Old News and Rants '99

Dan the Fan decided to take a stroll down to pier 66 this past Friday to check out the S.A.S sudents as they off-loaded.....

"This morning at 8:00 the S.S. Universe Explorer arrived at pier 66. The ship had about 300 students including 67 people cast and crew from Road Rules. MTV had a helicopter taking arial shots of the ship in Seattle. The family and friends were all waiting in a small fenced area and on balconies. I was next to a crew filming the friends of one of the cast members named Ayanna! Later on Mary Ellis and Jon Murray were there. I saw the cast walk off the ship and run to hug the family and friends. And of course the camera's were there to capture the last moments of Road Rules SAS. Each student had to pay $20,000 for a spot on the ship for a 100 day trip. You have to book 1 year in advance. MTV shelled out the money for this season. I talked to many other students on the ship and they all said that the Road Rules cast was all nice and got along. No more Gladys'. I even heard there was a hookup."

05/28/99 - It's Over!

After spending three months on the high seas, the S.S Universe Explorer docked at Pier 66 this morning at 8:15 a.m local time. And once again, the poor residents of Seattle (Still recovering from post dramatic Real World syndrome) are invaded by important people hounded by cameras and buff mics courtesy of B-M Productions. So will Semester at Sea exceed expectation, or will we have to suffer through another Latin America? Only time will tell. One things for certain...you can count on me to give BMP my two cents on whether S.A.S should sink or sail!

"Ready the torpedoes Mr. Custard!"

05/03/99 - *Warning* This is a spoiler!

Courtesy of Mick, who's friend currently attends Semester at Sea......

"I have a buddy on Semester at Sea program and he writes me alot (mostly because we both watch RR and RW) and he was soo excited to find out that he was going to such great locals as Cuba, South Africa, India (Where the cast of RW Hawaii visits them) Hong Kong, Japan, Bali and much more...

Well Jake went on his handsome reward last fall and now he is being joined by the cast and crew of RR 8 - Semester at Sea For mere mortals (and those outside Colorado) - this semester (9 credit hours) costs around 24,000 and is very challenging to get in academically - well he tells me that they took the usual video suggestions and yes to confirm NG gossip - had actual tryouts in Colorado (CU and CSU) well I won' tell anything very very revealing but a couple of things that made me look forward to next years show (anything has to be better than this season...)

well here you go; -One cast member (supposedly the coolest, most personable one i.e. "The Player") has a rather odd fascination about Midgets (little people is the correct term) - and does not stop talking about them (a major source of annoyance by both cast and crew) - apparently look for major drama from people looking to stop midget persecution. -For the first time - mere mortals greatly influence one of the many story lines - a fellow named Tate - or "Tater" apparently feels that he should be the 8th member and does not stop bothering the poor cast and crew - his oppressive attempts to be cool and be close friends and get major camera time greatly offends and pisses them off - and a confrontation is staged and supposedly my friend overheard that this would definately be the focus of an episode (I guess the Real world infringes on the filming of RR) - I guess this guy is a jackass and everyone hates them. -There is some drama in India (where they meet the cast of Hawaii Real World) and besides major bitching about the bitchy stuck up Real World crew - They are soo horrified about the smell and the people of India (I guess worse than the dumpster mission)

There is a bar located on the Ship and it is only open for two hours before dinner and three hours after dinner - and two males and a female can ALWAYS be seen there trying their hardest to get as loaded as possible in the short time allowed -one of the aforementioned bar hoppers I guess likes to argue when he gets loaded and the other gentleman "described as a skater-alternative fellow with a great sense of humor" spends his time not only hitting on the RR girls but everyone else to no avail... That is about all I will say for now but in a couple of weeks I will post all the letters so you can read them for your selves..."

04/22/99 - Hero of the day!

Kefla from Road Rules Australia was on the local Montgomery news last night. Courtesy of a Montgomery resident........

"Kefla was on WSFA channel 12 giving details of a carjacking her witnessed. He is currently working at a local YMCA and witnessed a carjacking in the parking lot. The guy who carjacked apparently robbed a convenience store across the street and stole a car. He left tire tracks across the soccer field at the YMCA where Kefla works when the cops chased him. According to the report, Kefla helped the woman who was carjacked because her legs were grazed by the car the robber stole. They didn't mention on the news that Kefla was a Road Rules cast member, but they listed his name as Kefla Hare. It's good to know he stayed in Montgomery after graduating Alabama State University (located here) because it's a good town. . .despite the occasional robbery and carjacking."

