The Surreal Life is a reality television series that sets a select
group of out-of-the-spotlight celebrities and films them as they live together in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks.
The format of the show resembles that of The Real World and Road Rules, in that the cameras not only record the castmates participation in group activities assigned
to them, but also their interpersonal relationships and conflicts. The first two seasons aired on the The WB, and subsequent seasons have been shown on VH1.
Season 1
The first season (2003) starred Gabrielle Carteris, MC
Hammer, Corey Feldman, Emmanuel Lewis,
Jerri Manthey, Vince Neil, and Brande Roderick. Throughout the two-week production, the cast participated in a Survivor-inspired camping trip, a trip to Las Vegas,
and a drama-creating Corey Feldman, who got married to his girlfriend in the season finale.
Mindy Cohn and Robin Givens were scheduled to be
cast members but dropped out before filming began. [citation needed]
Season 2
The second season (2004) starred Traci Bingham, Trishelle Cannatella, Erik Estrada, Tammy Faye Messner, Ron Jeremy, and Vanilla Ice. Some memorable moments involved Ron Jeremy's topless porn-star pool party, Tammy Faye's book
signing with members of the gay and transgendered community, and a cameo by Gary Coleman.
As the cast works at a local retro diner under Coleman's management, Vanilla Ice sticks a banana down his own pants, hoists
Coleman above the deep-fryer, and insists on having the former child star say his catch
phrase, "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" in public when Coleman's Strokes co-star Todd Bridges shows up. These acts lead the diminutive sitcom star to "fire" Ice and then quit. The season
also introduced "Dirty Laundry", the Surreal Life talk show hosted by Sally Jesse
Raphael. Cannatella was focused on by Raphael, who made several unflattering remarks about her drinking problem, and in
turn, said she was acting like a slut. Other memorable moments included a surprise stop at a nudist colony, from which Tammy Faye
fled in tears, and the production of a children's play.
Danny Bonaduce was scheduled to be a cast member but dropped out before filming
began.[citation needed]
Season 3
The show's third season (2004) starred Charo, Dave
Coulier, Flavor Flav, Jordan Knight,
Brigitte Nielsen, and Ryan Starr. Throughout the
two weeks, Brigitte and Flav began a relationship (which was continued in Strange
Love). Other memorable moments included Date Night, an agonizing recording session for the group to produce an
original song, and Flavor's insistence that he drive the group's RV despite not having a license. Flavor also caused a brief
disconnection with the cast, when it was revealed during Dirty Laundry that he had hit the Surreal Life puppy. After moving to
VH1, each season included opening credits, in which each cast member briefly introduced themselves.
Season 4
Image:Thesurreallife44757.JPG
Cast of season 4
The fourth season (2005) starred Da Brat, Adrianne
Curry, Christopher Knight, Joanie
Laurer, Marcus Schenkenberg, Verne
Troyer, and Jane Wiedlin. Like the season prior, another romance-themed spin-off,
My Fair Brady was developed around the romantic escapades of Curry and Knight.
Among notable moments included conflict between Da Brat and Wiedlin that stemmed from comments made by Da Brat about Wiedlin that
were shown during Dirty Laundry, the strained relationship between Laurer and her now-ex-boyfriend Sean Waltman. More memorable moments included Troyer getting drunk on the first day and urinating in the
weight room and Wiedlin getting upset about the group being asked to brand a cow.
Season 5
Image:TheSurrealLife151.JPG
Cast of season 5
Season five (2005) played up on the show's namesake surreality by having the house decorated with a circus/carnival theme and
the cast was given circus-style taglines during the introduction: Caprice Bourret ("See
Britain's Most Beautiful Woman"), José Canseco
("Face the Fantastic Strongman"), Sandy "Pepa" Denton ("Meet the Mystical Musician"),
Janice Dickinson ("Behold the World's First Supermodel"), Carey Hart ("Witness the Death-Defying Daredevil"), Omarosa
Manigault ("Fear the Ultimate Reality Villain") and Bronson Pinchot ("Marvel at
the Man from Mypos"). This was enhanced with the introduction of a
three-legged dog named Lucky. An ongoing feud between Manigault and Dickinson was a key focus point in the season, which ended
with Dickinson leaving the house during the final dinner.
Season 6
Image:SurrealSeason6.jpg
Cast of season 6
Season six (2006) starred Alexis Arquette, C. C.
DeVille, Steve Harwell, Sherman Hemsley,
Maven Huffman, Tawny Kitaen and Andrea Lowell. Florence Henderson ("Dr. Flo") assisted the
cast as the house therapist. Throughout the two weeks, the cast shot a music video, produced and broadcast a live news program,
booked and hosted their own talk show pilots, and participated in a "battle of the bands" competition. During the talk show
episode, Marla Gibbs makes a cameo appearance with Hemsley, and the two recreate their
retorts and putdowns as Florence and George from The Jeffersons. Arquette brings
the transgendered community increased visibility and awareness with her appearance in the
series. And, struggling with memory and enunciation problems that grow worse, Kitaen is inexplicably left crawling on the floor
of a closet by the final episode.
Spin-offs
The first spin-off from The Surreal Life was Strange Love, starring Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen, both of Season 3.
It premiered in January, 2005 and ran for 11 episodes. The second spin-off, My Fair Brady, starred Adrianne Curry and
Christopher Knight. It ran its first season in 2005, concluding with an engagement. The second season debuted in spring, 2006,
concluding with a wedding. Strange Love itself has a continuation in the third spin-off, Flavor of Love. Flavor of Love, once again starring Flavor Flav with a guest appearance by
Brigitte Nielsen, ran in early 2006. The second season premiered in August 2006. Flavor of Love produced its own spin-offs
- I Love New York, and I Love
New York 2 featuring Flavor of Love reject Tiffany Pollard, and
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, hosted by Mo'Nique and featuring several Flavor of Love rejects learning proper etiquette. The fourth spin-off is
The Surreal Life: Fame Games (see below for info/cast).
List of Spin-offs
- Strange Love (2005)
- Flavor of Love (2006-present)
- I Love New York (2007-present)
- Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School (2007-present)
- My Fair Brady (2005-present)
- The Surreal Life: Fame Games (2007)
The Surreal Life: Fame Games
-
The Spin-off premiered January 7, 2007. It brought back ten
housemates to compete in a ten-week elimination competition that takes place in Las Vegas with the winner of the series taking
home $100,000. Robin Leach is the host. The
contestants also compete in an elimination round that sees the loser sent to "the B-List", which consists of living in less
luxurious accommodations than the rest of the housemates, known as "the A-List". Highlights of "The Surreal Life: Fame Games"
include Chyna Doll and Traci Bingham's raucous night of drinking booze from a rubber chicken; a phone bank to see who could get
famous people to call back; Verne Troyner's words of inspiration to Traci; and Vanilla Ice's systematic destruction of lights and
sets during one of the final competition rounds.
Cast:
-
- Traci Bingham [Team B-List] [Winner]
- Ron Jeremy [Team A-List] [Runner-Up]
- Pepa [Team A-List] [8th Eliminated]
- Vanilla Ice [Team A-List][7th Eliminated]
- Verne Troyer (replaces Jordan Knight) [Team B-List] [6th Eliminated]
- Andrea Lowell [Team A-List] [5th Eliminated]
- Joanie Laurer [Team B-List] [4th Eliminated]
- Emmanuel Lewis [Team B-List] [3rd Eliminated]
- C. C. DeVille [Team A-List] [2nd Eliminated
- Brigitte Nielsen [Team B-List] [1st Eliminated]
- Jordan Knight [left The Show In The First Episode]
External links
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