioning seven people. Keri was in the worst possible place after seeing the last several episodes and hearing what Cara and Kyle had been saying behind her back. (Totally understandable.) She really let them have it. And everyone ganged up on Tonya, who was in tears. Theo, Aneesa, and Chris were just kind of "present."

On 5/27/2021 at 7:13 PM, Bastet said:

Tonya seemed genuinely upset at seeing herself and realizing she was not really the person she thought she was and needed to change some things about herself.  I appreciate that Theo is the one she wishes she'd gotten to know better.  But I don't know if Tonya ever did change those things about herself.  I think she'd have been better off getting back to the real real world and leaving this one behind, but I'm sure the Challenge money was hard to resist.

And I like when Tonya said Aneesa didn't deserve what Tonya said about her, and Aneesa said, "Yes, I did - I am a spoiled brat and I was very selfish at times."

I was at the reunion--I was in the audience and posted a recap of it to TWoP. I actually broke the story that Tonya and her BF had broken up. And yes, Tonya was kind of shell-shocked at the taping--I was wondering if she was going to burst into tears a couple of times. And she spoke a lot. She actually came off the best though--she secured my goodwill when she was walking past my row, saw I was shivering (the studio was freezing), put her hand on my arm and said something solicitous about how cold I must be. Keri was hilariously over it, I remember (after Kyle had said something toolish about their situation) her muttering "I really don't give a fuck anymore."

[Tatum]

On 6/7/2022 at 1:46 PM, CeeBeeGee said:

Aneesa got on my nerves hardcore. I can't stand people who go through life trying to be edgy and shocking and don't respect boundaries, and not wanting to see your naughty bits is a perfectly understandable boundary. And yes, the bathroom thing is hella disgusting.

Cara said in the book that Aneesa would always ask to borrow her makeup (BAD IDEA, no one should share eye or lip cosmetics, too easy to spread an infection that way). And she  said she would always get her eyeshadow back with holes dug into it.

I was at the reunion--I was in the audience and posted a recap of it to TWoP. I actually broke the story that Tonya and her BF had broken up. And yes, Tonya was kind of shell-shocked at the taping--I was wondering if she was going to burst into tears a couple of times. And she spoke a lot. She actually came off the best though--she secured my goodwill when she was walking past my row, saw I was shivering (the studio was freezing), put her hand on my arm and said something solicitous about how cold I must be. Keri was hilariously over it, I remember (after Kyle had said something toolish about their situation) her muttering "I really don't give a fuck anymore."

Cee??? The blond actress from NYC? I remember your posts over there and your recap of the reunion.

[CeeBeeGee]

34 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Cee??? The blond actress from NYC? I remember your posts over there and your recap of the reunion.

That's me! I'll have to see if I can find a YT video of the reunion and see if I can spot myself. I remember your posts too :)

[Tatum]

32 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

That's me! I'll have to see if I can find a YT video of the reunion and see if I can spot myself. I remember your posts too :)

Crazy to think some of the TWoPers (who were originally Might Big TV posters) have been trading posts for 20+ years now. A lot of people updated their usernames so I don't recognize them anymore.

Tonya seemed to grow a lot during 2002-2003 onscreen and off, and was a likeable, functional person. I am happy to hear that at least semi recently she is doing well.

ETA: I find Keri's FB page awhile back, and she looks a lot the same. Her posts are very political (she's pretty liberal) and she has two teen/tween daughters. She came from money and I think she married money so all well that on front :).

Kyle's updates are probably pretty easy to find because I think he's still on TV somewhere, like a sportscaster.

Has anyone heard anything about either Chris or Theo? I thought Theo came off really well on the Challenge he did after filming RW, but I never saw him after that.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Tatum

[Asp Burger]

My biggest memory of Theo on the Challenge is when he was on some spinning contraption and was supposed to hold on as long as possible, and he was yelling "Oh Lord, give me strength in my arms!" and similar things the whole time. While I know he's from a religious family and I don't question the legitimacy of his beliefs, that kind of devoutness rubs me the wrong way. It seems performative, like the objective is to make sure everyone around you knows you're religious.

