Episode #203
Broadcast Date: 11/23/98
Location: Los Angeles, Lake Piru
Road Rules breaks the rules while Real World shows some realism.
BreakDown
Our scenes from last week episode shows the bed race, and as first prize for the losing team (RW), they get to pick their next job. They have a choice between the Japanese Pacers or Snoop Doggie Dog. Thinking there're going to meet the real deal, they choose Snoop. For all of you Snoop fans, I have to break it to you, they won't!
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The luxury bus and "temporally" home for the brat pack cruises down the LA highway. Inside, the teams are trying to cope with the cramped conditions brought on by the extra load. Noah and Beth show up in cameos to inform us on their next mission at the Hollywood YMCA. As usual, they have no clue as to what they are going to do.
After a while they arrive at the YMCA where they are greeted by a representative who escorts both teams to their locker rooms to change into their jerseys for the game. Kefla and Noah boogie down while Jason and Neil flex. Whether it's to themselves or the camera is anyone's guess!
When there're finished dressing, both teams are escorted out into the court where they meet.....Hey! It's Reggie Miller and Kobe Bryant. Everyone's jaw drops and their eyes go wide with excitement. Everyone that is except Kalle who has a curious-confused look on her face like she's meeting John Gipson of MSNBC.......................Exactly folks! Hey, so she's not a basketball fan. Can't fault her for that. On the flip side, the word "excitement" is an understatement for Roni who's jumping up and down with glee.
Reggie ask who got the Japanese Pacers, RR raises their hands. "You get to play against Kobe and I" Reggie says. Now here comes the curve ball! Kobe ask who got the Snoop Doggie Dog? The RW's assumptions that there'll be making music vedios are flushed down the bowl when they find out that there're going to do some dog washing. Kobe calls for his dogs and a women brings out 6 of them. [The man loves his dogs.] And look, one for each! Everyone's pissed at first, then they manage to work up a fake "Yeah!!!" and a few high five's. Nate on the other hand is not that skilled at surpressing his discomfort and discuss. He mournfully looks on like the only kid who didn't get picked to play on any team during recess. Then he looks down at his duty for the day and mumbles s@%#! under his breath.
I bet both Nate and Kalle wish they could trade places round about now.
Outside, the woman tells the misfits that if the dogs look really clean, they'll get there own pad for the night. And all of a sudden, the RW has a case of amnesia...."Like what team do they play on, hey I don't even know who Reggie Miller or Kobe Bryant are." Ugh...ya, you wouldn't be saying that if YOU were in there slamming dunks!
Back at the court, Reggie and Kobe tells RR they need to get started, but first they need a referee. They call for the ref, and hey I know that dude! "It's Syrus from RW Boston" says Mark. Syrus lays down the rules of the game. Every time RR makes a shot, they receive $20, and if Reggie and Kobe make a shot, they'll get $10. Fair game ya think? "RR is like Oh ya, no problem, we can handle this!" Just like any other mission eh!
Let's check in on the RW shall we?
The misfits drag their dogs (or are the dogs dragging them?) to a local pet shop where they stock up on shampoo, soap, and other grooming equipment. They just about buy up everything in the store. [Acouple notes: 1 Who's paying for this stuff? And 2 why the hell are they still in their jerseys? didn't they loose?]
Back at the game. Reggie and Kobe are making casual free throws. It's like taking candy away from a baby! All the while RR is just trying to keep up!
Back at the dog wash, it's scrubbing time! The dogs are happy, the RW are happy. Everyone's happy except Nate who doesn't want to waste anymore time plucking fleas. He's like...just dump the mutt in the washing machine and set for rinse!
Let's check in and see how RR is fairing
And as expected, Reggie and Kobe continues to kick RR's but. Kefla, figuring that he has no chance at making any shots, goes for style point but to a vale. When it's over, the only ones who were able to score a point were Kefla, Mark, and Noah. So let's see here, Reggie & Kobe 4 RR 1 that means RR owes Reggie and Kobe 40 buck.
Now it's time to collect debt. Reggie and Kobe tells RR to pay up or else. Then RR looses a point on my kewl scale when they dicide to take the low road by skipping out on the deal. "Get that thing cranking baby!" Mark yells. Oh ya, like where are they going to hide with a 30ft bus and a half a dozen whiners? LA isn't big enough for them! Reggie and Kobe play it down threatening to call out the posse. Although I'm sure a measly $40 means nothing to them, it's the whole honesty of it.
* *
So after the combine threat of a lawsuit and having to dodge bullets from Kobe's posse, RR manages to stick someone up and swipe 50 bucks! Gee, those threats must have spooked them because they threw in an extra $10. Then Kefla gets all pissed because Reggie and Kobe didn't let them keep the cash that THEY lost fair and square. Hey Keef, what did you expect!
