S10.E20: Reunion Part 1

[Giselle]

Number One rule for CyberJawa...just enjoy the show.  I don't check the blogs, social media, etc...that's what all you guys here are for and I usually take my favorite poster's word for it, LOL.

 

Thank you for your confidence and trust in me CyberJawa. LOL too! ;-P

[Ubiquitous]

I didn't know that, thank you. That sounds like something Tamra would do. I'm sure Ryan was an impediment to fully realizing Tamra's perfect shiny happy shiny family. And Simon did not seem like someone who ever loved Ryan or thought of him as a son. I know Ryan gets a lot of shit from the viewers and some of it deserved. But I have some empathy as he had Tamra for a mother and a step father who never treated him like he belonged. Even Eddie (who himself was adopted as an adult by another man) considers Ryan no more than "another man" competing for a limited pool of resources.

Yeah, Tamra claimed at the time (this was when she first appeared on the show) that she was forced by Simon to send Ryan away, but I suspect she wanted to give Simon her undivided attention and get busy making babies.

 

 

Vicki missed her cue.  This was the time for her to SCREECH in her Vicki-crazy bellow, "It's MY OPINION!!!"

Wasn't it Tamra who screeched that?

[Giselle]

Vicki with the cancer "storylies" has stolen the "Orange", removed all of the zest, squeezed out the last drops of juice and left us with only the pericarp and shriveled seeds of a show.

[Former Nun]

And I agree 200% that she HAD to have sedated herself with something - whether it be Rx drugs or benadryll!

 

 

...and makeup courtesy of Zinc Oxide.  WHO did that to her?   Lesson: always, ALWAYS be more than kind to the crew.

Wasn't it Tamra who screeched that?

 

 

It wasn't a reference to the wording...just to the past in-your-face Vicki screechings.  To make someone believe her, she has to go nose to nose and YELL!

Duke 2801, I thought Tamra looked very pretty.  There are some things appearance-wise all of these ladies could tone down.   Sadly, Meghan can't do anything about how long her neck is...and for some reason I felt sad to read "gurgling giraffe."

[lunastartron]

I've always heard others on this and other sites claim that Alexis was for the most part "harmless". That seems to be the word that is most often used to describe her. It never seemed like anyone really liked her much before the supposed "gang up" on her from the others. Even when people were defending her, it seemed hard for anyone to really come out and say they liked her. It was always about how "harmless" she was. She was dumber than hair. I don't think there has ever been a dumber HW on any franchise and I just cannot tolerate dumb; especially when someone has the financial resources to not be dumb if they care to change. The one thing I have to point out, however, is that the thing that bothered me the most was that she was so unable to have any thoughtful reflection on her own behavior.  There are lots of good examples, but none of them were as good as the reunion when the whole deal about Jim and Peggy came up. She was so clear in her opinion that the fact the affair remained a secret was Peggy's fault. That Peggy for some reason had more of a responsibility to clue in Alexis as to what happened than Jim did. Of all the stupid things I've ever heard any HW say, this will always go down as the stupidest. If she didn't want to make a huge deal of it and blame Jim, I get that. But she did want to make a huge deal out of it. She didn't want to forget about it. She wanted to be angry about it and place all the blame on Peggy. Dumb bitch.

 

The letter to Andy was beyond funny. The best thing that ever happened to Alexis was when Tamra called her "Jesus Jugs".  It got her more attention than anything else ever did. As she said in her letter, she was well aware she would take crap for coming on the show as a "Christian", dressing as she did, talking as she did, and drinking like a fish. That was always the storyline for Alexis, and way before anyone was ever judging Tamra for talking about her religion, they were doing the same for Alexis. Her Bravo blog very often had nothing but comments from viewers who were offended by her behavior and what it might say about Christians. Her story was that of the unlikely Christian, and she is no doubt very unhappy to see her story now being played by Tamra, who is still employed by Bravo. 

 

I doubt Alexis will be qualifying for MENSA membership or winning poetry laurels anytime soon but, honestly, I think that she and Heather Dubrow wield around the same base amount of mental faculties. Heather is obviously far more erudite and educated but I actually can't recall Alexis making as many logically faulty and contradictory arguments that served to highlight a lack of critical thinking capabilities as Mrs. Dubrow (off the top of my head: "you are the company you keep" vs. "don't judge me because of what Tamra is doing"; "it's not an attack when you share your opinion" vs. "that's rude" of you to share the explanation for which I badgered you regarding why Lisa V won a magazine cover spot and I didn't; "if everyone says you're dead, it's time to lie down" vs. "at a certain point, you just don't like me"; hilariously confusing thesauri and dictionaries while attempting to condescend on someone else's linguistic prowess; mangling "misfortunate" and "unfortunate" during a similar argument about "yelling"; resorting to bizarre vignettes about eavesdropping on Jim and his son in Nordstrom as well as these mysterious luxury store employees who sought her out to air their grievances about the Bellinos during her reunion fight with a literally stuttering Alexis).

