The Bravo Thread
 

Until about an hour ago, I'd been up in the air as to whether we really needed a Bravo thread.

Then I checked Gawker and realized we absolutely do. THIS must be discussed.



And also, THIS.

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...0629164923.jpg

The housewives have taught me many lessons through the years, but chief among them: white chicks choose the worst weaves.

...and the worst plastic surgeons.

http://popbytes.com/wp-content/uploa...c-surgery1.jpg

Although I have to admit that the NY plastic surgeons tend to exercise a bit more restraints than the practitioners on the other coast.

Great idea for a thread! Must rush home to watch the Countess!

By the way, I get my shirts made by the same tailor that Jill and Bobb-ay Zarin visited in the episode a couple of weeks ago - Mohan (where Jill insisted on having her initial monogrammed on his shirts :rolleyes: ). I'm going to have to get some inside dish when I go back there next week.

Great idea Grace. Bravo is my go to network nowadays, especially in the summer. I'm obsessed with most things Bravo.

I can't wait for Flipping Out to start up again next week. That's one of my top favs.

This is the show that makes me thankful I don't live in southern California.

Here is what I've wondered: Is Zoila really his maid in real life? Surely she gets paid decently to appear on the show (in the six figures easily). So when they are not filming, does she really continue to clean toilets and take out the trash? She's a celebrity, er, Bravolebrity, for crikeys sake! She probably even has her own agent and management.

I think a new season of Millionaire Matchmaker starts up soon. I luvs me some MM and Patti Stanger! That is what I'm most looking forward to.

Good question! I wonder. I really wish there was a way to secretly film some of these people. I mean this stuff is "reality" only up to a point. I think Zoila might really live with him, although I might tend to agree with you that she's not really the housekeeper.

MM is good. I've been coming around on that one. Did anyone see the RHONJ this week? I don't even know where to begin on that one other than saying Teresa looks like she stole an outfit from the It's a Small World ride last time she was in Orlando.

OMG, I love how Teresa presumed that they (the NJ housewives) were too classy for the Catskills, especially when she said stuff like "They looked at us like they've never shopped at Bloomingdales," or "when we walked in, it was like 5th Avenue." As Danielle Staub would say, "Puhlease!" Unless she was referring to 5th Ave. in East Orange, I think she was delusional. Here she is living like she's a countess, yet her husband makes pizzas for a living. I guess bankruptcy just wasn't the learning experience it was supposed to be.

And am I the only one believes that there is no singing career for a "wench" like Melissa Gorga?

I agree with everything you said!!! And I'm not getting the Melissa can sing love either. Maybe she needs to go on the Voice.

Some other tidbits...Someone i know was driving down to LBI a few weeks ago and was stuck in a traffic snarl and low and behold at the front of the pack was Teresa and Joe driving...at like 20 mph with a camera crew beside them. She said Teresa was driving (I assume because Joe lost his license) and that it was just so painful because there was no concern for the traffic that was being caused. My friend who told me this also has a lot of connections around NJ and told me that she heard that Joe was about to go serve some hard time.

I work about 5 mins from the Brownstone. I went to a wedding there once too for a family friend about 9 years ago. I saw them recently and they told me that they were not the nicest people to deal with. Gave them lots of problems about paying the bill not all in cash or something. Who walks around with 40k in cash to pay for a wedding? Well, those who aren't well, you know....

Here's the thing...if it wasn't for this show, NONE of these people would be household names. I mean, yeah, sometimes it's entertaining. But when you really stop to think about it, it's pretty beyond pathetic. Not that I would ever stop watching!

Joe serving hard time? For what? He wasn't driving drunk. Sober people crash into trees all the time. In fact, he crashed his car and was so startled that he had run over to a neighbor's house and drink a fifth of vodka to calm his nerves. Yes, that's the first thing I would do- drink. Call 911 or the police? Puhlease. That's for sissies! :rolleyes:

There is definitely something amiss with the Brownstone. The calculus just doesn't add up. Yes, I get that it must be a profitable business. For one family. But there are multiple families living high on the hog in their McMansions, Bentleys and Range Rovers from a catering hall that looks kinda low-scale and tacky (even by NJ standards). And I've read about some of the Manzo connections that have been indicted on all kinds of criminal activity. And what the heck does a meathead like Chris Laurita do for a living to also live so high on the hog? They are all connected somehow... They would have to cater weddings every single day to support that standard of living for so many people. I'm not saying there is any organized crime going on... but... I'm just sayin'... It seems ironic that Caroline would be so critical of Danielle's history considering she's probably in the thick of some unsavory doings of her own...

