THOSE Are the Real Housewives of New Jersey???

You seem bitter and harsh. These women were a riot. No one watches these shows to get parenting advice or gain wisdom. We love the comedic personalities, the scandals and the attitudes. It's comedy for pete's sake! Why is there always some nagging and bitter housewife who has to complain at a new group of housewives!

I live in Franklin Lakes and I don't know (let alone, have seen) these "ladies." They must spend all their time shopping or planning weddings. As in all towns in all states....these characters exist. Have you seen some doctors' wives around this county, hailing from such towns as Ridgewood, Saddle River, Ho Ho Kus. No difference! Hailing from Brooklyn is not much different than hailing from Patterson. Let's not get too catty about all this. For every "housewife of nj" in Franklin Lakes there are 100 of us who cannot identify with them. We raise our families in quiet distinction and have accomplished much and have friends here and in other towns. This is where we live not who we are.

...as a chorus member is to the diva.
...as an innocent bystander is to a car wreck.
...as a vision exam is to a colonoscopy.

Dear New Jersey housewife,

Do you really think the only reason why people go to the gym is because they're lonely?

Some people want to keep the weight off and live longer.

Yours,

Jim G

...as home-baked apple pie is to Sara Lee.
...as reading to your child before bedtime is to working late at the office.
...as doing the Sunday crossword with a pen on the backyard patio is to online Soduku.
...as the traffic report on the radio is to a podcast.
...as a Webster's collegiate dictionary is to dictionary.com.
...as heaven is to hell.

But that's honestly what's funny about all the "Housewives" shows. The original one, Orange County, was just a showcase of terrible parenting and overentitled children. I agree with Jackie Kennedy Onassis when she said "You know, if you fail at being a mother, there really isn't anything else, is there?" If you fail at being a mom, you fail, period, and these women don't realize what serious failures they are. No matter how many cars, clothes, houses, etc. someone has, if your children don't launch with a sense of responsibility, a work ethic, and some pride in their autonomy, you have failed.

I enjoy watching these shows for two reasons: A) If after watching these you don't conclude that this kind of wealth constitutes a lower level of existence, and that these women aren't due for a few more reincarnations before they work out their karma, reexamine your priorities and B) it's kind of a great primer on the kind of wife, mother, friend, and community member you DON'T want to be. There's something so ridiculously exaggerated about these women, it's impossible to resist. Bravo knows this, and they are taking that knowledge all the way to the bank.

The funniest part to me is how each show bills the women in a particular city as being part of the "social elite" when the reality is, the social elite won't touch these women with a 20-foot pole with surgical gloves on.

Unfortunately, I know little about NJ, but this type of TV adds to the negative stereotype that we Midwesterners have of (I'm sure) a beautiful state.

As a born and raised NJ Italian who has always been proud of my heritage and was raised by old fashioned Italian parents who made sure we went college as well as instilling "street smarts" into our upbringing, I can only say that I am truly insulted by the image this show portrays. The shear shallowness of these women's values makes me long for the days when the true wealth of a person was measured by how many people could fit at your dining room table for Sunday dinner, not by how many cars or houses you owned or even worse, by what bra size you are.

I am sure we are all intelligent enough to understand that although it is a reality show, a lot of the time, these women are told to project themselves more arrogant, or snobby than they really are. I mean come on, I am a working mom who knows many housewives and we do not live like this. It is only a show and this show is out to make numbers people, not teach us about raising kids, or what it is like to be a millionaire. I love watching these shows because it is one of those shows on TV that is late at night and it makes me laugh. Do I want to be like them, NO. Do I think they are a true example of what a housewife is? No. But who are we to judge how they lead their lives. I mean it is all fun! So if we are going to literally take this show serious and judge everything they do, than one should find another show to watch.
I live in California, I get embarrassed when I watch the Real housewives of OC. They are not who we are. They project them as having fake boobs, talking about money and most of all acting silly. But I know and understand it is a show and some people are just like them and others live a completely different life.

I was born and raised in an affluent town in Bergen County NJ and I attended a prestigious private school there. I have never met, seen, or been exposed to such people Bravo was able to get for their reality series. It is embarrassing and not a real portrayal of most of the affluent towns in northern NJ.

These women are white trash that were lucky enough to come into money. Not one of them has any class other than the one from Las Vegas who seems like she does not fit in except for her overdone make up and flashy hair.

I have been a fan of the all of the housewives reality series because it is funny how cheesy they all are, but this one belongs on another network because it reached a new low.

I know it's not nearly as exciting to put some housewives on that are the "norm" for NJ, it's far more hilarious for us to laugh at the disgusting stereotyped Italian white trash that they chose to put on the TV.