 

Peggy and Micah were sinister, shady-ass weirdos. Alexis specified that she and Jim had expressly agreed at the beginning of their relationship not to discuss their prior romantic liaisons. Peggy, however, had made no compact and it was bizarre that she knew Alexis for over a year prior to filming and didn't even note that she had been previously acquainted with Jim in some capacity. The litany of malevolent shit the Tanouses pulled is extensive - from the aggressively bitchy manner in which Micah treated Alexis's assistant at the wine pairing dinner to the gaslight Peggy tried to execute on Alexis at the same event to the abuse their children leveled on their family cats.

 

When did Alexis ever "drink like a fish"? Compared to the current crop of women (like Shannon, who seems to perennially have a Grey Goose in hand; or Tamra and Vicki, who have been sloppy drunk too many times for me to recall; or Lizzie, who was more or less blacked out at her birthday), I can't recall ever seeing Alexis intoxicated.

 

And the contention that a cast mate should be thankful for the attention an epithet (as opposed to thought-out, well-commnunicated dissection of foibles and/or doctrinal-behavioral divides) because of the attention it gives them reminds me of threads of argument that prevailed on TWOP when Brandi was supposedly doing Joyce a favor by showering her with racist put-downs.

 

There were, of course, some interesting points of contention regarding Alexis's practices and pronouncements that no one on this program ever advanced - ie Andy brought up her breast augmentation but never articulated any cogent question like, "why do you want to change what God made and is it your place to do so since, Biblically speaking, He made you in His image?"

 

But that's a pretty disparate "unlikely Christian narrative" from Tamra's who, as I mentioned in my previous post, is still ridiculing someone else's theology and efforts at Christian testimony while proclaiming herself reformed, changed, etc etc etc. And if we're comparing past transgressions on this program since there's no current footage of Alexis for comparison? Well, then there is no comparison between some garden-variety vapidity and exhortations to one's son to commit sexual battery, multiple instances of physical assault, etc etc.

 

All my subjective opinion, of course.

I appreciated your whole post, but just quoting this one section for length's sake :)

I would love to believe Tamra's change of heart is real. I still hold out hope for her, naive as that may be.

But I will say that her overall, seeming lack of remorse for how she treated Alexis stayed at the back of my mind throughout this whole "New Tamra" arc. You'd think that at some point she'd show some sort of regret for her horrible treatment of someone who's under the same "faith umbrella" as she now is... and yet, nada... at least from what we were shown before today. And going by what she said on the reunion, there's very little attempt on her part to reconcile. Not that they have to be best buds, but the Bible is pretty big on forgiveness and reconciliation, so I would've hoped that Tamra would've been more proactive about making some sort of conciliatory gesture.

Not that Alexis handled things perfectly, ever. But Tamra was pretty brutal, to the point of selling those hideous "Jesus Juggs" [sic] glasses. That deserves more than a passing "Whoops, sorry" and fakey "I'll pray for you" (with a subtext of superiority).

 

Just wanted to reply that I'm hopeful for Tamra as well! Reformation isn't instantaneous and often not without relapse so perhaps this season was her first baby step away from sociopathy. ;-)

[Satchels of gold]

As for Vickis mom's arrest maybe it's just Occam's razor situation and she was just an old bitch from hell. Remember that poignant scene from RHoNY where Carole and Dorinda were talking about right after their husbands had died? They talk about looking around and realizing that the world hadn't changed and that life was going on. I think it was Dorinda that said all these people where waiting for cabs and I just wanted to scream "my husband just died!". I think Vicki is so self centered she really can't fathom that the world isn't stopping because she is sad. She doesn't seem to get that it's her personal tragedy and that we all have them in one form or another.

[Giselle]

*Your assignment BRAVO, if you should choose to accept it is as follows.

My final wish in the viewing of this program would be to make an utterly real production of RHOC including the hiring of a housewife to not only rock the Ho'wives' world, but roll it as well.

I want a 'flameout' paroxym of True Jealousy.

