The Real World

I saw in the news today that a Real World cast member from the current season was arrested for biting her boyfriend. She bit him repeatedly, because she was angry when he wouldn't let her in his house. Ummm, yeah. I wouldn't let her in, either.

I remember when the Real World was less a voyeuristic "who's hooking up with which cast mate" reality blurred by fine editing show and more of one that actually had drama beyond binge drinking. I guess my one and only love affair with the Real World would be season 3 with Pedro, Judd, Pam, Puck and Rachel. I was so enamored with Pedro that when he died in 1994 I was truly saddened, knowing the world lost a passionate voice in the fight against AIDS.

I was sickly fascinated with Puck, the way one is engrossed completely by a television show about massive tumors or how everyone slows down to look for blood on the road at the site of a bad car accident. Puck was disgusting and self-serving, never apologetic and always looking out for his own best interests. I hated him but couldn't stop watching. I felt the same way about Rachel, who had obvious chemistry with Puck.

Judd and Pam were my other favorites. When the season was over, the friendship between Judd and Pedro stayed strong, as did the one with Pam. By the time Judd published his memoir "Pedro & Me: Friendship, Loss and What I Learned" he also realized that his friendship with Pam was much more than a passing fancy. Who can't love it that a Real Worlder makes one of his housemates his life partner? Add to it that Judd's graphic novel & cartoon animation career is in full bloom, as is Pam's medical career. Wowsa. And here I am, blogging from my clerk job. Now that's irony. Oh, not to belittle my job. I'm a litigation assistant, which basically means I'm a well-paid clerk.

Who do you miss from the Real World?