I am married to an Italian man who grew up in Manhattan and it is this stereotype portrayed in this show that made my husband say he would never live in NJ ever. The only way I could convince him to leave Manhattan was to move to Westchester, which I have to admit has many ex-NJ and ex-LI people who are a little more classy.

Instead of spending all their money on themselves, maybe they could put some of it away to send their children to college so they can get educated. I will try to continue to watch this repulsive version of the housewives series for a few laughs at all of the plastic.

Having been on three reality TV shows myself (this is what happens when you work in media and live in NY, your friends sucker you into it as a favour) - this is just entertainment, people! Lighten up! Have you not noticed that it replaces prime time programming where you used to watch sitcoms? The operative part of that word being com for comedy. The producers kept the title because it was catchy and a play off Desperate Housewives, and several franchises later, is recognized. C'est tout! There are lots of things to get upset about - war, famine, global warming, pandemics, how about the oppression of women in Afghanistan? But the oppression of women in "reality" TV? Really. You're supposed to be Businessweek.

I've enjoyed watching the Real Housewives series because I watch it for entertainment. I don't watch it to compare my life to theirs and make me bitter and annoyed. I wake up everyday, take care of my family, go to a tough job, volunteer, clean my home, and finally at 10 p.m. on Tuesday nights I settle in and enjoy a good laugh. My advice- don't lose sleep over this show. If you don't like it, don't watch it. Don't judge people who watch it. Stick to PBS.

These series are not about "housewives", Anne, and the producers are the first to admit this. The creators have said in the past that the term "housewives" is just used for fun, and that these shows are really just about revealing the lives of affluent women as well as exploiting the average American's obsession with their alien lifestyles.

I CAN NOT WATCH ANY OF THESE HW SHOWS. THEY ARE UNREAL TO ME. WHY CAN'T THEY HAVE A SHOW ON HOW REAL HOUSEWIVES, IN THE REAL WORLD, LIVE? LIKE HOW TO MAKE THE MORGAGE PAYMENT, OR HAVE TO DEAL WITH A SICK CHILD, OR AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP, DRUGS, TEEN PREG. OR BEING LAID OFF AND STILL HAVE TO FEED YOUR FAMILY. SOOOOOOOOO BRAVO, THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US HOW REAL HOUSEWIVES SHOULD LIVE.

One look at the interior of the "Interior Decorator', with all the crap hanging off of the walls, and I was done. I knew what was coming, and it was not good. I'm embarrassed by the show, and I think it only reenforces the base mentality of the state. You say this is entertainment from the state which bought you the McGreeveys? Now that would be an entertaining show.

Embarrasing and riduclous is more like it, and for this we pay some of the highest taxes in the nation?

I'd love to see a real reality show about housewives and mothers from LA, New York, New Jersey or anywhere else across the country that portrays the real wife and mother. I'm talking about the size 12-28 (average woman) with worries about how they're going to make the next mortgage payment, or trying to search for the daughter's prom dress for $100 or less. You know the real life issues the average person goes through. I admit I like these shows because I think they're funny; watching these high-class uppity's spending money like there's no tomorrow and justifying it when they have some foundation they work with once in a blue moon to raise money. It's funny how when you have money your morals and manners seem to go right out the window. Let me see....how many girlfriends recently have I had dinner with that dumped over the table, wore high heels out into the backyard with a bathing suit on, or bought my kid a new car to build their self esteem?....Hummm...NONE!

As a teacher, it scares me to think what these shows are teaching people. Most people are not sophisticated enough to laugh at these shows. I can walk away and find things more uplifting for my entertainment, but I still have to live in this new "thunder dome" cultural environment.

All 3 of the series, from the CA housewives, to NY, to NJ, have too much in common to be authentic. The women in all 3 series have been styled very similarly, from hair and makeup to wardrobe. They may be housewives, but I bet if you knock on every door in Franklin Lakes, you won't find them. They may be housewives per se, but they most likely have professional modeling and/or acting backgrounds in their pasts and belonged to SAG before auditioning for these series.

Chaz is correct. The Sopranos were bad enough for Italians. Now we have these bimbos & their goomba routine. Gimme a break.

Of course it’s comedy, I just think it’s bad comedy. After a night shift copy editing those serious BusinessWeek stories, I sometimes need to relax with a good laugh, usually with Letterman or Leno. I was intrigued by the RHofNJ debut not only because of the Times review but also because of an excellent story written last month by my colleagues Ron Grover and Tom Lowry: “How Network TV Will Reinvent Itself.” They wrote: “It's fair to say that five years from now network television will look very different. The 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. prime-time period likely will be shorter, programs will be tailored to audiences, and increasingly advertisers will show up in the programs instead of just the commercials. . . . TV networks likely will start to look more like cable channels that have built audiences based on shows that cater to specific groups, such as Bravo's women-centric offerings and the testosterone-laced Spike TV programming, says a former network executive.”