Hire a 'wife between the ages of 38-41. She must have a bevy of ACTUAL good friends. In addition, she must have a calm, yet, scintillating and friendly personality and demeanor.

She must absolutely be able to easily, richly, and unflappably 'put down a bi_ ch.

She must be bright, 'educated' articulate, facially interesting and gorgeous, body slammin', intellectually curious. Also, someone that is socially, culturally, politically aware would not be amiss.

In addition, that person must have a LEGITIMATEly wealthy and absolutely FINE and DOTING husband of similar age to the wife.

And, the couple must have a couple of kids --one(I think, male) near the end of university schooling with otherworldly prospects, and the other(hmm, female) who is a preteen heavily involved in altruistic works while maintaining academic superstardom.

Oh, sh__t!

Was I sleeptyping? 'Cause THIS would never ever happen!

What a dream.

 

Just like unicorns this is a mythical creature.

[poeticlicensed]

I doubt Alexis will be qualifying for MENSA membership or winning poetry laurels anytime soon but, honestly, I think that she and Heather Dubrow wield around the same base amount of mental faculties

 

I think Alexis is closer to Tamra and Vicki  in the smarts dept. Remember, Alexis said that Costa Rica was in Mexico, after all. Tamra is surpremely stupid, with her  pastor/pasteur remark and Vicki and medium/median. Heather is slightly smarter than those two. Shannon is smarter than all of them, but by no means a Rhodes scholar or anything. 

[Giselle]

I think Alexis is closer to Tamra and Vicki  in the smarts dept. Remember, Alexis said that Costa Rica was in Mexico, after all. Tamra is surpremely stupid, with her  pastor/pasteur remark and Vicki and medium/median. Heather is slightly smarter than those two. Shannon is smarter than all of them, but by no means a Rhodes scholar or anything. 

 

They all take shade under the chlamydia tree.

[Bossa Nova]

 

 

*Your assignment BRAVO, if you should choose to accept it is as follows.

My final wish in the viewing of this program would be to make an utterly real production of RHOC including the hiring of a housewife to not only rock the Ho'wives' world, but roll it as well.

I want a 'flameout' paroxym of True Jealousy.

Hire a 'wife between the ages of 38-41. She must have a bevy of ACTUAL good friends. In addition, she must have a calm, yet, scintillating and friendly personality and demeanor.

 

 

My only objection is: ^^^^^

 

"38 - 41". Oh come on, us older gals need some ideal role models too. 

 

In all seriousness, I like seeing a few 50 plus Housewives and how they do their lives well - especially keeping fit and young and healthy.

 

There aren't alot in any franchise, but I've got to hand it to Ramona NY sans the recent unnecessary boob job, and LuAnn and koo koo Sonja. They all have beautiful skin  and great figures.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Bossa Nova

[WordsWordsWords]

As for Vickis mom's arrest maybe it's just Occam's razor situation and she was just an old bitch from hell. Remember that poignant scene from RHoNY where Carole and Dorinda were talking about right after their husbands had died? They talk about looking around and realizing that the world hadn't changed and that life was going on. I think it was Dorinda that said all these people where waiting for cabs and I just wanted to scream "my husband just died!". I think Vicki is so self centered she really can't fathom that the world isn't stopping because she is sad. She doesn't seem to get that it's her personal tragedy and that we all have them in one form or another.

nc socialworker nailed this perfectly. I cannot agree with this comment too many times. Carol and Dorinda are not exactly towering intellects, but both of them have the emotional wherewithall to understand that the rest of the world doesn't get set in amber when someone you love dies. The world keeps right on keeping on. You have to find your way to do the same. And, for the record, I didn't find the "my mom keyed some guy's classic Harley" story to be funny. Seems that bad-tempered outbursts run in the family.

Edited October 20, 2015 by WordsWordsWords

[lunastartron]

I think assessment of intelligence is difficult because there are different metrics. Heather is obviously more informed than Tamra and Alexis and, I'm sure, would be a much less cringe-worthy conversation partner. But, from my perspective, she's stumbled into way too many statements that have left egg on her face for her to have a claim to the vaunted intellect that her allies so often ascribe to her. She's also not especially quick when confronted - she pretty much just gaped dumbly when Tamra threw her under the bus at Shannon's Christmas party. Tamra, meanwhile, is a product of her more menial life experience - she values "hotness" and sexual appeal and probably devalues erudition and refinement because she has advanced due to the former and has learned that the latter are not especially well regarded in women societally speaking. But she is significantly faster on her feet than Heather - the juggling act she performed during Shannon's gaslighting while directing a lot of moving parts on Lizzie's balcony was impressive work as far as it went. Shannon, while myopic to her own martyr complex, is the smartest from my view. Then Tamra, then Meghan and Heather, and Vicki a distant last.