I don't know more about Joe, other than I think he's in more trouble than that drinking incident. Which was a total headscratcher with what happened after you smashed a car.

Yeah, i have no clue was really goes on. I'm sure the family that is on the show is making decent money. Jacqueline even alluded to the fact that her daughter made enough to pay for her car for a year.

The sad thing is they probably were decent people before this show. I mean sure, issues were there, but this show has just made everyone's head the size of Texas. Look at Jill from NYC. Before when you quoted the episoe where she went with Bobby to pick out suits...poor guy couldn't get a word in edge wise. It's nuts!!

I can't watch this sh*t. These people are nobody. NOBODY. Same for those Jersey morons. I am guilty of watching reality TV, but it's usually competition shows - Food Network Star, Top Chef, Project Runway, Amazing Race, American Idol, etc. Anyway...


At this point, my current Bravo shows are pretty much just the various incarnations of Top Chef. :shrug:

The hard time is for marrying and impregnating someone from the gorilla family...his wife. :laugh: Seriously, her hairline starts just above her eyebrows.

I won't admit to watching this show. Instead I will claim I read all about it on the survivorsucks website. The hard time he is facing stems from lying on his financials when they were foreclosing on his house. He also used a fake driver's license and, I believe, used a relatives birth certificate to obtain it when his license was suspended.

Honestly, I doubt it's anywhere close to that; reality TV stars are paid a lot less than you'd think. The cast of RHONY were each paid only $8000 for the entire first season, and I would guess Zoila earns less than that. She doesn't have much to bargain with--whereas Bravo risks losing viewers if a popular housewife walks, a maid could be replaced relatively seamlessly. Nor can she supplement her income substantially with appearances or book deals, as the housewives do. I think it's actually plausible that she's still a maid.

Well, yes and no. I do think that only a specific type of person wants to be on a candid reality show. You'd have to be something of an egomaniac to believe that America not only should care about the minutia of your life, but will also fall in love with you for it.
That sad, some of their heads do appear to inflate exponentially with each season--NeNe, Sonja, and Jill being the prime examples.
Ah, Jill Zarin! How I adored you in season 1! I wanted you to be the Jewish mother I never had! And now you've gone off and joined ranks with Countess LuMan and Kelly "Satchels of gold" Bensimon and done terrible things to your perfectly nice face.:distress:

Haha I love the Real Housewives.....series. Except for DC and Miami which were f*cking boring as hell. Sonja on NY is my fave, partly because she loves me haha! :D

I have to disagree esp when it comes to Kim & Kyle Richards! :shrug:

just sayin' ;)

That was per episode, not the entire season! I believe I read that the going rate now is $30,000 per episode, which puts them on a par with actors on scripted network shows. So it's no wonder these shows are re-broadcast 20 times per week- that's a big investment to recoup. I suspect Zoila has to get at least in the low five-figures per episode. After all, she is a featured "character" and is in the opening credits. I do wonder whether the husbands and kids get paid, e.g., Simon, Albie, Donn, Slade, etc.

Okay... so what do you think about Million Dollar Design? I think it's painful to watch. Not only because it haunts me with memories about my own (ongoing) construction nightmare. It's just that interior design is just inherently not interesting enough to make into a reality series. I kid you not... there was actually this "tense" scene where one designer and his partner (professionally and personally) are fighting because one wants to put a floor lamp next to the couch, and the other wants to put an end table with a table lamp. It even featured that "fight music" soundtrack in the background. Really? You would think they were fighting over custody of the kids or something.

Sonya really rode off the rails this season. I thought she was sweet and sensible last season, but this season she is queen of the mean girls.