So RW arrives and Montana smothers Syrus with hugs, and Nate rushes over to meet Kobe for a little man to man chat. From this chat we find out that Kobe watches the RW and he wonders if Nate and Stephanie are still together. Nate tells him that they've cooled off a bit, but are still friends.
Reggie and Kobe call over both teams to thank them for a great game, and for leaving Kobe's dogs sparkling. All the while Kalle still has that look on her face like she's meeting John Gibson of MSNBC......................Exactly folks! And since RW completed their mission, Reggie and Kobe set them up in a phat hotel. They also give them their next clue that has something to do with diving under water.
For the first time this season RW manages to win some cash, but still I have yet to see where they beat RR in an event. Perhaps they'll succeed in this next challenge.
And as a act of good faith, RW tells RR to come crash with them for the night. Since RR gave them a lift it's only appropriate that they return the favor. And what visit to LA wouldn't be complete with out a night out on the town.
So Nate whips out some of Dave's (RW Seattle) motion lotion, and Beth unpacks her beauty supply kit for everyone to use. And I mean EVERYONE! By the time all the hair spray and powder dust clears, everyone looks like a cross between a rock band and models hooked on heroin.
Then we get another romantic subplot, this time between Noah and Montana that ultimately like Shayne and Susie led to nothing except having the producers try to shove another plot down our throats!
But to make a long story short......Montana got pissed because she feels that Noah didn't give her any respect after SHE first came staggering up to him with a bottle of whiskey slobbering over him like a drunken hore. So he rightfully gave her as much respect as she deserved. So she inturn challenges him to a mud wrestle where she tries to strip him of his pride by striping off his shirt. As for any chemistry between them I put at 0%.
All of this child's play is too much for Kefla and Roni who decide to go clubbing. So Kefla calls one of his friends to meet them there.
Then all of a sudden Montana gets serious. She pulls Noah aside to address to him that she doesn't appreciate the way he treats women in general. [How the heck does she know how he treats real women?] Noah gives her about as much attention as he would give a gnat on the wall. Then Montana sums it up with "You know, I would really like Noah in about five years." Ya, that's exactly the amount of time she figures Vaj will tolerate her sorry butt! Don't stretch it Montana.
It's a new day, and the gang heads to Lake Piru where they meet some yuppy on a party boat. The guy looks like a cross between Pat Sajack and Zack Morris sporting flashy silver shades and a black zipper jacket that out of season! And since the editors won't give us a name, I'll call him "Preppie".
Preppie tells the gang that they'll be doing some bungee jumping. The reactions are mixed, Montana begins to leak some tears while looking a bit nauseous, Nate's prepped and ready to go as usual, and Neil's worried about whether his neck will be think enough.
As they near the jump which is set atop a 7 1/2 story crane, some of Montana's nausea seems to have spread to the others. But Preppie tries to reassure them that it'll be fun! That they'll each get a dive where they have a chance to win a point for every ring they catch on their way back up! Then the team with the most rings gets time in the Money Machine! He's spouting off like he's on a game show!
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The majority of both teams still don't look eager to jump. Montana's pouring out tears at the point and Beth's doing more whining than she did in "Money Changes Everything and Bed Sores" combined! But Nate ain't taken "No" for an answer and he makes it an order in an jester that even Martin Lawrance would be proud of "Everybody's jumpin!". Still no ones budging, so Nate decides he'll go first since he's the only one brave enough and scoops up acouple rings earning his team 2 points.
Next, Mark takes a dive and it's two for two. Up next is Kefla and judging from his excitement over the milking the snake, firefighting, and haunted hotel mission you'd expect him to take a rain check. But Kefla's come along way and as proof, he earns his team 2 more points.
Next, it's the would-be poet (Jason) who's boasting that he'll scoop up two rings for his team, and ends up getting one. The he covers up his mild defeat by saying how terrifying it was, and that he'll do it again. Acorse you'll do it again to get the other ring that you lost!
Up next is Roni who everyone's cheering for and she ends up empty handed. And judging from her track record, this isn't like Roni at all!
So what are the scores as it stands right now? RW 3 RR 4. So who's up next for the RW? Well Beth & Montana AKA Patti & Selma are still wimping out, so who does that leave? Neil internation man of road trip misery, and the breathy Janet who I'll get to in a moment.
Neil isn't that thrilled about jumping either, but he has no choice because he's practically forced at gun-point to climb atop the stand to save his team from another defeat. Up at 7 stories, Neil freezes up, so his team coaches him to jump. Including the lazy Patti/Beth who's laying back like a slab of meat.