[poeticlicensed]

"38 - 41". Oh come on, us older gals need some ideal role models too.

 

I think 38-41 is perfect, not because it's a perfect age, but the mere fact that  a 40 year old  addtion to the cast will drive other others crazy with jealously. They wrote off Meghan as being a kid. A 40 year  smart. articulate, educated, self suffcient woman would make their heads explode. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

'If You Don't Like it, Then You Can Suck It'
Gird your loins: it's RHOC reunion time!

[Giselle]

Hearing Vicki episode after episode bringing up her dead mother no matter what the issue was/is for me like Amber on RHoNJ bringing up "THE Cancer" every frigging scene or as a defensive excuse to deflect bad behavior on her or her husband's part.

[Thick McRunFast]

As for Vickis mom's arrest maybe it's just Occam's razor situation and she was just an old bitch from hell. Remember that poignant scene from RHoNY where Carole and Dorinda were talking about right after their husbands had died? They talk about looking around and realizing that the world hadn't changed and that life was going on. I think it was Dorinda that said all these people where waiting for cabs and I just wanted to scream "my husband just died!". I think Vicki is so self centered she really can't fathom that the world isn't stopping because she is sad. She doesn't seem to get that it's her personal tragedy and that we all have them in one form or another.

I remember in the episdoe where Vicki's mother died (or maybe it was the one after?) Vicki said "I don't have a mom! Who doesn't have a mom!?!"  Um... lots of people? Most people will eventually lose their mothers and most of them won't have it be under circumstances as relatively gentle as the ones Vicki lost hers. Children lose their mothers, people lose their mothers to horrifc violence or heart breaking illnesses or tragic accidents. I don't think Vicki can see that. I think all she can see is that she is sad and therefor her sadness is the worst thing anyone could have going on right now. If Vicki had an ounce of self awarness she would stop playing the dead mom card in light of Leann's recent death but I bet a family van that she won't.

[Scrambled Fog]

I have a very pressing question.

What the heck were the leeches for anyway?

[Scrambled Fog]

Vicki's mom was always a beast to her. This new and improved lovefest has only come about the last couple of years, probably coinciding with Vicki's rise in popularity and becoming the OG. I think Vicki's endless neediness comes from never truly feeling loved by her mom.

I think you're on to something here.

Actually, I think you hit the nail on the head.

[Grneyedldy]

There was a scene at the beginning of last season or the season before (I'm sorry they all run together) at Vicki's house, with her brother Billy, one of Vicki's sister and Vicki's mother. They were telling a story about an incident of Vicki's mother's road rage. Does anyone else remember that? I don't know if it was the same road rage incident as discussed on the reunion or another incident. I think by the way Vicki said "of course it was road rage" makes me think it was a separate incident. Not really very funny at all for a senior citizen. I guess that's what we have to look forward to as Vicki ages. That and lower and lower necklines as her cleavage drops to the floor.

[ScoobieDoobs]

Hey, anyone catch WWHL last nite when Jeana said something about the way the show was first "written" (or "created").  Oh man, Satan Andy clutched her pearls!!!  Hilarious!  He made sure to say NOTHING is written or created.  Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, Satan Andy, peddle that bullshit to your palsy-walsy Bethenny.  She was able to get thru a season of NYC Housewives not mentioning her boyfriend, while Satan Andy clearly created a season around Crooks, whether Vicks liked it or not.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3280301/Brooks-Ayers-claims-Bravo-insisted-cancer-battle-central-Real-Housewives-Orange-County-Vicki-Gunvalson-s-reduced.html

 

I know, I know, Crooks may be lying his ass off yet again -- or maybe he isn't & he's revealing Satan Andy's secrets.  Uh-oh, will Satan Andy banish (er, pay off) poor Crooks like he did with Alex & Simon?  Interesting that Crooksie-poo never mentions he probably got very well paid for being on the show.

Edited October 20, 2015 by ScoobieDoobs

[Grneyedldy]

I have a very pressing question.

What the heck were the leeches for anyway?

So they could squeeze the blood out on their faces and look youthful. I shit you not.

[Teddybear]

 

At least Tamra stays on top of her lies, for the most part.