The debut of RHofNJ seemed a good opportunity to glimpse the future of network TV. One episode was enough. For laughs, I’ll watch the real comics. My favorite hour of comedy: NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!--on radio.

I think readers need to get off the couch and into the streets. There's another posting on obesity on this parenting blog. My advice to you moms [assuming you have the energy after juggling work and parenting] is to take the kids for a stroll and stop feeding Bravo's ratings. I own a TV but I only plug it in every four years: for the Olympics. If you don't like what's on the tube, turn it off. Or better yet, store it away like I do in a closet.

I am from Massachusetts and have never been exposed to people like those who are depicted in this particular housewives franchise. I have a hard time believing these people really, really exist in New Jersey or anywhere. Maybe this is comedy that I don't "get". I made it through half of last night's show and then said... that's it. It's over. I turned the channel and will probably never turn it back. These women are pigs, no nice way to say it. They are pigs. Graceless, rude, ignorant pigs.

Once again another article on how unreal "reality" television is. Of course there really isn't anything in the writer's assertions that one can disagree with, but that's not the point. Of course these women aren't representative of anything "real," but who cares? I really don't want to watch a show about my sister, rushing to pick the kids up from afterschool programs and then racing to meet her husband at Costco. The truth is that American middle class life is terribly dull, always has been, even when times were "good." One has to reach down to the bottom of that class, or below, or to it's upper strata to find the kind of histrionic freakdom that actually can absorb and entertain.

Until now the "Real Housewives" franchise has not really provided this; in the earlier shows the casts were yes, flashy, frivolous, spoiled beasts but generally speaking, boring (ditto for that Kardashian and even the earlier Gotti show) But this Jersey group....!! ...THESE GALS are SOMETHING else !! I watch this show with suspended breath, jaw-in-lap, I rewind and replay,I am riveted, yet queasy...What is going on here? The bling, the baubles, the mawwwble, the granite, the banquet hawwll (the most Luxurious in North Joisey),the homes (thoiteen thousand sq.feet perhaps?), the highlights, the manicures, the matching Ferragamo outfits on the seven year olds...The BOOBS!!

The producers have finally hit it. They have captured New Millenial Nouveau Riche American Suburban Rococco. I, for one, feel privileged to catch a glimpse of it. It is not long for this world, all economic indicators considered. It is the last gasp of the speculative wealth mirage of the past three decades...and as far as "reality" viewing goes, it is as real as anything else in that warped, mortgaged, period of orgiastic gluttony.

loving this show already, but i just want to say i don't love or hate danielle (i just want her to rethink how she draws her eyebrows, because its driving me crazy, they are way way way too severely drawn upward at such an awkward angle) Love dina, wow she is so beautiful. Love albie he is just way too cute, too. Oh yeah and teresa is so cute, love her happy personality!! Big awesome italian families is refreshing to watch.

Just caught about 40 mins and am horrified—yes yes it is entertainment, but why? Trash, crass and embarrassing!

This show is amazingly surreal, but the stereotype of the Soprano's like 'stars" is disturbing ! I have family that lives in Franklin Lakes and this show does not portray the real Franklin Lakes. Why do they all have New York accents? I was born in NJ I don't have that accent and I am not Italian either. For all the money these women have, they are classless with flaunting $100k in cash and their sex talk. eew ! But I love a good train wreck celebrity style show so I'll probaby watch anyway !

I actually met Teresa today much to my surprise. She actually seemed like a normal mom helping her daughter prepare for the dress rehearsal for dance school. Of course, I had no clue who she was until it was pointed out to me later. As for the show, it is embarrassing. Just another reason for me to avoid telling people I'm from NJ.

I was born in raised in NJ (right outside Manhattan) and I NEVER ran into any women like the ones portrayed in this show. Please take it for what it's worth - entertainment. These women do NOT represent the REAL housewives of NJ.

YES! This show is all the bad things, all the funny things, all the outrageous things, all the scandalous things that everyone sez it is, and as I watch in slack-jawed wonder, I am as entertained as I could hope to be at someone else's foibles. It wasn't funny when my kid was sick, had problems in school, was invited out of The Band or not to return to Spanish class, had a potty mouth, got in trouble for fighting, ditched the day-camp bus from the after-school program, or any of the other things our well-funded sisters are enduring too. It's just that I gotta laugh about the misery these same problems cause other parents, knowing in the end, the kids will, for the most part, turn out just fine. And the adults? They're gonna be fine, too, scandals and all, cuz this program must pay pretty well to have these people persuade us they're airing their dirty laundry and mental deficiencies and really suffering for it - The joke's on us! Haha!

As a Real Housewife living in the heart of Sopranoland, I have learned to laugh at all the jokes about NJ. While I am trying to lighten up today, my blood boiled and I went crazy after watching Episodes 1 and 2 last night!