MTV will be airing Road Rules: Latin America marathon next saterday beginning at 12 noon EDT.

04/08/99 - Hey, what's the hold up?

I imagine many of you have been asking that same question since the photo center hasn't been updated for several weeks now. To tell you the truth, I'm still waiting for the S.A.S folks to send in new photos from South Africa. When I E-mailed them to see what the hold-up was, they quickly replied with......

"We'll have them as soon as possible, but I can't promise when that will be. Hopefully within the next week or so."

stay tuned.........

03/28/99 - Location Please!

As I reported last week, the RealWorld/RoadRules Challenge between the Real World Hawaii and Road Rules Semester at Sea cast will take place in Kenya. However, there have been recent conflicting reports that the event will be held in India. We know the Hawaii cast will be out of town over the next week or two on their vacation in India, and Semester at Sea is scheduled to arrive in Chennai, India on April 11th.

Whether the Roomies will layover in Kenya, or continue on to their destination is currently unknown at this point. Stay tuned..........

03/26/99 - Oh, forget it!

It appears they moved ahead of schedule. Gotta love Internet service!

Sorry Folks, Technical difficulties!

The Discussion Forum will temporarily be off line for the rest of the day. "Inside The Web", my forum provider is currently moving to a new Internet service. The forum should be back on line by tomorrow morning. Sorry for the inconvenience.

03/15/99 - This just in!

New photos of the Semester at Sea student bodies as they toured Cuba and Brazil. And for those of you playing "Where's Waldo", look for a camera buff stalking some preppies in Tommy Hi-Figures!

Stay tuned........

And another possible Road Rules S.A.S cast member courtesy of Bill....

"hey guys..... just telling you that i think one of the Semester at Sea road rulers is a sorority girl from George Washington University in DC. my friend goes there and she was pretty sure she was picked for real world or road rules.... pretty pointless info but i thought some of you might be interested!!!!!"

03/09/99 - Possible Semester at Sea cast member?

Today Tara sent in this info regarding a friend of her who she believes is a member of the Road Rules: Semester at Sea cast......

"My friend is currently on the program. I'm not sure if she is one of the selected ones for Road Rules. What made me confused about it is that when I asked her what her plans were during November 1998, for the spring semester, she said she was going to take these certain courses. But when December rolled by, she said she was going on a cruise ship next semester. I asked her if she was one of the selected ones for Road Rules And she replied to me that she maybe is. Somehow I think she is one of the chosen cast members b/c I stumbled onto a ten page contract of some sort saying something like

"....members must abide by these terms of agreement as stated in the contract. If a member clearlies violates a term in this contract, the company will terminate the member immediately with no reason....."

I only caught a glimpse of it. *actually I only saw the last page with my roommates signature.

Just wanted you guys to know this. I don't want to confirm that she is one of the cast members, I'm not going to look like a fool for saying that. But in case if she is then her name is: Tanya and she goes to University of Deleware."

I checked with acouple of my sources who informed me that the fatal accident involving Menudo is close to 99.9% acurate!

Apparently after the trip, Abe took Menudo home with him to Los Angelas. While playing outside on Abe's front lawn, Menudo ran out into the street where he was fatally run over by a van.

02/22/99 - Trouble adverted.....for now!

Looks like Road Rules is tapping into the Real World overachiever/misfit mindset this season. Today Jessi (A student attending Semester at Sea) sent in this bit of info on how the whole slap incident was resolved.....

"Man, was the meeting boring!!! Mr. Tymitz announced to the whole entire student body this "..if another student harms or disrespect another student in anyway then that student will face expulsion from the program.."

Based on my roommate and the other students that I have spoke with, Annie(the UCLA girl) is the innocent one in the altercation. The majority of the students are fully 100% behind Annie on this matter. The whole incident started when one of the roadies was being too cocky to other students about her status on the show. Annie was talking to this guy name Derek (NYU) and then all of a sudden, the roadie just cuts in and interrupts the conversation. Words were exchanged after that.