As my mom always says, "If you always tell the truth, you don't need a good memory."  I think these women lie so frequently and probably tell different stories to different people, it must be exhausting.  

 

I thought Shannon looked the best, especially her hair and makeup.  

[Giselle]

So they could squeeze the blood out on their faces and look youthful. I shit you not.

 

Why not just draw off a syringe or two and spread it on, why kill a friggin' leech? It ain't gonna make Heather look any younger or better and Terry will always look like a 70 year old man.

 

My thought is that they did it just to steal a scene.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Giselle

[Scrambled Fog]

So they could squeeze the blood out on their faces and look youthful. I shit you not.

Squeeze the blood out fr/ the leeches? The blood the leeches had sucked fr/ Heather's and Terry's stomachs?

[Giselle]

I hope they paid Crooks well because all the other side stories sucked. Tamera finding Jesus as an excuse for a White Party, Shannon hanging David's frozen balls on the bedroom ceiling, Heather building her mausoleum, Meghan playing with her detective kit she got from the back of a Highlights magazine. The season went over the cliff and hung from the spindly branch of the lying liars who lie duo.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Giselle

[Rainny]

Why not just draw off a syringe or two and spread it on, why kill a friggi'n leech? It ain't gonna make Heather look any younger or better and Terry will always look like a 70 year old man.

 

My thought is that they did it just to steal a scene.

Because there is an enzyme in the leeches that is mixed with the blood. 

[lovesnark]

That story about Vicki's mom sure confirms the old apple doesn't fall far from the tree adage. Vicki seems to have learned well from her mother. Have no respect for other people - check. Take no responsibility for your role in anything - check.  Retaliate and hide when confronted - check. Twist the truth into a funny story and laugh your ass off about it, then whoop it up - check. Listening to Vicki tell the story didn't make me think this was any sort of unusual behavior by her mom. I'd hazard a guess that her mom pulled shit like this her entire life and Vicki learned from a master that the universe is supposed to revolve around you and no one else matters.

 

I used to laugh at how ridiculously unaware Vicki is. Now, I find myself tuning her out whenever she's on the screen. She's just icky. Andy needs to cut her loose and let her go shill her crap somewhere else.

 

I loved how she got called out for coming down on sushi girl. For all Vicki knew, Sushi girl could have very well been working on her doctorate and earning good money while she was in school. I was hoping she would  email Andy and tell him she made six figures last year laying around naked and tell Vicki to shut her pie hole and go back to selling insurance. My niece made extra money when she was in college by posing nude for a nearby art school. She made about 30k a year and it was a whole lot easier and required a lot less hours of minimum wage waitressing jobs that most of her friends were doing to make ends meet while in school. I think Vicki's lecture stemmed from her being jealous of the woman's youth and looks. She simply cannot keep her mouth shut when there are younger, pretty women around.

[MichelEliz]

I'm really getting tired of the show within a show. People will post about what was shown and then someone else will correct them with tweets or fb post about what went on behind the scenes. People bitch about behavior unbecoming of a baptism and other posters will point out it wasn't only a baptism it was the season finale. The show has now been divided into a metaphor of high school : the cool kids who know all of the off season gossip and the poor schleps who think everything they see each week and earnestly try to figure out what is going on. I know The powers that be at .bravo encourage this but I think it's destroying the franchise .

Ok now if someone would help me off this soapbox I would appreciate it, it's higher than I thought.

 

 

Thank god someone said it. All the pages of conjecture give me a headache. LOLL! I just wanna read commentary on whats real and whats been seen...not pages and pages of theory and hypothesizing.

Edited October 20, 2015 by MichelEliz

[Giselle]

Because there is an enzyme in the leeches that is mixed with the blood. 

 

Those leeches died  senseless death when it comes to helping Terry's visage. Total waste of a good leech.

[MatildaMoody]

It was weird to me that everyone came down on Vicki for the comments to the Sushi girl. At the time, they all laughed it off as "classic Vicki" but now it is just one more awful thing that Vicki did. It always strikes me as so odd when things are fine while filming and no one bats an eye, but when the reunion rolls around, it was this hugely offensive thing that must be atoned for. It reminds me of the crap between Luann and Carole on New York. Luann was fine with Carole during filming, even hanging out with her once filming wrapped, but once the episodes started airing suddenly they were at war. 

[KLovestoShop]

Last night, was it Vicki who said she was taken to the cleaners, so to speak, in her divorce from Donn? I can't remember if it was Vicki or Tamrat who said that.