I am not Italian; however my hair is big and I have not ruled out botox or restalyn yet! I am all for shock-factor entertainment, especially comedy.... but what made me crazy after watching last night was that ONLY ONE of the five NJ women has a business and a charity. I haven't watched much of RH of NY, Orange Co, or Atlanta; however, I believe that a majority of these women have careers, businesses, and charities that occupy their time in between parenting, beauty treatments, and plastic surgery appointments! I understand that Bravo couldn't avoid the class-less Soprano stereotype when they produced this NJ series... BUT COME ON!! There are plenty of very entertaining RH in NJ with big hair, fake boobs, and hair extensions that are well-educated and have children, businesses, or careers and dedicate time to fund-raising and charities like the women from NY, GA, and CA!! I will continue to try and "lighten up"... but will probably torture my Real Housewive of NJ ego by continuing to watch the bimbos from Franklin Lakes!!!

I live with my family in Franklin Lakes and this is one of the best towns in the New York area to raise a family. The show has handpicked some women who would be interesting to watch, but they are certainly not representative of the people you will meet here. Many celebrities live in town, and the housing choices are fantastic with low taxes for this region compared to many towns.

Big hair, big houses, and now a big spread in The New York Times "Home" section today. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/garden/28housewives.html?hpw

Care to comment anyone?

I too grew up in a neighboring town to Franklin Lakes without the "accent." And while I understand people being upset by the way that NJ is being portrayed, it's not the town being portrayed, its THOSE particular housewives being portrayed. I now live outside of Atlanta, not far from where the RH of A was filmed. The way Atlanta was portrayed was not accurate, either. You would think that the affluent suburbs of Atlanta were primarily African-American, and there was an occasional white woman. My point is that this is supposed to be a caricature . And those always point out what we don't want to see.

Well, clearly, the ghetto phenomeon is not confined to a given level of disposable income. More’s the pity.

A ghetto in NJ comprising humans of means---however questionable the source--manifesting values so anachronistic as to make the mind reel.

Given intelligence is both factory-loaded and promulgated by early, nuclear environment…..the former makes it useless, if not actually be-atchy to impugn a dearth of in anyone. But having said that, and that an interesting person is an interestED person……what are these people interested in beyond the truncated mundane realities of their ghettoized milieu? Politics? The arts? Celebrating the nuclear passion to learn? How else do they think their kids will ever be gifted with any of those?

You want yr kids to own the privilege, the joy of learning form birth to death? Manifest that! Model that!

At least, be curious enough to know that Wilhemina was one of the first Supermodels back in the day so you can respond to the healthy curiosity of your cub re this as you drive her to that agendy to be “a star.” GOOGLE IT.

How is it possible that not one of these men can formulate a cogent sentence?

While the women all manifest palpable and healthy caring and warmth for their kids, i.e, Dena’s unabashed & even adorable fears re her daughter’s first trip abroad…..might this woman also be moved to explore why she thinks the man she ended up marrying via political strategies is such a “catch?” Is he gorgeous? Charming? Smart? Erudite? Sexy? PRESENT?

Single criterion for good catch for the males+ dead presidents.

A man who counters a complaint from his wife re not being able to put up with something…..with, ”Lots of “girls” would!” SOME CATCH.

But it was only when, as a shunned, divorced female, she hooked up with this man and started driving his Ferrari, did she earn some “respect” within the ghetto, yes? This is something to aspire to?

I accept with anguish that right-wing zealots who ooze toxins via “My country right or wrong” actually believe blind loyalty is not pernicious…but I had no clue this mindset existed among humans with options! A woman approaching 40 whose husband thinks buying his stepdaughter a vehicle will enhance her self esteem? And does this on his own? A woman approaching 40 who actually stresses over her “family’s” collective take on anything to evolve her own?

It boggles, it does.

First of all this show is not real. So stop believing it. The people on the show are making $$$$ hand over fist because of viewers like yourself. Watch the news. At least its half real.

Re the above, I beg to differ. Regardless of intervals wherein writers try to edit or enhance, the individuals emerge with clarity and consistency. As the episodes unfold.

This is, at least in potential, a virtual goldmine meant to inspire us to explore our culture and ourselves, and how, and in what ways, often unwittingly, we may be held hostage by impoverished premises, i.e,, what comprises The Good Life.....right through what marks a healthy human relationship?

There is only so much a being who will never successfully audition for The Actors' Studio can feign or obfuscate over weeks. These people are hardly unfathomable as actual individuals within a milieu I believe we are not meant to dissociate ourselves from.

Why all the hostility and reverse snobbery re: the comments?

Hi, Watcher,

I see neither. Can you elaborate, Pls?

