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B
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B+
We open on Coral and Mike from The Real World Back to New York, who claim that they just moved out of their house. Mike looks pretty much the same. Coral (and I'm going with Coral instead of Quarrel because I feel that she redeemed herself by the end of the season) has shorter hair that kind of flips up at the ends. I'm not crazy about it. Anyway, Mike says that the members of his cast were the perfect roommates. For example, they were very mature at all times. Cut to footage of The Miz, Coco Loco, and the Teriyaki Terror wrestling. Coral adds that they were always patient with each other, and they show footage of Coral and Mike fighting over who is ruder. Then there are some credits featuring words like "naked" and "drunk" and finally we get the title of the show: "The Real World Guide to Being the Perfect Roommate."
After the short credit sequence, we're back to Mike and Coral, who apparently are our hosts. The editors keep using this effect where, in mid-sentence, it will switch to a different camera angle, and the picture is all yellow-tinted. Dude, this isn't Traffic and you're not Steven Soderbergh, so ease up on the effects. Coral explains that a new season is going to start soon, and they want to prevent the new cast from making the same mistakes made by roommates from the past. But first, Mike says, we need to meet the "seven strangers" who will live together in Chicago.
First up is Theo, who is nineteen. We see some shots from what is presumably his audition tape. Theo explains that he goes to Tuskegee University. In an interview, Theo thinks that he could teach his roommates something about what it's like to be a black man, and that he hopes to represent black men well, because he has an education. Just when you get your hopes up that there will somehow be two seasons in a row with a black male who is not a playa, Theo admits to the interviewer that he's a ladies' man. "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott plays as we see the many, many women who appeared on Theo's audition tape. Theo says something about "creeping low" and "nasty" that I didn't quite get, partially because it was bleeped in the middle. We're done with Theo now. Mike says that on the Perfect Roommate Scale, he gives Theo a five, because he's cool and down to earth. Coral holds up a ten, then covers up the one and says that she gives Theo a zero. Aw, yeah.
It's time to meet, Kyle, age twenty-two. He is originally from Lake Bluff, Illinois, and is now a senior at Princeton. We see a lot of footage of Kyle doing jock-type activities as he tells us that a lot of people think he's cocky before they meet him, but really he's a nice guy. Kyle also uses the phrase "wax my own car," which won points with me for originality. On his audition tape, Kyle dances like *NSYNC. Oh, no. That just brings up New Orleans Matt for me. Kyle claims that he hasn't hooked up with many girls, or had one-night stands, and he feels like he's missing out. Mike gives Kyle an eight, and makes a stupid joke about sex. Coral gives him a seven because he's "an educated man," although she doesn't know how he expects to hook up when he does that dance. Coral is cracking me up.
Kerri, age twenty-two, is from New Orleans, and has been drinking since she was fifteen. Or maybe thirteen. And this is impressive how, exactly? Kerri also never goes to bed at the same time, and sometimes she doesn't even sleep. Oh my God! Call the police! Send out the men with the butterfly nets! She's both criminal and insane! Not sleeping? Unheard of! I hate her. She's dating five different men, but she claims that she doesn't hurt anyone's feelings. Kerri thinks that she hides her sensitive side. See, she's got sad fucking clown syndrome, so she's a perfect cast member. Mike gives her a nine and makes a stupid (not to mention out of date) Austin Powers joke. Coral gives Kerri an eight, because she would be fun to go out with.
Chris is twenty-four years old, and he's gay. Apparently, that's the most important thing about him, because it's the first thing we learn. Chris is super-cute. His mother outed him to the family at Thanksgiving dinner. Before he told his mom about his sexual orientation, he turned to drugs as a way of escaping, but now he's sober. And he likes to play pool. Mike gives Chris a six, for reasons too stupid to repeat. Coral gives Chris an eight because he's been through a lot, and thus should be interesting. True. He also might be too mature to hang out with this crowd. I'm sure that I'm going to regret committing that opinion to print. And now we've met all of the roommates. So is it over?
Yeah, hardly. Mike and Coral welcome us back. Whereas before, they were merely sitting side by side, now Mike has his hand on Coral's leg, and she has her hand on his arm. What's up with that? Anyway, they have some guidelines for the new roommates to follow to be the perfect roommate. Mike introduces Rule #10 by saying that while hygiene is important, it's a solo activity. Coral reads the rule: "Shower alone. Can't you do anything by yourself?" Then we see a clip of Mike asking Rachel if she wants to shower with him, and lots of footage of the infamous Miami shower threesome. I miss Sarah. They also didn't show the part where Flora broke the window, which was the funniest thing from that season. Except maybe when Joe had to put sugar on the dog's penis. Coral says that she's sure the Chicago cast will avoid making that mistake, and of course we cut to footage of the Chicago cast showering together. I'm not sure if it was one occasion or multiple occasions, but there were up to four people in the shower at once. Interesting.