My brother and sister-in-law had their wedding reception at the Brownstone shortly before RHONJ began and they actually had a positive experience working with the Manzos. Being from out-of-state, I'd never heard of the place until the wedding, but I thought that the Brownstone was a really cool reception venue and the food was awesome.

Sidenote: my family is not wealthy, nor are they mafia. :cool:

Yeah she has her moments but she's really sweet off the cameras. :)

So, who saw RHONY tonight? I only watched like ten minutes as I'm supposed to be studying for my practice LSAT tomorrow:o. (Right now I wish more of my knowledge were in logical reasoning, less in Bravo.)

I can't comment on much, but can say with absolute certainty: bad feng shui does not drive anyone millions of dollars in debt. Turning your bed to face the direction of prosperity will not relieve anyone of debts.

Not according to Jill Zarin:
"Our first season I got $8,000, which ended up less than $1,000 per episode. We did six, but they then cut them into 9 1/2. Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly how much we're getting now because there's a confidentiality."

She might be lying, I suppose, but I can believe it. They've since gotten a huge salary bump, but the 30K figure has been disputed; some say it's 10K.

The Jersey cast are still locked into a 3-year contract for $3,333 per episode.

(I would love to un-know this.)

You've met Sonja? How?

OMG...I love it! From now on thats what she will be referred to by me. hehe

I'm trying really hard to get into this. I can't put my finger on exactly what isn't gelling with me over this show, but there's something there. Could be the arrogance level. I mean these people make some of the real housewives seem humble. I realize these people do design jobs that equate to more than i'll see in 10 years of working, but still, i mean are you the be all and end all cause you can match a rug with a sofa?

I loved Million Dollar Agents (or whatever it's really called) because I guess you got to see a little more of them having to sell their soul to make their deals. A little sweat for their prize money. I just don't feel the same about this crop yet of Million Dollar bravolebrites. We'll see. It's still early on for them.


Honestly, the wedding i went to was back in 2002, so i don't remember the food or anything. I did think the place was very nice...especially given that it in a rather not so nice area.

I watched. Kelly is getting on my nerves...surprise, suprise. She does this thing where she tries to corner you and make you feel about 3 inches tall but her attempting to school you on her topic of disapproval de jour usually makes no sense and then she doesn't even give you a chance to respond. It comes across as ignorant and condescending. And she seems to keep doing that to Alex. Ugh. Did i ever share that I saw her last year at Newark airport? I was picking up my friend lets say it was the Sunday after T-giving. I went inside cause I was early and i went to grab something at Starbucks. These two tweenish girls were standing in front of me and one looked familiar. Finally I looked over and noticed Kelly standing at the end of the counter frantically pounding away at her Blackberry. Her older daughter did all the ordering and paying and I was trying very hard not to gawk cause I was respecting the fact that this woman and her two kids were flying home from a holiday with family (or actually I think it was Florida), but I digress. About 15 mins later when i went to meet my friend down in baggage claim, i noticed the same older daughter trying to pull her luggage off the belt and was struggling. She looked up and turned around looking for her mom and Kelly just wandered right past the belt where her kids were and her oldest yells, "Mooooommmmm...helllloooo.......are you crazeeee????" Oh man...took every ounce of my public manners to not just go...."YEAH she is!!" I snatched a photo of her with my phone that pretty much sucks and once they were out of earshot I called my mom to tell her. It was funny.

Oh, and i once saw the thug that was Danielle's sidekick in the parking garage at the mall. Let's just say that I don't think he got paid by Bravo. His car looked like something you'd find after it was ransacked in a bad neigborhood in the worst section of NYC.

I have no idea who these people are. And I think that's a good thing. :laugh:

Not doing it for me either. If it's going to be about interior design, I much prefer shows like HGTV's Next Design Star - at least there are interesting challenges, many different people & various rooms/settings. As opposed to "what kind of rug is right for this space?!"

Well color me corrected. I think. I don't buy for a second that the housewives would go through all that aggravation and pressure for less than $1000 per episode. And at the time Bethenny actually needed a full time income. And I have a really hard time believing that the RHONJ are only getting $3333 per episode too! If Andy Cohen convinced these broads to work for peanuts to be on cable TV's top rated programs, he is an evil genius.