I see individuals posting their observations and thoughts generated by those. I think it's all good.

I would also like to make addendum to my last post: there are events obviously scripted by producers, i.e, the dance class, etc.

My take is these are indigenous to the genre but never preclude individuals emerging as they actually are.

Real, clearly the responsibility to deconstruct the shows title is the viewers to do with what they will. As for these vacuous bits of spent jet trash, I do indeed find it HILARIOUS when they find one of their own to gang up on for having a notorious past... The back seats and empty peppermint schnapps bottles these "gals" must have behind them must truly be worthy of their "Roman" heritage! I'm from exit 109 by the way, so please Housewives, stay where you are, we really do hate when you drift down here... God Bless!

I love the show. I can't wait to see the next episode this Tuesday. I am an African American woman, living in Washington, DC and I do not think that this is symbolic of all Italian American women living in North, NJ or anywhere else for that matter. All ethnic groups have been stero-typed. Unfortunately, all individuals have the right to be ignorant enough to believe any stero-type that he/she chooses.

Mark Fahey:

Bingo re the finger pointing...given the rumor that Caroline & Gina's father in law was found classic Goodfellas style in the trunk of a car, morte.

As I mentioned to one of the principals here, sometimes, onyx, marble and grenite filled interiors are sometimes found in glass houses.

Pure Socrates: "An unexamined life...."

And yet, we must allow some classic issues prevading in our culture to emerge for exmaination: fostering individual health in children via paradigms set for them; that far too many females are estranged form their perfectly engineered, FACTORY-LOADED capacity for intense sexual ecstacy as to be able to barter it quid pro quo for ANYTHING... as if anything at all is less precious than that.

So we too must be vigilant about facile finger-pointing.

hey, Nicole,

Reponse to the above if I may: issue is, I think, ignorance/ bigotry are not CHOSEN. They evolve from figuratively impoverished early models and messages and a dearth of encouragement to probe, to learn, to explore, to make the heady Journey Within toward enlightmment, perspective and truth.

I have seen this poverty emerge from highly technically educated people with means.

It is too often an unwitting replicant phenomenon and it seriously erodes ALL OF US.

(Sigh smilie.)

I am submitting this at 9:23 PM, Tues.

At the risk of making a total fool of myself, based on my broad (pun intended) take on the series’ collective, and via the promos we have seen, I am g posting my responses to the coda
episode before it airs. Heh Heh

This being my WUS version of sky diving, tho if that makes 41 feel alive & young at 85, God Bless & Keep Him.

While I would totally award the Emmy to the masterful & bemused choroeographer of the “O NO U DI IN, BE ATCH; THE BLING don count, you got UGATZ”….Crips & Bloods stuff…..I ain callin no technical foul or even goal tending, cause I still submit the partly orchestrated icing was in harmony with & a reflection of the reality of the individual cakes.

Can’t wait for the chaos & cacophony to begin!

This show is a total joke and a complete insult to the rest of the residents of New Jersey. But...if trash makes ratings then I guess that's why this show is popular.

Well, I LOVED IT. Best diversion from underGround nuclear facilities and bloddly revolutions gestating, and all that our Obamababe has on his plate…. evah.

PC and patinated among the hords of Zoloft and related agents addicts=NECROSIS. Have a nice day=Hell.

Dense subtext raising important issues: anger is defense against pain, goal is to try to express the pain without the defense; damaged, starving adults seeking the approbation of their peers at any cost to ammeliorate that which can not be repaired externally; adorable in ways, and yes, ‘juicy” Joe….married to someone who still feels when not in flames she must go along with his bootycall agendas, now, far more frequent owing to the new Buh-bbies from NASA, They all chortle happily & celebrate she is now more desirable to him and isn’t that enough? Aren’t feemale “goodies” things women give to men???? …..all kindsa stuff.

Including Caroline as well meaning and at times, candid & endearing, self appointed matriarchical arbiter of truth, Justice and Referee of the Court (however MOOT).. Time for Obama to rethink Judge Sotomayor’s nomination, yes?

And, DUH….Al’s BEST FRIEND izzzzz….. Bernie Kerik!!!!!!??? The ultimate confirmation of DUBIOUS! It’s OPERATIC UNALLOYED!

But bottom line=it, the denouement, for me, was FAB U lous. Edward Albee…..however not alive, eat yr heart out!

Just Shoot Me. I did something unforgivable: Brilliant, renegade playwright, Edward Albee, whose pithy depictions of unpatinated emotional reality often threatened many and turned others---those in flight from same---off.....is ALIVE AND, HOPEFULLY WELL!

Mea Maxima Culpa. Maybe I do not deserve to see the director's cut of the NJ Housewives gang bangers Thurs. nite! OMG. Kidding. Wild horses could not stop me.

