Over the course of 28 seasons — yes, 28 — MTV’s “The Real World” has changed a lot. If you’re old like me, you probably look back on the wonderfulness of the first few seasons (“New York City,” “Los Angeles,” San Francisco”) and sigh about how the cast used to represent a wide array of people who were always smart and thoughtful, if different from each other. Nowadays, it seems the primary requirements for being on “The Real World” are being stereotypically physically attractive and willing to cause drama. But speaking of drama, the one constant on “The Real World” has always been that if a cast member gets physically violent in any way with another cast member, they are immediately pulled aside by producers and, 95 percent of the time, sent home. There have been a few exceptions (for example, Stephen on “The Real World: Seattle” was sent to anger management after he slapped departing cast member Irene), but for the most part, any cast member who physically attacks another is forced to pack their bags and go. This has also been true on “Real World” spinoffs, “Road Rules” and “The Challenge.”
Well, that appears to not be the case anymore. Keep reading »