[AnnaMayWong]

I wonder where Jim's oldest daughters stand with their step mother Allison? lauren and Hayley will always have ties to Allison through their younger bother and sister. I am sure she loved them just as much as Meghan. I think the point was lost that step-children come into your life through marriage, whereas adopted children are brought into one's life as the only legal parents barring some undoing of the adoption. Because Meghan is incredibly rigid in her thinking I don't think she is able to see the difference.

Meghan also blew the car thing. Vicki was saying take away privileges, when Vicki announced she was buying Briana a car because she was grumpy, I think all Meghan heard was Briana was behaving poorly and Vicki rewarded her with a car. I would have to say I don't think Michael has exactly burned up the town with all his working. I think he stumbled aimlessly trying to deliver pizzas one summer when he had essentially flunked out of school and then proceeded with a career in on line gambling and bartending in LA. I think Michael has been very much gifted with a job and the hard work is having to deal with his mother.

[Former Nun]

Children lose their mothers, people lose their mothers to horrifc violence or heart breaking illnesses or tragic accidents. I don't think Vicki can see that.

 

 

I don't know how all this worked out for someone like Vicki, but apparently the world always has and always will revolve around her.  I just hope it will no longer take place on my cable service.   

[AnnaMayWong]

Thanks so much for your thoughts per Michael, zoeysmom. I have viewed him that way for years.

~

Edited October 20, 2015 by BookElitist

[lovesnark]

Last night, was it Vicki who said she was taken to the cleaners, so to speak, in her divorce from Donn? I can't remember if it was Vicki or Tamrat who said that.

I missed the very beginning and admit, I wasn't paying 100% attention to the rest. But, I remember when the divorce was happening, a skilled sleuth here found some financial info pertaining to the divorce.  Vicki isn't as wealthy as she'd have us believe and Donn got a reasonable and equitable settlement. 'Taken to the cleaners' would be Vicki speak for her not getting to keep everything and having Donn walk away with the clothes on his back (that were purchased with money she earned, because SHE WORKS, you know).

[Cherrio]

Last night, was it Vicki who said she was taken to the cleaners, so to speak, in her divorce from Donn? I can't remember if it was Vicki or Tamrat who said that.

Vicki is barely middle class money wise.  She lies about money too.

[WireWrap]

I think assessment of intelligence is difficult because there are different metrics. Heather is obviously more informed than Tamra and Alexis and, I'm sure, would be a much less cringe-worthy conversation partner. But, from my perspective, she's stumbled into way too many statements that have left egg on her face for her to have a claim to the vaunted intellect that her allies so often ascribe to her. She's also not especially quick when confronted - she pretty much just gaped dumbly when Tamra threw her under the bus at Shannon's Christmas party. Tamra, meanwhile, is a product of her more menial life experience - she values "hotness" and sexual appeal and probably devalues erudition and refinement because she has advanced due to the former and has learned that the latter are not especially well regarded in women societally speaking. But she is significantly faster on her feet than Heather - the juggling act she performed during Shannon's gaslighting while directing a lot of moving parts on Lizzie's balcony was impressive work as far as it went. Shannon, while myopic to her own martyr complex, is the smartest from my view. Then Tamra, then Meghan and Heather, and Vicki a distant last.

IMO, Heather tries to think BEFORE she speaks and then tries to temper her words/meaning so as to not start a fight and that is why she doesn't just react quickly like Tamra does. I find Heather and Shannon the two smartest/most intelligent of the OC HWs. That said, Tamra is street smart, very street savy, cunning and she never cares about hurting someones feelings or starting a fight but she is not as they say, book smart. LOL Meghan is a combo of Heather/Shannon (education) and Tamra...cunning/savy, mixed in with immaturity. Vicki is as dumb as a box of rocks outside of her "work" and is the most self involved of all of them IMO.

Hey, anyone catch WWHL last nite when Jeana said something about the way the show was first "written" (or "created").  Oh man, Satan Andy clutched her pearls!!!  Hilarious!  He made sure to say NOTHING is written or created.  Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, Satan Andy, peddle that bullshit to your palsy-walsy Bethenny.  She was able to get thru a season of NYC Housewives not mentioning her boyfriend, while Satan Andy clearly created a season around Crooks, whether Vicks liked it or not.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3280301/Brooks-Ayers-claims-Bravo-insisted-cancer-battle-central-Real-Housewives-Orange-County-Vicki-Gunvalson-s-reduced.html

 

I know, I know, Crooks may be lying his ass off yet again -- or maybe he isn't & he's revealing Satan Andy's secrets.  Uh-oh, will Satan Andy banish (er, pay off) poor Crooks like he did with Alex & Simon?  Interesting that Crooksie-poo never mentions he probably got very well paid for being on the show.