I grew up in NJ, and do not remember anything like them. I take issue with their constant sterotype of Italians. I am glad this show is coming to an end. I think Danielle is brave to come onto the show. She is a troublemaker.

I was working and so recorded Thurs nite’s shrewedly compartmentalized post finale episode which I will soon screen. But….

…not sure if we can post links to other sites; found this hyperlink to The NY Post on Huffington:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/18/danielle-staub-sex-tape-r_n_217703.html

Immediate responses:

1) Character (read; emotional health) is destiny.

2) Birds of a feather flock and form co-dependencies together. [sic]

3) When we lay down with or get vertical with or any angle or combinations thereof in between…..with dogs, we sometimes get fleas…. and ticks, and also tics. Logical extension is videos on line titled, Chick With Ticks and Tics.
(Notice how I nimbly circumvented where U thought I was going and U did anyhow. Lol)

4) When relegated to doing squats obsessively to hoist yr petard, be sure the result does not lead to yr getting hoisted by it.

5) We have all the other bases covered, now, we need a Rehab Center for HMA (not the same as HMO): High Maintenance Anonymous.. The entity or phenomenon don matter, it is what something is being used in service of that does.

Do not tell me “Retail therapy” & profligacy are not drugs. A small, enchanting, precocious child, already perfectly emulating & emanating diva sensibility, meticulously, lovingly, laying out 49 pairs of miniscule low risers (she will grow out of in 17 minutes anyhow) on her new bed, is a substance abuser in situ. No, she is already strung out. And see what they go for on eBay where I get mine.

Same phenomena depicted in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street. Only, the accoutrements more sophisticated and Sotheby’s Centered is all…..a la mode in a related milieu at a certain juncture, is all. Forget, The Sharper Image is now a brand trying to reclaim former cache… available in Staples, right next to the glue sticks. and in B B & B. adjacent to the shower curtain hooks. Ah, the illusion of halcyon!

One assumes the ill gotten everything of the Madoff’s also reflects a more educated eye: delicate Luis Quinze originals with cabriole legs or maybe Hepplewhite; early 19th century Persian carpets a la the Doris Duke Collection & with good KPSIs, D flawless, Patek….the REQUISITE STUFF.

But…..in the nuclear reality….SAME DEAL

Jill, what are you on? And are you willing to share with the rest of the class? I cannot understand what you are saying. It's not the vocabulary. It's the way you string a sentence together. Much more frightening than anything I've ever seen on television.

Hi, Michelle,

Given the reality of world events, much of which is depicted on TV, U allude to TV…..that my “voice” terrifies you saddens & pains me. Think FDR re “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Tho, lest I compound that fear, I should say right now, I ain gonna tip any tables…lol….notice I communicated the pain, & NOT anger defending against it.

Which now leads me to….get your SKATEBOARD, this works back to The Series…. much smarter than I thought Danielle (mostly all of them mostly are as it turns out, I WAS THRILLED)…..finally articulated her PAIN in a brief and precious moment in Thurs nite’s episode. “I was HURT’, she says with appropriate affect. My heart leapt and I smiled.

If we focus, we observe more as time passes and re the above, now, for me, this level of health , clarity and intelligence changes a lot (tho not everything) & precludes more cheap cavalier shots…..except, seeing how the values lived within the small community depicted, pervade in this culture in nearly every milieu…..and my belief is this is what we need to see and explore.

Language is a living breathing, metamorphosing dynamic entity. Witness the impact hip hop has had on everything in the last 20 years. Technology.

My “voice’ when I am being true to it as it has evolved, given to adhere to what you may see as less terrifying, again, is hardly challenging---this voice is my most authentic one. And, at least in potential, my most useful one. It is how I see, think, speak when not hobbled by arcane protractions. How did we get from Chaucer to Shakespeare to ee cummings, Edward Albee, Alicia Keys NWA & Jay-Z? Not to mention Christina.

My propensity is to free associations I submit are viable within the subject at hand--- seeing RELATIONSH8IPS BETWEEN AND AMONG PHENOMENA NOT PERHAPS CONVENTIONALLY RELATED---always meant to augment content and to illuminate and bring more & more accurate data and perspective for pondering.

In good writing, there is music….too often precludced by shoulds & oughts. In mine, cadence, melodic progression, rhythm, riffing, neo text messaging & humor, sometimes sardonic. Sometimes, it ncludes taking liberties with spelling…..making verbs of nouns, etc. Neither a cardinal sin, nor the product of a crack pipe,…..nor A SPECIAL EFFECT FROM The Matrix franchise or the Nitemare on Elm street one.

