DC's View: Real World Skeletons

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

As we head into the latter part of October with a week until the madness of Halloween takes over, this MTV fan is already deep into both enjoying and covering season 2 of Are You The One? from Puerto Rico. And next Thursday, I will be getting down and dirty in the snow with the fun-loving friends of Slednecks. But very soon, there will be a brief time during the merriest of seasons we have all year that I will have three shows for me to live tweet at my DCNOW live twitter hub.

Before Monday's episode of AYTO, we found out the coming twist for season 30 of The Real World, which premieres on December 16th. It's not just the longest-running show in MTV history, but also the longest-running primetime entertainment series on basic cable. Earlier this year for its 29th season, the show made the unprecedented move of, for the first time in its long 22-year history, changing its format to adding new permanent roommates in the exes that joined Arielle, Ashley, Cory, Jamie, Jay, Jenny and Thomas in San Francisco, and helped bring new viewers to the show with its best viewership since Mike Mike's Back to Vegas season.

   This time for its 30th season, the series will continue in that direction of straying away from the original "seven strangers" formula that had been in use since 1992, which until earlier this year was becoming a bit stale and bland while other shows have come on the scene and stolen RW's thunder. I know there's been a lot of people who aren't happy, and while I won't mention names, like last season with Ex-Plosion there was an outcry of mixed reaction to the twist, which was revealed on my birthday of all things. And it was also the same thing on when the twist for this season, RW Skeletons, was revealed.

As was the case back in January, our new group of seven strangers will leave behind their hometowns and move into an old nightclub turned urban loft in in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago, with the hopes that they will have the time of their lives in the Windy City, just as in past Real World seasons. But this time, the twist will again see the roommates being joined in the house by people from their pasts, aka "skeletons."

   Each roommate has experienced things like this before - broken relationships, estranged family members, shattered lives and dark secrets - and they'll discover eventually they can't escape the mistakes, unresolved issues of yesteryear and repugnant behavior as they will all resurface the instant they walk in the door, which will see the Chicago Seven deal with past demons. As the presser notes, "It's an emotional, funny, and challenging rollercoaster with a variety of skeletons."

For me, although I do maintain a sense of being a traditionalist but also being open to try out new things, I fully support the change. As I wrote back last year when Ex-Plosion was revealed and then when rumors of the AYTO/Challenge crossover was discovered over the summer, I've always been a great Real World fan for a long time, and even after the reboot, I will still remain a loyal viewer who continues to watch every episode on every season regardless of the people, city or format. And I am looking forward to watching season 30 the same way I've done for the other seasons before it and now with other MTV shows: with great anticipation and supporting all the cast members.

   Reading the descriptions of the kinds of storylines we'll be watching this season, RW Skeletons will be a season that will be tailor-made for a fan who's always been engaged by the storytelling aspects of the show and its castmates ever since the first generation. This is a job Bunim-Murray Productions continues to take seriously and take great pride in, and is partly the reason why I gravitate more to programming like this than most other things on TV. And though I'm now into The Challenge and Are You The One?, I feel more at home in the down-to-earth environment of The Real World.

   Seeing a cyber bully, family members, old bosses, a baby mama & old flames coming to visit Chicago will create compelling storylines in the Windy City. This will allow me to get to know the new group of seven strangers even more, while also letting that relate to those in the audience who can relate to what they're going through. And already, I can thank the roommates who I'll be getting to know in a matter of days for being brave enough to put the adversities they've gone through privately in front of millions of people, and it will sure make for great, engaging TV coming up.

So, now I have something to look forward to when the days get shorter, when I turn 31 in just under a month, and when all of us are getting in that holiday mood and ready to celebrate Christmas and the new year. And just as it was last December when I had three MTV shows to live tweet to end the year, this time it will be even better, and I will get the best of three worlds: the show I'm most comfortable in - Real World; the show that's become my new favorite - Are You The One; and the show I'm looking forward to in having a laugh - Slednecks. Should be lots of fun.

   And while many of us complain about the change in this formula even before we've gotten our first visual glimpse of what awaits us coming in December, I feel it's best for us to wait for the footage and photography to be released in the coming weeks before we can make a judgement on it; as they always say, you can never judge a book by just glancing at its cover, it's what's inside that matters most.

So, that's my view. And to the cast who might be reading this (as well as the extra roommates we'll be seeing eventually), welcome to Team MTV. Let the countdown to December 16th begin.

DCBLOG will be covering Real World Skeletons like never before, using the same winning playbook that's been used successfully to cover the last two Challenges, RW Ex-Plosion and now with Are You The One?, all to tremendous web traffic and acclaim. Our signature, one-of-a-kind DC SocialPulse diaries will feature exclusive tweet-by-tweet diaries of every moment from the season as seen by cast, alumni, fans and me. I'll also be offering Fan's View posts throughout the season as well as the possibility of interviewing cast members on here too.

   And serving as a complement to the numerous website wraps and podcasts done by other websites, DCB will offer more of a unique perspective as this season unfolds. This will include retrospective posts covering the show's history including thoughts from the show's co-creator Jon Murray, the first episodes from seasons past, and much more. Real World aside, we're already covering AYTO Season 2 in Puerto Rico, and coming this week we'll preview Slednecks and look at the Halloween holiday.

   And for the live tweeting of Real World Skeletons, as well as the current season of Are You The One? Puerto Rico, Slednecks and the big events in sports & entertainment (including the ongoing World Series), follow my dedicated live twitter handle, DCNOW at @DC408DxNow, as well as my usual Twitter and Instagram handle @DC408Dxtr for tweets, chats, alerts and photos.

   So, the journey is now underway. For now, thanks for reading and see you then.

- I AM DC