I strongly suspect that Brooks is reading sites like this one and is now using excuses/reasons posted here/there that viewers have posted about WHY his cancer became THE shows main storyline. Had this really happened, Andy forced them to talk about it on the show, he would have said that right off the bat after he and Vicki broke up.....yet he did NOT! LOL

[Grneyedldy]

Why not just draw off a syringe or two and spread it on, why kill a friggin' leech? It ain't gonna make Heather look any younger or better and Terry will always look like a 70 year old man.

 

My thought is that they did it just to steal a scene.

 

 

Squeeze the blood out fr/ the leeches? The blood the leeches had sucked fr/ Heather's and Terry's stomachs?

 

Rainy to the rescue, since my leech knowledge is limited.

 

That story about Vicki's mom sure confirms the old apple doesn't fall far from the tree adage. Vicki seems to have learned well from her mother. Have no respect for other people - check. Take no responsibility for your role in anything - check.  Retaliate and hide when confronted - check. Twist the truth into a funny story and laugh your ass off about it, then whoop it up - check. Listening to Vicki tell the story didn't make me think this was any sort of unusual behavior by her mom. I'd hazard a guess that her mom pulled shit like this her entire life and Vicki learned from a master that the universe is supposed to revolve around you and no one else matters.

 <snip>

I have a different adage regarding Vicki........The turd doesn't fall far from the asshole. :-)

[Cherrio]

Thanks so much for your thoughts per Michael. I have viewed him that way for years

I remember one season there were a lot of scenes with Vicki badgering Michael about not having a job, not looking for a job.    He would listen, then go back to lounging at the pool with his friends.

 So much for her kids have always worked.   Lie # 63,002

[Me Too]

Instead of just reading her email, they should have Alexis on - either at the Reunion or on WWHL.  That would have had a much greater impact.  Missed opportunity on BRAVO's part.

Apparently your wish is Bravo's command because (at least according to my TV guide) she will be a guest on next Monday's WWHL.

[Cherrio]

Tamra does have a sense of humor. I think about the only funny thing last night was when she tried to lift up Meghan's dress and asked Andy if he wanted to find out what color her hair really was.

[beesknees]

My jaw dropped when Vicki told that "really funny story!" about her mother keying someone's motorcycle, having to pay $10,000 in restitution, and winding up getting arrested and thrown in jail.  The hell?  I dunno.  Is it just me or did anyone else think that the story was not really funny?  Frickin' psychotic behavior.  I'm no pearl-clutching prude but in my neck of the woods doing some kind of shit like that can get you shot.

 

I am beyond sick of Vicki implying SAHM's don't do anything.  I agreed when Heather said its often times easier to just go to a 9-5 job than to be a full-time stay at home mom.  Believe me, I've been both and there were plenty of times when I was jealous of my husband putting in his 8 hrs. per day at work, come home and being permanently "off the clock" for the rest of the night when I was still folding laundry, washing dishes, and picking up toys at 10:30, 11:00 p.m. at night.  Vicki can kiss my ass!

Edited October 20, 2015 by beesknees

[Rainny]

Vicki is barely middle class money wise.  She lies about money too.

 

They all seem to lie about something. I'd swear it's a pre-requisite for the job. 

[AnnA]

   Sadly, Meghan can't do anything about how long her neck is...and for some reason I felt sad to read "gurgling giraffe."

 

I agree with you.   It's not only "sad" but it's unnecessary and frankly, pretty mean.  I'm not a fan of Meghan's but I don't hate her and no one deserves to be ridiculed because of something they can't control. 

[Me Too]

There was a scene at the beginning of last season or the season before (I'm sorry they all run together) at Vicki's house, with her brother Billy, one of Vicki's sister and Vicki's mother. They were telling a story about an incident of Vicki's mother's road rage. Does anyone else remember that? I don't know if it was the same road rage incident as discussed on the reunion or another incident. I think by the way Vicki said "of course it was road rage" makes me think it was a separate incident. Not really very funny at all for a senior citizen. I guess that's what we have to look forward to as Vicki ages. That and lower and lower necklines as her cleavage drops to the floor.