Chris Beckman has an Instagram, if anyone's curious what he looks like, what he's painting lately, what his dogs look like, etc. One of his posts from this year commemorates his 21 years of sobriety. I know he rubbed a lot of viewers the wrong way by talking about that so much, but good for him for maintaining.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Asp Burger

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

Crazy to think some of the TWoPers (who were originally Might Big TV posters) have been trading posts for 20+ years now. A lot of people updated their usernames so I don't recognize them anymore.

Tonya seemed to grow a lot during 2002-2003 onscreen and off, and was a likeable, functional person. I am happy to hear that at least semi recently she is doing well.

ETA: I find Keri's FB page awhile back, and she looks a lot the same. Her posts are very political (she's pretty liberal) and she has two teen/tween daughters. She came from money and I think she married money so all well that on front :).

Kyle's updates are probably pretty easy to find because I think he's still on TV somewhere, like a sportscaster.

Has anyone heard anything about either Chris or Theo? I thought Theo came off really well on the Challenge he did after filming RW, but I never saw him after that.

Theo and Keri were interviewed by a local Chicago website right before Real World Skeletons aired. Theo is a district Manager for Target married and has kids I believe. 

[Tatum]

52 minutes ago, Asp Burger said:

My biggest memory of Theo on the Challenge is when he was on some spinning contraption and was supposed to hold on as long as possible, and he was yelling "Oh Lord, give me strength in my arms!" and similar things the whole time. While I know he's from a religious family and I don't question the legitimacy of his beliefs, that kind of devoutness rubs me the wrong way. It seems performative, like the objective is to make sure everyone around you knows you're religious.

Chris Beckman has an Instagram, if anyone's curious what he looks like, what he's painting lately, what his dogs look like, etc. One of his posts from this year commemorates his 21 years of sobriety. I know he rubbed a lot of viewers the wrong way by talking about that so much, but good for him for maintaining.

Yeah, I could see how that would be annoying in regards to Theo. My memory of the Challenge that impressed me was he tried to comfort Tonya when she was upset at her performance, and when he was voted off, he was very mature about it, which, even in 2002-2003, put him in the minority. I recall him saying something like, I am just going home, I'm not dying (compared to Rachel's 'this game is UG-A-LAY').

[CeeBeeGee]

1 minute ago, Tatum said:

Yeah, I could see how that would be annoying in regards to Theo. My memory of the Challenge that impressed me was he tried to comfort Tonya when she was upset at her performance, and when he was voted off, he was very mature about it, which, even in 2002-2003, put him in the minority. I recall him saying something like, I am just going home, I'm not dying (compared to Rachel's 'this game is UG-A-LAY').

As soon as I read this "he was very mature about it, which, even in 2002-2003, put him in the minority" I started giggling, remembering Rachel's kiss-off. Oh God, do you remember whichever brilliant poster coined the phrase "angry candy apple" about--oh Lord, some former Road Rules Challenge contestant who'd been criticized about something fairly trivial and was getting worked up about it? Maybe the name was Danny (the angry candy apple, not the poster)?

[Tatum]

21 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

As soon as I read this "he was very mature about it, which, even in 2002-2003, put him in the minority" I started giggling, remembering Rachel's kiss-off. Oh God, do you remember whichever brilliant poster coined the phrase "angry candy apple" about--oh Lord, some former Road Rules Challenge contestant who'd been criticized about something fairly trivial and was getting worked up about it? Maybe the name was Danny (the angry candy apple, not the poster)?

Could it have been Danny from Road Rules Xtreme? I remember him hollering at Jodi and like, a year later, he's still bitching about her and calling her names like slut and whore which had nothing to do with whatever he was complaining about (not that it would have been acceptable either way). I don't remember what the fight was about, maybe that Jodi was laughing and looked over at him so Danny concluded she was laughing at him?

Rachel's angry and tearful rant was so ridiculous. I am 99% sure she was fourth from the bottom, with Tonya and Christina below her, and one other woman, maybe Aneesa? Ellen had given Tonya the life shield, so it was either Christina or the other woman, if they were going off performance. Emily was in the inner circle, and Christina was her closest Challenge friend, which left the third woman, who Ruthie thought was a valuable asset to the women, even if her cumulative score did not reflect that. So they just went up the list until they got to Rachel, which none of them had particularly strong feelings about. Yet Rachel announced that they were threatened by her and being cutthroat by getting rid of her.