Somehow the altercation would of ended if the roadie didn't say "Why would you want to stay with a flat board like her when you can be a somebody rather than a nobody?" Then I came to the scene which had Annie saying "..just because your on Road Rules doesn't mean you get special treatment, you bitch!" The slap was about to happen after the roadies comment The slap coming from Annie. Hopefully this problem will resolve soon because this trip has just begun. And right now there is definitely a hostile environment on the ship"

Hmmmm, interesting, but hardly unexpected. C'mon! Did BMP actually think this would work? It appears this cast was chosen from a certain status quo. Just take a gander at this piece from the requirements for admission section at the Semester at Sea Site:

"You must currently be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at an accredited college/university (No Community college folks aloud!) and must have successfully completed a full semester of credit (12 units or more) while attending as a full-time student. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 is expected. However, if you are enrolled full-time and are in good standing at your college/university, you are encouraged to apply. All applications are reviewed individually."

Gee, what ever happened to the "We don't look for types, we look for people!" theme that casting director so proudly spouted off in the RW Seattle Casting Special? I guess it got swept under the rug with any sense of reality left in this season. And for all this to happen only in the first week is a crying shame. One thing is certain, the notion that Road Rules is an equal opportunity for all is put to bed immediately!

Add that to the fact that these six yuppies are coming in with an inflated ego because there're on "Road Rules" And you've got a powder cake waiting to explode!

Stay tuned.................

02/20/99 - Trouble at Sea already?!?!

From an anonymous student currently attending Semester at Sea.

"there are rumors going around here about the whole incident and the coordinator and CEO "Ellen Kolovos and John Tymitz" are trying to resolve the situation..

Somehow Annie (from UCLA) told off this girl from RR8 saying that "just because you are in Road Rules doesn't mean that you get special treatment, you bitch!)"

Then that girl responded by saying "Did you get in this program by doing a special favor to Mr. Tymitz!" What I heard was that, there was a slap involved in it. but it might not be true. Somehow some students on the ship are having animosity towards the six fellow RR members. Not a very happy picture here. Mr. Tymitz will be addressing this issue in a mandatory meeting setup by the staff on the ship (TELECONFERENCE!!!)"

02/17/99 - Bon Voyage!

Today's the day when the kids depart from Nassau, and embark on their maiden voyager around the world. If you want to find out more about the Semester at Sea program, then check out their site here!.

And remember folks! If you happened to bump into the Cast somewhere along their voyage, E-mail your pic and info, and I'll post them on the Sightings page.

And one more thing. Put the Discussion Forum to good use! And eventhough you may be a regular at another message board, it wouldn't hurt to stop by a second forum to discuss the show, and whatever.

02/15/99 - Updates

I decided to change a few things on the site today. For one, I transferred all of the news headlines and commentary on to this page. Why? To condense the front page a bit so it wouldn't take up too much space.

02/07/99 - Confirmation

I checked with my sources, and they told me that the schedule for the Semester at Sea cast is between 80 - 90% accurate:

"from what I know of it is true. Most of it should be true, I wouldn't call it 100% true...but more like 83%....."

02/06/99 - Renovation

Thought I'd clean up this page, and change a few other things while I'm at it. Don't worry, you can still see all the posting from last month just below in the "Old News & Rants" section.

01/31/99 - Updates

I've got some new info on the Semester at Sea season over in "Facts & Rumors". Check it out!

01/28/99 - Updates

Dang! It's been a week since I've updated the Facts & Rumors page. Well your wait is over. Also my review is out for Cobwebs & Margaritas.

01/25/99 - Updates

Links page updated. And I'll get some new info up on the "Facts & Rumors" page this week.

01/22/99 - Chat room up!

Come chat with other fans every Monday night, or anytime during the week!

Is this thing an RV or a Starship?

That is the question I ask as I was browsing through the Woodee's manual. It's a 29 ft long 1999 Tioga that can hold 55 gallons of fuel. Ok no big deal right, but it's stocked with a G3 Powerbook from Apple, a Sony mini-disc player, and a Motorola cell phone.....tapped acourse (It just wouldn't be a BMP show if not). But that's not all! It also has Naya water and assorted flavors of Cliff Bar to last the entire trip. And the medicine cabinet comes loaded with Ben's (who?) Wilderness Formula insect repellent. No bikes this season, instead they have Rollerball in-line skates. Plus a Viper alarm with Spanish translation (I guess they finally learned from that mugging incident the Northern Trail Winnie took!). Oh, and much more!