I remember that.  I think it was more like three seasons ago (perhaps Brook's first season?  I remember the part about Vicki's mom smart mouthing the officer's about having a gun and getting arrested.  The rest of the story is a blur.  My suspicion is that its the same story.  Wasn't truly funny then and not funny now.  SMH

 

[Giselle]

I

 

 

I missed the very beginning and admit, I wasn't paying 100% attention to the rest. But, I remember when the divorce was happening, a skilled sleuth here found some financial info pertaining to the divorce.  Vicki isn't as wealthy as she'd have us believe and Donn got a reasonable and equitable settlement. 'Taken to the cleaners' would be Vicki speak for her not getting to keep everything and having Donn walk away with the clothes on his back (that were purchased with money she earned, because SHE WORKS, you know).

 

I've always thought Donn earned every penny he got in the settlement. She is a narcissistic, selfish, black hole of neediness who is very hard to live with. Everybody once they get the chance, they get away from her and deal with her only when they have to.

[Grneyedldy]

I remember that. I think it was more like three seasons ago (perhaps Brook's first season? I remember the part about Vicki's mom smart mouthing the officer's about having a gun and getting arrested. The rest of the story is a blur. My suspicion is that its the same story. Wasn't truly funny then and not funny now. SMH

Thank you. Yes it probably was 3 seasons ago. I agree about the lack of "funny".

I

I've always thought Donn earned every penny he got in the settlement. She is a narcissistic, selfish, black hole of neediness who is very hard to live with. Everybody once they get the chance, they get away from her and deal with her only when they have to.

It's very convenient of Vicki to forget that Donn was the main bread winner for the majority of their marriage. It wasn't Vicki's money that bought them the Coto house and it wasn't her piddly ass MLM insurance scam that kept them afloat when Donn was between jobs.....it was her Bravo salary. And if it had been Donn making bank from Bravo, I guarantee Vicki would have fought for her share too.

Eta: trying to fix formatting

Edited October 20, 2015 by Grneyedldy

[Giselle]

 

  

Rainy to the rescue, since my leech knowledge is limited.

  I have a different adage regarding Vicki........The turd doesn't fall far from the asshole. :-)

 

Regarding Michael....The bill doesn't fall far from the wallet.

[Lyra Angelica]

I totally agree!  Tamra acts like she had nothing to do with her marriage to Simon ending and what her kids were put through.  Her daughter wanting to be rid of her says a lot to me.  Tamra needs to stop making it seem like everything wrong in her family is Simon's fault and that she's just an innocent victim in it all.  Her struggle crying and the way she tries to make her voice quiver makes her look like the most insincere person on the planet.  Her damned hanky didn't even have mascara on it.  There were absolutely no tears to be wiped away. 

 

I must say as much as Alexis leaves a lot to be desired in the "good Christian" department, she had Tamra's number with her email.  I was agreeing with everything she said.  I don't know why Tamra thinks that just because she put on this big show of getting Baptized for the cameras that she's a "changed" woman.  Becoming a Christian is a covenant between you and Jesus to accept him into your heart and try to live your life by his word.  It's not telling everybody "I'm saved and if you don't believe it you can suck it!"  I'm not saying this to judge her, I'm just saying that she doesn't come off as sincere...AT ALL!  All the hair primping and wearing a see through dress to be dunked in a swimming pool in front of the cameras just doesn't come off as sincere to me.  If she had told Bravo, I will let you film the get together after the Baptism, but not the Baptism itself so that her other kids could attend I would believe her.  Since she didn't do that, I'm not buying it.

 

It seems odd that given this is one of the biggest commitments she could make and is a life event, you would think she would want to have her children witness this. Her acceptance of Christ into her life and how she is making that commitment might do some good in mending her relationship with her oldest daughter---if she's sincere.  If not filming her baptism for the show meant that her children could attend, you'd think that would be an easy choice.

[lovesnark]

I

 

 

 

I've always thought Donn earned every penny he got in the settlement. She is a narcissistic, selfish, black hole of neediness who is very hard to live with. Everybody once they get the chance, they get away from her and deal with her only when they have to.

Whenever Vicki talked about how Donn was trying to screw her out of everything when they were divorcing, I laughed my ass off. When this show started, they were living in the house she's still in and she was doing her insurance/pyramid scheme business  out of the house. That's when she hired Lauri to work as her assistant. They owned the place at Lake Havascrew and were talking about buying the second home they eventually bought and sold because she decided she didn't want to downsize, even though Donn wanted to.  She acts like all of this came from income she earned and that Donn had just spent their marriage laying around the pool swilling cocktails while she went to work.