Journey to South Africa, Part II

Ayanna and Yes party like it's 1999, while Pawel and Shawn party like it's 1969!

Analysis

I'm starting to notice a pattern here! So far since the season began every odd numbered episode has gotten an above average score while every even number eps managed to pull a average rating. And just for the record, I consider a loser episode as a 2 or lower; however, a show can get by with a 3 which is considered an "Ok, but you could do better" rating. But it looks like we'll finally break the trend next week with a loser (at least from the mission standpoint, but I digress)

As I mentioned last week, I'd wait till part II before making any conclusions. And after viewing part II this week, I'm still left with a somewhat bitter taste in mouth; although not as bitter as last week.

I feel there are two appropriate ways to judge this show. From a moral and ethical standpoint it gets a 5, however on a Road Rules theme basis it lands a 1 at the very least!

The ethical side of this two-part eps centers around Ayanna who was abit apprehensive (at least in part I) about meeting the African family for fear they wouldn't accept her on the basis of her being an African "American" However, to Ayanna's relief, they took her in under their roof as one of their own.

And frankly, I found Ayanna and Yes's experiences with the African family the most interesting of the family trio! Simply put: they were more down-to-Earth, lively, and outgoing who didn't seem to have anything to hide (I particularly found the one township lady's story extremely moving as well as the elderly gentlemen's speech to Pua and Veronica). Where as in the other two cases.... I just didn't see enough of the Muslims to get a feel at what their family was like; in fact, I would've opted for either axing the Marlene nipple-ring souvenir skit which was completely pointless and only served as filler to pad-out the show, or the Bunker Klan in favor of giving the Muslims more deserved air time!

As far as the Bunkers......I felt that they deserved the least amount of camera time simply because you knew exactly where they were coming from from the get go! Plus their whole poorly executed put-on show to welcome Shawn into their home was just bad, bad, bad! And what was up with that somber dinner scene? You'd suspect they all just came from a funeral with the cold shoulder treatment they were giving Shawn (I was half expecting permafronst to start appearing on the furniture!)

And I don't know about the rest of you, but normally when a family has a get-together, they all sit and eat at the "table" especially when they have GUEST over; unless of course that guest happens to be non white, but I digress! Furtheremore, are we lead to believe that the Bunkers would exhibit the same kind of hospitallity (and I use that word loosely) to your average black Joe Q Public minus the cameras and buff mics? I think not!

On a lighter note, poor Pawel (A.K.A "Crash & Burn" this week) once again tried (and failed) to brighten the mood with some sappy banjo playin, made worse by a duet with Gloria on the tuba who blows more than Lisa Kudrow at the MTV Movie Awards! (Memo to MTV Producers: Never hired Kudrow to host your prestigious award show ever again unless you want your ratings going south like a duck in winter! I'd prefer to watch paint dry than to endure sitting through her bland, square, unamusing sleeper antics ever again!)

However, my main pick with this episode (which I alluded to last week) centers around the backbone of the show's premise: the mission. As with the circus act, it appears that the kids are now doing the missions for charity as appose to personal gain--Now don't get me wrong! From a human standpoint there's nothing wrong with that at all; but I have one question, and one question only then I'll call it a week......

Someone please tell me why was it necessary for the B-M inturn to confiscate the troopers' paper and plastic back in "Bon Voyage" if the producers have no intentions of reimbursing them? In fact, if you think about it, the whole ideal is pretty ludicrous considering the kids have full access to many-if not all of the facilities and resources (food, water, alcohol etc...) along with the 600 other students on board which BMP fully paid for in advance! Therefore I have NO concerns for where the troopers will get their next meal, clean clothes, or roof from.... No sir I don't like it!

Goofs

• Cloak & Dagger: At the Bunkers, Gloria pre-warned Shawn that her granny probably wouldn't speak to him cuz she was brought up to fear blacks, eventhough it was her apartheid controlled government that destroyed townships, beat school children, and insighted overall fear into the hearts of the nation's black and colored populations! Go figure!

• Factual Error: Prior to the troopers' presentation speeches, (and I'm guessing here) one of the faculty members(?) welcomed everyone to "Community College" Ugh, excuse me! The last time I checked, Semester at Sea was considered a credited "university" where as institutions such as Devry and Virginia Tech are classified as technical schools A.K.A "Community College"

• Editing Room Floor Material: Gee ALL of those family members.....you'd think the editors could squeeze a name out of at least "one" of them! How in the hell are we supposed to connect with a character if we don't even know what to call them? Could you cheapskates spare the viewing public a name, just a name, a freakin NAME for crying out loud! (If there were names mentioned that I overlooked, my bad! I usually try to keep my facts in order; my opinions of course always are!)

• I Plead The Fifth: Back to the Bunkers: One of Gloria's nameless friends pleaded ignorance when confronted with the issue of the apartheid governments' abusiveness against blacks: Saying that he had no knowledge of the atrocities due to the fact (In his words) they all occurred before his time. Now assuming that both Gloria and Character X are in their mid-twenties.....that would put their DOBs' in the mid-70s while apartheid, and all of its radioactive fallout remained alive and well throughout the 80s--supposedly ending in 94; and there're telling us that they have NO knowledge of this? C'mon, what planet have they been living on their whole lives? I'm not blaming them for anything, but don't get up on global television and say that as a kid, you never witnessed hearing a report on the 6 O'clock news about cops spraying a bunch of school children with rubber bullets who were protesting against the right-wing government!

Viewer Rating	Results
Q: How do you rate Journey to South Africa, Part II? (of 71 respondents) 7%   5 - Excellent. 17%   4 - Above Average. 37%   3 - Average. 10%   2 - Below Average. 7%   1 - Far Below Average. 23%   0 - I'd Rather Watch Informercials.

• Kim (Real World Summaries)
• Jill (The Real World - Hawaiian Style)
• Kit & Kefla (Road Rules 1 & 6)
• Ashley (Real World/Road Rules Hot Spots)
• Shtick & Andy (Real World Diary)
• Erin (Road Rules Semester at Sea)
• The artist formerly known as "CC" (Get Real World 8)
• Local Chicks (Real World Hawaii)
• Kelley (Road Rules Online)
• Paco (The Real World Web)
• Billy & Tracy (These are Road Rules)
• Mrs. Filthy (The "Real World" Review)
• Damitol/AC (The Real World Blows)
• Mario (RW Hawaii & RR Semester at Sea)