ETA: I just thought of another funny Chicago related anecdote. Lori from B2NY was dating Kyle for awhile and she blogged about him a lot and their relationship.

Anyways, Kyle was a part of some kind of charity or promotional thing where people entered a contest, and the winner went on a date with Kyle to the VMAs. It was obviously a platonic date, since Kyle had a public relationship with Lori. But anyways, the woman who won I guess told Kyle that she only entered to go to the VMAs, and she didn't know who Kyle was or cared who was escorting her. (I don't know that she said it rudely, but the gist was, she was not interested in Kyle romantically).

Anyways, Lori was LIVID that someone would not be interested in Kyle and would be so blunt as to say so- like in her mind, going to the VMAs should have been incidental to be being so lucky as to be on a date with Kyle, even if the winner knew nothing would come of it since he was with Lori.

She had a full blog post ranting about this rude, ungrateful woman and also said she had cankles.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Tatum

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

Lori from B2NY was dating Kyle for awhile

Good lord, she has terrible taste in men.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Bastet

[Lantern7]

Great to see @CeeBeeGee posting again! And yes, the ol' fivehead was the worst... by 2002 standards. One of my fave moments of the hook-ups special is when they showed Kyle/Keri and played "Idiot Boyfriend" by Jimmy Fallon.

Also, there's a thread for past seasons of The Challenge. And I would've bet on Kyle to be a veteran. Crazy that the one regular from RW11 would be Aneesa.

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

Could it have been Danny from Road Rules Xtreme? I remember him hollering at Jodi and like, a year later, he's still bitching about her and calling her names like slut and whore which had nothing to do with whatever he was complaining about (not that it would have been acceptable either way). I don't remember what the fight was about, maybe that Jodi was laughing and looked over at him so Danny concluded she was laughing at him?

Rachel's angry and tearful rant was so ridiculous. I am 99% sure she was fourth from the bottom, with Tonya and Christina below her, and one other woman, maybe Aneesa? Ellen had given Tonya the life shield, so it was either Christina or the other woman, if they were going off performance. Emily was in the inner circle, and Christina was her closest Challenge friend, which left the third woman, who Ruthie thought was a valuable asset to the women, even if her cumulative score did not reflect that. So they just went up the list until they got to Rachel, which none of them had particularly strong feelings about. Yet Rachel announced that they were threatened by her and being cutthroat by getting rid of her.

ETA: I just thought of another funny Chicago related anecdote. Lori from B2NY was dating Kyle for awhile and she blogged about him a lot and their relationship.

Anyways, Kyle was a part of some kind of charity or promotional thing where people entered a contest, and the winner went on a date with Kyle to the VMAs. It was obviously a platonic date, since Kyle had a public relationship with Lori. But anyways, the woman who won I guess told Kyle that she only entered to go to the VMAs, and she didn't know who Kyle was or cared who was escorting her. (I don't know that she said it rudely, but the gist was, she was not interested in Kyle romantically).

Anyways, Lori was LIVID that someone would not be interested in Kyle and would be so blunt as to say so- like in her mind, going to the VMAs should have been incidental to be being so lucky as to be on a date with Kyle, even if the winner knew nothing would come of it since he was with Lori.

She had a full blog post ranting about this rude, ungrateful woman and also said she had cankles.

I remember this!!! Didn't she move out to LA for him? 

I couldn't stand Kyle on the show, but I like him on Good Morning Football. 

[Tatum]

9 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

I remember this!!! Didn't she move out to LA for him? 

I couldn't stand Kyle on the show, but I like him on Good Morning Football. 

Just watched an episode where Kyle is on the phone with Nicole and Nicole asks him if he thinks any of the women in the house are attracted to him, and Kyle sheepishly says he thinks they all are, and Nicole is like, well yeah, obviously, but do you think they'll act on it?

Aneesa liked women, Tonya called him a lunkhead nose picker, and Cara was only interested in whatever "Alpha Male" (relatively) was nearby to validate her and her own lack of self esteem. Keri was the only one legitimately interested in him and she got over him in due time.