Michelle, Picasso….aloso Braque, both of whom evolved cubism---that that started with Matisse…..were both highly skilled conventional artists & draftsmen. Ditto many other s who moved art along, i.e, Monet, et. al. I guess cubism…..or any art not comporting with “realism”….init9laly scares the horses and the orthodoxy. So did those who moved medicine along thru history…. Pasteur, Lister, Semmelweis…..LaMaze. For openers.

My voice I guess, has no conforting and convenient label or category. tho categories creep me out in most things and hold people hostage. Including those seeing NJ Housevives thru that narrow lens. The series subject of this thread is not really about NJ or Italians. Nor was David Chase’s The Sopranos. That was a singular neo Shakespearean masterpiece. I believe the NY Times even said that a gazillion years ago.

True, most arenas have strict style codes. Medical journalspeak, the Wahsington Post, the NAFTA, contracts, etc. Not difficult to comport with those……but I wonder what the subtle pricetage might be? Then there are the columnists, aha. This raises the issue that form ought asugment & reflect function and not the other way around.

Michaelle, you are under no obligation to either read something or understand it, forget lke it. But always know, just because something may confuse you doesn’t mean it is an aberration or the product of any imbibed substance. It just may be a scoch unconventional, yes?

Relax, right click on the shoulds & oughts, send that folder to the recycle bin; play some Alicia, some Gnarles…..open yrself viscerally and maybe give it another try. You may even come to get & enjoy it and profit from it!

Or not. (Sigh smile.)

Arrival of new observation pre first reunions episode:

The humans within the little enclave depicted in this series within this frachise—also, I then realized, many other second and third generation Italian-Americans---WILL ONLY BUY, are only drawn to…. Brand new things.

This phenomenon I now see, was illustrated to the extreme by Teresa, who said, during the building of her “dream house, “Living in someone else’s house….SKEEVES ME OUT.”

Initial cheap shot response within Jill: Sooo…..Would that mean, if someone signed over the deed to you for Falling Water in PA (perhaps the pinnacle of Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius re private residences)……you would not only pass but then also vomit? Cause it is “someone else’s house.”

Not one of the people will ever be moved to either, say re sofas…..an infinite adventure to find and come to own a hand carved, Rosewood parlor suite by Belter in the 19th C……or, from another decade from same century, Renaissance Revival, one made by John Jelliff. Or items from any previous century or even minute! Tho what these go for at auction is prohibitive and few can afford to even entertain the hope, forget indulge the yearning.

Another example, way beyond my means….I often visit an esoteric site of a small company whose sole mandate is to get & perfectly restored, magnificent vintage stoves from the 30s and 40s. No Miele cook top will ever come close.

What fosters the antiquarian sensibility and what blocks it?

I think I now understand: some immigrant groups arriving here with nothing, were reduced to hand me downs and outdated everything. The option to buy unused and new did not exist. Vintage…or anything not new, then became associated with that poverty and shame.

But I also observe this not to be true in the progeny…whichever generation-- of other immigrant groups whose offspring clearly are moved to the antiquarian mindset and vision. Why? I do not know,
Relatedly, the association of absolute fastidiousness….to the extent it may even become an obsession just short of actual OCD…..as the only way to be. Not that I am advocating the opposite, I am just observing ongoing and seeing in more accurate detail & perspective.

Also a part of these tenets, the condition of this or that, e.g., Old Money sometimes cares little about threadbare & is even marked by it, be it the lapels on a fine old suit or the pile on an exceptional antique Persian rug.

I find this series mesmerizing, captivating, delicious…..food for exploration of infinite kinds…U bet, also diverting-ensorcelling bigtime…..but never for me, even once…. comedy.

How do often very narrow, protracted, and, I think, unexamined socio-cultural models INADVERTANTLY, in, I now believe, every subculture, compromise the organic development of individuals, unique vision, the sound of individual “drummers” and seeing increasing options, if & when they do?

How can one be true to one’s self when the emerging that self over life, is not an option or, that it may not be one is not even observed? (Rhetorical totally)

Whoever said that normal housewives are a size 12-26 is wrong! I am a size 6 and a housewife! You don't have to be fat to be a mother! That comment is a little insulting!

AngelFlight,

You are wrong when you said that the average housewife is sized 12-28! That is insulting! I am a size 6 and a mother! You don't have to let yourself go just because you have children! A lot of my gf's are similarly sized like me!

Dina said one thing right when she said, "If you don't dress and act like your husband's girlfriend, your husband will go out and get a girlfriend.."

So true!

Re the above addressing "average" size, I believe, as usual, we must see all this in perspective.

While I have only seen two chapters in this franchise, it is obvious that the usual standards pervade among the producers: casts of attractive, telegenic principals. Duh.

Given the average disposable income of these people, that they have the means to maintain and augment attractive is a given. The senior couple has a full service gym in their basement. Know how much ONE commercial grade Cybex machine costs?