Pretty impressive. Can it do warp 9.9 too? You gotta hand it to BMP, there're not by any means cheap spenders!

01/19/99 - Review

My review for Ai Chihuahua! is out!

01/18/99 - Welcome to the new season!

After a long day of being forced-fed acouple Road Rules marathons of "Dangerous Episodes" "yawn", we finally come to the main event. And man! If it didn't feel like waiting to see the Mike Tyson fight after viewing a string of no-name/hasbeen lightweights jabbing for the belt.

Anyway, I checked out the season premier. And sure enough, ALL the suspects are there. In addition, the producers have effectively added acouple blonde dudes.......Fabio and Brad Pitt!

We're now discussing the new season on the Forum. So who's you're favorite cast member sofar? Cast your vote!

Also look for my review of "Ai Chihuahua!" this week!

01/17/99 - Road Rules Re-Runs

If your're a fanatic of seasons 5 and 3 (which I am not. At least season 5), then this is your holiday weeked. Northern Trail airs today from 2 - 9:30pm. And if your're a night owl, you can catch Europe tonight from 10:30pm - 3:30am.

01/15/99 - Hmmm, let's see....

Facts & Rumors page updated, and the Rating System's back! Oh, and another clue up on the BMP site! "Yawn"

01/13/99 - Ok, I'll play your little game

BMP continues to hurl bones at the fans. Today they posted another clue pertaining to the "anonymous" couple.

Clue #1: The happy couple are BOTH Road Rules alumni!!! Yay!

Clue #2: Neither of them have been All-Stars--- yet!

Clue #3: SHE appears in the new season of Road Rules.

Gee, couldn't BMP have made things A BIT more obvious such as.....

Clue #4: She's a blonde!

Clue #5: There're both from Pittsburgh.

I don't mean to go off on a rant, but it's so obvious who they are. Why doesn't BMP stop killing time, and just get it over with!

Reminder

Since the new season is less than a week away, I would like to take the time out to remind you to send in your sightings info if you've seen any Road Rulers recently. Also come chat on the forum: meet new friends, discuss the new season, who's hot, and who's not, ect....

01/12/99 - MTV plays teaser with fans

This morning BMP announced that two former Road Rules cast members were tying the knot. But they wouldn't say who besides the fact that everyone knows. Instead, MTV will announce the new couple on the BMP site on the 18th.

For a extended, closer look into the new cast, go here

01/11/99 - Ok, who screwed up?

So like I just got through watching StarShip Troopers right, then I tune into Road Rules. And I find that someone in MTV's editing department either fell asleep on the job, or delibereatly swapped tapes to give Susie more screen time because we were delivered a double dose of Susie's blossoming wild side. So guess who this weeks poll is about?

Sneak preview of the new season tonight at 10 pm. For a poster look of the new cast, go Here. This week....repeat of episodes Learning Curves & Crocodile Round up.

01/09/99

The new season of Road Rules (Latin America) airs Monday January 18, at 10pm. I'm still wondering if BMP's sticking with the usual suspects. Ya know, the gung-ho Johnny the leader-Mr. Know it all type, young naive lass, who goes crazy with her first taste of freedom, black sheep outcast who doesn't click with the rest of the gang. Oh! And rest assure, one of the girls is a blonde! I can't come to any conclusions from the cast bios themselves. I'll have to see these troopers in action, then see if my speculations were warranted.

Stay tuned............

01/04/99

This week....repeat of episodes Uncover Alien Dirt & Splash Test Dummies.

01/01/99

With rumors flying of explosive love triangle, sexual assault, ODs, and a Chihuahua. This may be the most controversial season to date! But I digress until the rumors are proven true. Therefore, I have my own little list of predictions for the coming year.

• Look for some sort of Road Rules Latin America/Road Rules All Stars competition. Probably towards the mid to end of the season.

• We already know Susie's going to be a part of RR All Stars. Look for her along with 4 or 5 other unknowns in a All Stars mini-series.

• And if you think the Semester at Sea gang (after making several stops at ports of call through out the world) wont take a little shore leave at a small port called Honolulu and challenge Real World to test their wits.....think again! Hopefully no aqua games this time around.