[CeeBeeGee]

9 hours ago, Tatum said:

Could it have been Danny from Road Rules Xtreme?

...

Anyways, Kyle was a part of some kind of charity or promotional thing where people entered a contest, and the winner went on a date with Kyle to the VMAs. It was obviously a platonic date, since Kyle had a public relationship with Lori. But anyways, the woman who won I guess told Kyle that she only entered to go to the VMAs, and she didn't know who Kyle was or cared who was escorting her. (I don't know that she said it rudely, but the gist was, she was not interested in Kyle romantically).

Anyways, Lori was LIVID that someone would not be interested in Kyle and would be so blunt as to say so- like in her mind, going to the VMAs should have been incidental to be being so lucky as to be on a date with Kyle, even if the winner knew nothing would come of it since he was with Lori.

She had a full blog post ranting about this rude, ungrateful woman and also said she had cankles.

I think you're right, it must've been Danny. I looked up that season and he has his own page and apparently he died a few years ago, likely of an overdose. So now I feel a little bad--that was way too young to die.

Lori had some weird blog opinions. I remember when Mr. Rogers died in 2004 and she posted something about his working with children and how suspect that was. JFC, Lori. The man was a goddamn saint, to say nothing of the fact that the body is barely cold. Shut your piehole.

I'm rewatching Chicago rn and am mulling over the reasons I liked this season so much. There are several--1, that loft is gorgeous. I am a design and architecture geek and I absolutely loved those interiors. 2, everyone in the cast is good-looking. Sorry, I'm shallow--I like to look at attractive people. 3, the city of Chicago just looks like so much fun--I genuinely want to visit it now. 4, all of the roommates are memorable and interesting. There isn't a "forgotten" roommate, like Melanie from Philadelphia, or Lacey from Austin.

[Lantern7]

8 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

4, all of the roommates are memorable and interesting. There isn't a "forgotten" roommate, like Melanie from Philadelphia, or Lacey from Austin.

Not even Chris?

[Bastet]

Yeah, Chris was not at all memorable to me.  Even after re-watching in the last few years, he only had a few moments.  He worked out a lot and repeated a lot of therapy talk, plus his voice made everything he said sound boring, even if it wasn't.

Checking my posts from before I re-watched confirmed:  If you asked me then to name Chicago roomies, I'd have said - or at least described "the one who ..." - Aneesa, Cara, Tonya, Keri, and Kyle, needed to think in order to place Theo as the sixth, and been at a loss on the seventh.

[CeeBeeGee]

Ah, okay, you guys make some good points--Chris could be a little dull. I guess I let him slide because trying to stay sober is so difficult, plus he had to "educate" the Theos and the Tonyas of the loft, be a Good Little Gay example and he certainly didn't repel me the way some RW participants have. (Adam in Paris, eg.)

[ljenkins782]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

Quote

Lori from B2NY was dating Kyle for awhile

Good lord, she has terrible taste in men.

Yeah, B2NY Kevin followed by the Ol' Squarehead suggests that she has an unfortunate predilection for entitled white guys. I forget why I looked at her instagram not long ago, but it looks like she got divorced, the guy she's got lots of pics with now doesn't resemble the guy she married. 

Quote

I think you're right, it must've been Danny. I looked up that season and he has his own page and apparently he died a few years ago, likely of an overdose. So now I feel a little bad--that was way too young to die.

Oh wow, you're right. Now I feel extra bad, cause Danny's elimination episode just came up on the episode that autoplayed after I watched the most recent episode of Challenge All Stars and I was hating on Danny in real time when I found out he died young. But honestly, it seemed like he had a drug problem even then, he was very red faced and angry in a way that seemed chemically induced.

Quote

Lori had some weird blog opinions. I remember when Mr. Rogers died in 2004 and she posted something about his working with children and how suspect that was. JFC, Lori. The man was a goddamn saint, to say nothing of the fact that the body is barely cold. Shut your piehole.