I am size two and never think of myself as part of any given demographic, nor do I aspire to any given au courant image of the moment. All that is capricious and so, for me, Ca-Put [sic}

Also, what is the foundation of our affiliations & loyalties, love & respect for others?

Nothing, I would hope, that can be seen on some bar graph, JPEG image or found in any retail outlet or be had via dead presidents.

Again, just how many garments and accessories does someone secure in her own identity & style need?

At least, when ACTUAL locusts descend.....it is to consume actual food required for survival.

Now, if I may, some pithy, relevant quotes from the late Coco Chanel:

Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.

Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future.

Elegance is refusal.

Fashion fades, only style remains the same.

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.

Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.

It really is kind of funny. They had a dinner party surrounded by the "BOOK." After watching a couple of the shows it's plain to see that none of these wives have read a book. Poor Teresa has trouble with the English language. She seems to have trouble forming complete sentences.

Hi, Anne,

Yes, clearly Teresa is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. but we can not change what is factory loaded to the degree it it.....and that she means well, is not all jammed up with bitterness and, in her own way manifests integrity & sincerity, and I feel those kinda mitigate the dearth of intellectual sharpness.

I know far too many people, educated, "sophisticated," whose interest in others is entirely disingenuous & political. They are mainly software. I would far sooner have this woman around than one of the latter ilk.

On the other hand, their lexicons re what the real adventure and privilege of life are about, who individuals are and now we evolve, options, The Journey....including within those here who are more cognitively endowed is shockingly, & it seems, unwittingly limited

Even in the if U don look like and act like a girlfriend, yr husband will go find one. Some of these women see their husbands ONCE A WEEK! what do these women sacrifice to please?

At least Dina now feels entitled to divest herself of those obscene, matronly boobies from NASA she despises and which her almost never present husband must have gleaned from some cartoon during his tween years, OMG.

Again ghetto mentality has little to do with disposable income we discover. I think it pervades within most milieus…including among the ivy league educated who have season tickets to the Met and read town & Country.

Now let us play the late, tormented genius Michael Jackson’s MAN IN THE MIRROR track and ponder all this. Do as he sings, not as he lived. Sigh.

Seriously?!

1) Taking offense to this show is stupid because it's TV!

2) If you don't like it don't watch it but don't: A) judge the women on it (they may need $$ b/c of the economy and it's a job) and B) judge the ppl watching it (it's freakin' good entertainment)

3) So what if Teresa's English isn't great. My mom's isn't either, are u going to tell me she's never picked up a book in her life b/c if you did I'd tell u to go to hell cuz she has and that's just makes u ignorant and snobbish!

4) GET OVER IT!! NO ONE SAID U HAD TO WATCH IT AND NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO WATCH IT!

I'm getting really sick of uptight pretentious asses who are like "OMG These girls suck, I'm not like that, neither is NJ! BS! I'm from NJ and lemme tell ya the beaches are dirty, the water is dirty, the taxes are unbelievable and in a bad sense, and every politiician in this state is corrupt!

Go back to your hole where you live in this perfect picturesque world and leave us to our trash TV. Some of us actually don't mind unwinding to craziness every now and then!

They all act like SPOILED BRAT'S!!!!!!! I will admit Theresa is growing on me.

PLEASE, somebody kick Caroline in the shin for me.

Best of luck to all, because your going to need it.

I am so sick & tired of people whining about not liking the show. There seems to be an awfully high amount of people dissing the show, and to be fair, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. BUT as stated already in other comment posts, "IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, DONT WATCH IT!". I love these shows for the ENTERTAIMENT VALUE. Yes, the ladies are flighty and drama filled but their also pretty funny. No, TRHNJ doesn't represent the entire state of New Jersey. This is, what, 2% of NJ's population? And no, it doesn't represent the entire population of Italian-American's, either. Quit your whining! I read a lot of posts of women/men saying there should be a show about real life situations and struggles. 1. MTV's True Life. 2. A&E's Intervention. 3. Jon & Kate + 8 (ok, i had to throw that in there). That's just 3 examples. Go watch them. Quit your complaining and change the channel if you don't like it. For those of us who do enjoy the RH shows, don't hate on us either. Everyone has different taste. We don't talk down to you for watching your re-runs of Mr. Rodgers or whatever it is PBS and the like are airing these days. Get my point?

I live in the UK and thought this programme was a real laugh, not to be taken too seriously I hope!! The main players were so stereotypical it was unbelievable ( having watched the Sopranos). I thought most of them were pretty nice in their naive way - except Danielle who certainly isn't. Having said that I think she is pretty lonely and really wanted to be friends with the others. The question I hope someone answers for us here is where is Dina's husband? It's great light entertainment really and its makes me want to go to New Jersey as its seems very scenic in comparison with New York. It finished last night here and I can't wait for the return.