Neil still isn't budging, so the misfits change tactics and start mocking him. Then Neil realizes, "Hey, if I jump and spring my ankle, then I'll have an excuse for them to send my wimpy but back to the old country!" So he takes a deep breath then takes a deep dive and manages to scoop up a ring. Bravo Neil!
Then last but certainly not least we come to Janet who is defiantly a guarantee to freak out! She starts freezing up immediately when she steps on the platform. And things don't get any better when she reaches the top where she's shaking and hyperventilating. This is expected for someone who can't handle highs. But if I have to sit through for 30min watching another "I'm in, no way! Ok, I'm ready, nooooo I ain't jumping!" like Effie pulled in season 2, I'll do something very unpleasant!
Oh great, now we have to wait till next week to see if Janet will take the plunged or chicken
out.
Analysis
First I was thrilled to see Reggie Miller & Kobe Bryant make appearances on the show. The episodes seem more interesting when celebrities stop by.
Now to the show!
The tables seemed to have turned a little this week as far as RR being on top as the super-undefeated team. Come on, it was 6 against 2 and they still couldn't win the match. But provided these are professional basketball players, and the only ones on the RR's team that were physically compatible to compete were Mark, Noah, and Kefla. But still that's 3 against 2 and they should've at least tied it. Ok I've ranted on about that long enought.
My main beef with RR this episode was when they ran out at the end of the game when it was time to pay up. They knew from the beginning that the loosing side would have to pay up and considering that they were the majority and the fact that Reggie & Kobe would have to pay $20 for every shot RR scored, compared to just $10 for every shot they made, it was more than a fair game. I'm still wondering where RR got the $50 from? Most likely MTV gave it to them.
This brings me to another point. These kids aren't really "Roughing it" alone. Not when they have the auto club to give them a jump start when things get rough. MTV spilled the beans on this when they aired a special just after the second season where they showed just how many hand outs the kids received. In addition to the winnie the kids use, there's another whinnie that serves as mission control for the whole season and half a dozen cars filled with camera guys who film the roadies every move. In fact, add one more cast member, throw out the handsome reward, stop and unpack at a local beach house, and presto! You got the Real World!
As for the RW, their conduct this time around was much improved, but they still have some room for improvement. They weren't the whinny point the finger at the other team self-centered misfits they were in the last two episodes. They (with the exception of Nate) seem to have enjoyed the dog washing mission. Although I don't buy their earlier comments that they would rather wash the dogs instead of shoot hoops with the stars. Nate is more forceful with his objection to the mission. He would rather be slamming dunks with Kobe instead of plucking his dogs fleas.
Then when they got their hotel, they let RR come and stay for the night. And like I said in the breakdown it was probably a act of good faith since they gave them a lift when Betsy bit the dust. Speaking of which, I wonder how long are the RW is going to intrude on RR personal space? I only ask this question because the teaser for next weeks episode shows Jason and a few other RW cast riding in another winne. Whether the auto club gave Betsy a jump start or they decided to buy another one is still uncertain.
As for relationship development this episode? What the hell happen? Last week we were sprouting two new...if not relationships, close friends between Jason & Janet/Nate & Kalle. Then this week we didn't hear anything about it. In fact, if you never saw Bed Sores, you wouldn't know that Jason & Janet were supposed to be an item.
This is one thing that pisses me off. When you get these pre-episode teaser where the producers try to drum up some juicy gossip over something that turns out to be squat! I yelled at my tv when we didn't get any follow ups on Shayne & Susie after a one episode flirt. Give me the Mark/Kit Devin/Emily type season long relationships with playful flirting, teases, disagreements, jealousy, broken hearts, and mending feelings. Not this one episode fling-never hear from again crap!
At least this thing between Kefla & Roni has consistency. This is one of the main points that the producers can't seem to get through their skulls. Provided these aren't scripted (and I use that word lightly!) plays where the character must be developed. But if the producers see that a relationship isn't going to go anywhere, then don't bother airing it surrounded by a bunch of hype and getting everyone's hopes up for nothing! Although I'm only judging on one episode. We'll have to wait till next week to see if my arguments were warranted.
As for character development in this episode...there wasn't much as far as finding any background info on the cast. And that has mainly been the trend this season so far. Would it kill anyone to mention something that has happen in their lives since they've been on their perspective shows? So what new information have we gain so far?
1. We know Neil has a PHD
2. Nate's put his relationship with Steph on the back burner.
3. Kefla & Roni hit it off.
4. Kalle cut her hair, Jason died his, and that's about it!
In the coming episodes, I hope we see more of the cast open-up a little. If not, I'll be really
disappointed because this whole show should not only be about competing for the chance to say,
"I'm #1!" but it also should be an opportunity for the viewer to get a look into the cast members
personal lives. Where have they been, where are they going.
Next Week
Road Rules impersonate Elvis again.
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