Lord, that's just sad that she couldn't envision a person working with kids without a nefarious purpose. I used to read her blog too and it was mostly nonsense, but usually more benign nonsense. All in all, she seemed like a nice, fun girl to know, but I don't think she was necessarily worthy of a spot on the Real World, but by the time she was cast, the casting process seemed to have weakened considerably. 

Quote

I'm rewatching Chicago rn and am mulling over the reasons I liked this season so much. There are several--1, that loft is gorgeous. I am a design and architecture geek and I absolutely loved those interiors. 2, everyone in the cast is good-looking. Sorry, I'm shallow--I like to look at attractive people. 3, the city of Chicago just looks like so much fun--I genuinely want to visit it now. 4, all of the roommates are memorable and 4, all of the roommates are memorable and interesting. There isn't a "forgotten" roommate, like Melanie from Philadelphia, or Lacey from Austin.

Chicago was a good season, they had fun times and dramatic times and some big personalities. I agree with the others that Chris was more forgettable than the others, but the storyline of him being gay and Theo being homophobic was memorable and he was a bit of a grounding force with the Tonya drama. 

[CeeBeeGee]

56 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

Lord, that's just sad that she couldn't envision a person working with kids without a nefarious purpose. I used to read her blog too and it was mostly nonsense, but usually more benign nonsense. All in all, she seemed like a nice, fun girl to know, but I don't think she was necessarily worthy of a spot on the Real World, but by the time she was cast, the casting process seemed to have weakened considerably. 

Lori was voted in by viewers. That said (taste in men notwithstanding), I liked her on her season. But that post about Mr. Rogers--girl, take a seat. I was the first generation to grow up under him and he was a goddamn saint. Just take a seat. And "look for the helpers."

[Hiyo]

Quote

the city of Chicago just looks like so much fun--I genuinely want to visit it now

It is a great city and def worth a visit. Lots to see and do, lots of different neighborhoods beyond the downtown area, and lots of great food options as well.

[ljenkins782]

7 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

Lori was voted in by viewers. That said (taste in men notwithstanding), I liked her on her season. But that post about Mr. Rogers--girl, take a seat. I was the first generation to grow up under him and he was a goddamn saint. Just take a seat. And "look for the helpers."

I remember that, but I also have a vague memory of some kind of spamming effort on the part of her college, like there was a "vote Lori" campaign to get her through. I did like her, but I didn't find her to be a standout. Maybe in a different cast she'd have had more of a role, but this cast had too many low-key people.

Quote

Yeah, Chris was not at all memorable to me.  Even after re-watching in the last few years, he only had a few moments.  He worked out a lot and repeated a lot of therapy talk, plus his voice made everything he said sound boring, even if it wasn't.

LOL, that's true. I think, or perhaps hope, that he talked that way in the house because it was TV and he was trying to manage his portrayal a bit. Hopefully he's a bit more dynamic in real life. 

[choclatechip45]

I liked Lori and follow her on Instagram. From what I remember from her blog she wasn't very bright on current events. I remember some very cringe posts about the Iraq War. 

[racked]

Since we are discussing Lori and her blog, I also read it back in the day, and while she was dim on a lot of subjects, I was floored but how absolutely honest she was. Even when it was deeply embarrassing for her, and it almost always was when it came to her romantic life. She somehow stayed friends with Kyle even after she moved to LA for him and he quickly dumped her. He was so subpar on Days of Our Lives but I think continually chose women like Lori, who clearly fed his monster ego. 

[Asp Burger]

On 6/9/2022 at 11:36 PM, CeeBeeGee said:

Ah, okay, you guys make some good points--Chris could be a little dull. I guess I let him slide because trying to stay sober is so difficult, plus he had to "educate" the Theos and the Tonyas of the loft, be a Good Little Gay example and he certainly didn't repel me the way some RW participants have. (Adam in Paris, eg.)

I was a Chris fan, but I sometimes gravitated to the calm person in various houses (Pam and Mo in San Francisco, Rebecca in Seattle). It's fine as long as there aren't four or five such people. (Hi, London season!)  

I think it was just where he was. His improbable friendship with Theo was interesting to me.

I don't think anyone in the Chicago cast was a waste of space. I couldn't stand some of them, but that's The Real World.  

Edited June 13, 2022 by Asp Burger