This is one of the first "reality" TV shows. It is based on an interesting idea -- take 7 MTV-crowd members who don't know each other, put them into one residence, and have cameras watch them. There have been charges that the producers feed the castmembers ideas, but maybe if that didn't happen, the show would be as boring as watching video of anyone at home.
The seasons have been uneven depending on the castmembers and locations. One of the best aspects of this show is that it allows the MTV viewers to see real gay people being real gay people. The gay castmembers are not actors, and their situations can illustrate for the young MTV watchers that gay people are not any more weird than anyone else.
Especially touching was the San Francisco story of Pedro Zamora, a young Cuban immigrant with AIDS. He did a great deal to educate the twentysomethings about gays and AIDS just by being himself. Tragically, he died of AIDS the night before the last episode of the San Francisco season aired.
Danny Roberts in New Orleans is another example. He is a sweet person whose struggle with being gay is very instructive to the viewers. His boyfriend is an Army officer and so must be blurred out on screen to protect his identity. This situation illustrates the stupidity of the military's homophobia. I found especially touching the episode when Danny was tempted to stray with the boys from the gay bar but then gets a surprise visit from his boyfriend on Valentine's Day.
I commend MTV for coming up with this idea and with keeping it fresh -- most of the time.
The seasons have been uneven depending on the castmembers and locations. One of the best aspects of this show is that it allows the MTV viewers to see real gay people being real gay people. The gay castmembers are not actors, and their situations can illustrate for the young MTV watchers that gay people are not any more weird than anyone else.
Especially touching was the San Francisco story of Pedro Zamora, a young Cuban immigrant with AIDS. He did a great deal to educate the twentysomethings about gays and AIDS just by being himself. Tragically, he died of AIDS the night before the last episode of the San Francisco season aired.
Danny Roberts in New Orleans is another example. He is a sweet person whose struggle with being gay is very instructive to the viewers. His boyfriend is an Army officer and so must be blurred out on screen to protect his identity. This situation illustrates the stupidity of the military's homophobia. I found especially touching the episode when Danny was tempted to stray with the boys from the gay bar but then gets a surprise visit from his boyfriend on Valentine's Day.
I commend MTV for coming up with this idea and with keeping it fresh -- most of the time.