The Real World: London
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The Real World: London was the fourth season of MTV's popular reality television series The Real World, which focuses on seven diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships. It first aired in 1995, and featured the cast living in a flat at 18 Powis Terrace, Notting Hill Gate, London (W11 1JH). This was the first of two seasons of The Real World to be filmed entirely outside of the United States; The Real World: Paris followed in 2003.
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[edit] Season changes
- This was the first season of The Real World to be set outside the United States. The cast is made up of three Americans, three Europeans, and one Australian. As a result of the lack of conflict between the cast members, the London season is reputed to be the most boring, with one TV critic opining of their appearance on the first multi-season Real World reunion show that they "barely registered on the radar".
[edit] Cast
- Jacinda Barrett
- Neil Forrester
- Jay Frank
- Kat Ogden
- Lars Schlichting
- Mike Johnson
- Sharon Gitau
Sharon Gitau (Born November 5, 1974 in Essex, England) was an English 19 year old singer and songwriter from Essex. When the housemates went to Kenya for their group vacation in the closing weeks of the season, Sharon, a vegetarian, became distressed when the Masai tribe they stayed with slaughtered a goat for food. She chose to fast for the remainder of the day in memory of the animal's life. She tearfully admitted during this trip that she has problems when it comes to love and letting men into her life. Earlier in the series, when Sharon became very ill with tonsillitis, the cast rallied around and comforted her. Mike even visited her in the hospital, despite his very evident aversion to hospitals. Sharon's closest allies in the house were Mike and Lars. Although both Mike and Lars enjoyed ridiculing Sharon, they also defended her at times. This was perhaps most apparent during the housemates' weekend trip to the Lake District, when they both interceded in Sharon's defense during a heated argument between Jacinda and Sharon concerning Jacinda's borrowing of a magazine Sharon had purchased. Sharon cites Jacinda's poor treatment of the magazine as a metaphor for the wider lack of regard she felt she experienced from particular housemates. [citation needed]
Neil Forrester (Born January 3, 1971 near Bath, England) was a British, 24-year-old lead singer in an alternative, punk-influenced band called Unilever. He is also involved in a number of other underground music groups, of differing music styles (such as techno) which, as he remarked, is "...to keep my options open". In the first episode, Mike perceived a flirtatious aspect in the relationship between Neil and Kat, but nothing appeared to come of it. Mike expressed his irritation with the secretive nature of this relationship, but was implicitly accused of being jealous. Neil's girlfriend Chrys gave him a pig's heart with steel nails embedded in it as a Valentine's Day gift. At one point in the season, Neil kissed a drunken male heckler during a Unilever performance, and the heckler responded by biting Neil's tongue in half. A melee ensued, and the severed portion of his tongue was stitched back on. Neil then endured a section of the season communicating with producers during his "confessionals" using a computer with a voice synthesizer that could speak his typed words, and also through the reflections of his girlfriend Chrys. While other cast members initially expressed shock and sympathy, they later gently teased Neil about his inability to commuincate verbally. Neil has tried to distance himself from the memory of the show in recent years (describing MTV as being "for morons") [citation needed], however he did participate in some of the reunion shows and promotional work in the immediate aftermath of the London season.
Mike Johnson (Born July 17, 1973 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a native of St Louis, was an aspiring race car driver. The series focused on Mike's frustration and sense of hurt in relation to his father's apparent indifference towards him and his need for sponsorships for his floundering racing career. At various times, Mike suggested that his father was annoyed by Mike's decision to do the show rather than join his race team, and deliberately avoiding helping him. The season also focused on Mike's numerous casual relationships with girls and his considerable boredom and frustration at not having much to do for most of his time in London. This boredom together with the fact that they are both American, resulted in a close friendship with Jay, whose inactivity became one of themes of the season.
Lars Schlichting (Born October 5, 1970 in Berlin, Germany) was a 24-year-old party organiser from Germany, and worked as an underground DJ at night. He became upset in one episode when his bike was stolen from the flat's vestibule, which he believed was a result of carelessness on the part of his flatmates. He was further angered by their general indifference to the theft and expressed his frustration with their lack of a response to it. The series also followed Lars' largely unsuccessful attempts at organizing club nights in London, his very brief involvement in the London-based dance and soul radio station, Kiss FM and his relationship with a much older Englishwoman named Jeanette.
Jay Frank (Born December 7, 1975 in Portland, Oregon) was an aspiring playwright and actor from Portland, Oregon. In one episode, he put on a performance of his one-man show Bedroom for a small audience in the house (primarily since his visa forbade any work related activity). Jay spent most of his time in the house, either sleeping or interacting with whomever happened to be passing through, mainly Mike, who found himself in a similar predicament during his time in London. Because of their habit of staying up late at night watching TV and playing pool, and then sleeping during the daytime, Mike, Jay and Sharon were labelled "The Night Crew" by the other cast members. Although he subsequently appeared in a cameo role as "Auditioner 9" in the 1995 Richard Dreyfuss film, Mr. Holland's Opus, Jay appears to have disappeared from public view in the time since the show, and has not participated in any reunions or other Real World-related publicity. He currently works at the NBC affiliate KNDU in Kennewick, Washington as a news anchor.
Jacinda Barrett (Born August 2, 1972 in Brisbane, Australia) was an Australian model. Some of Jacinda's escapades included getting her tongue pierced, smearing chocolate cake all over her face, buying a dog she then named Legend, and a simulated streak down the street outside their house at night with Kat. Lars opined that "Jacinda wants a dog like a little girl wants a Barbie doll" and suggested that her antics were largely a means of drawing attention to herself from both the cameras and other housemates. Lars and Jacinda also clashed when she adopted a very casual and indifferent manner towards repaying a loan for the phone bill. She went on to success as an actress, appearing a number of films. Her roles have included the female lead in Ladder 49 opposite Joaquin Phoenix, who played her husband, in The Human Stain opposite Anthony Hopkins, and in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
Kat Ogden (Born June 13, 1975 in Yelm, Washington) was an American drama student and an aspiring fencer from Washington. Although Mike perceived romantic feelings between her and Neil in the initial weeks, Kat denied any physical relationship with Neil, and was offended about Mike speaking about her and Neil outside of her presence. Nothing apparently came of the alleged attraction to Neil, who had a girlfriend at the time.
[edit] Season highlights
- As part of a bonding exercise, the cast was sent to Outward Bound.
- The cast went on vacation to Kenya, Africa.
[edit] External links
| Seasons of The Real World | |
|---|---|
| New York | Los Angeles | San Francisco | London | Miami | Boston | Seattle | Hawaii | New Orleans | Back to New York | Chicago | Las Vegas | Paris | San Diego | Philadelphia | Austin | Key West | Denver |