Speaking of Bethenny, has anyone actually tasted or seen one those Skinny Girl Margaritas. She got paid $120 million for it? Really? :shocked:

It seems that it is supposed to be high drama when the rug comes back in the wrong color, or when the client has bad taste and the designer has to diplomatically correct it. But it's just not dramatic. And I think it's one thing if any of these designers were somehow interesting, intelligent or funny. But they are all 100% haughty douchebags. And they all fancy themselves to be these incredibly valuable artistes. I'm not saying that interior decorating is not challenging work, but they're not exactly curing disease or painting the Mona Lisa. The hard work actually lies with the contractors who have to do the heavy lifting in the literal and figurative sense. Walking into a construction site with a hard hat and Louboutin stillettos is not hard work.


Ooh, I haven't watched yet. But yeah, Kelly is the perennially annoying wack job, although I have to admit that she has been surprisingly coherent this season, especially compared to last season and "Scary Island." But I absolutely loathe it when she goes around saying, "That's not normal. That's not what normal people do. It's not normal behavior. You're being weird," as if she ever had a "normal" moment or thought in her entire life. Still, I think of all the NYC housewives, I can least stand Alex, who is such a poseur, and everybody else knows it. If it wasn't for the show, none of these women would give two flying Fig Newtons about Alex. So I'm glad (from what I saw in the previews) that both Alex and Simon get put in their place!

Rick Springfield circa 1982 called; he wants his hair back.

I actually enjoy it. Pretty good.

Exactly. Pot, meet kettle.


Yes! That's so right on the money.

:lol:I kind of wish you'd said it!
Of course, those kids probably don't need any more reminders that their mom has jellybeans for brains...

Pah! Jill Zarin is a national treasure.

I'm a little iffy on Skinny Girl, but have you tried Ramona Pinot Grigio? It's actually pretty good.

I know, right?
It actually really bothers me when others attack Alex for being "weird." Sure, she's a little awkward, but every other housewives has either a substance abuse problem or mild form of psychosis.

This week Kelly, Jil, and LuAnn guide us, once again, through *very serious topic* of cyber-bullying (buzzword of the month?).:rolleyes:
Bullying is a serious issue. A sassy tweet from Simon is not. It actually really bothers me that they would milk a current hot topic to portray themselves as victims and Simon as "dangerous and threatening."

this is pure bs and truly confirms that there is waaaaaaaaaaay too much money out there for me to not having any!

*looks up*

GOD PLEASE SMELL DOWN ON ME THIS SEPT FOR FASHION WEEK!!!!

that song was so much cooler back when it was called "hypnotize."

you meant smile, right? i really hope you meant smile.

[QUOTE=skcin;997735]I have no idea who these people are. And I think that's a good thing. :laugh:



Are you a fan of the Disney movies of the 70's? They were the Lindsay and Hilary's of the 70's except for the skanky and troubled parts.

If you're talking about most of the woman on these shows, I don't know of them as well.

Kim Richards was a hugely popular child/teen star during the 70s and early '80. She was the star of Disney's Escape from Witch Mountain and it's sequel. I grew up watching up her.
Atlanta housewife Burruss was the first African-American woman ever to win ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year award in 2000. She won for Songwriter of the year in the Rhythm & Soul category. She's a Grammy-winner as well.
Fortune Brands purchased Skinnygirl for a $120 mil. Can't get away from it in Boston.

These shows are the new soap operas - disposable trash that can be funny and mildly diverting. The people who star are of no greater or lesser value than the average bigoted steroid-using rapists that pass for professional athletes these days.

the only reason i watch , http://giggythepom.com/wp-content/up...1204-jiggy.jpg

A guest, John Benjamin Hickey, on Sunday's Watch What Happens Live, referred to RHNJ Jacqueline Laurita‎ as Steve Nicks. YAH - I am not the only one!!

http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/G...wives-nj17.jpg

I am really looking forward to meeting you- lol.

Likewise, oh moderator of us all. :xoxo:

HOLY ****!!!~

"Real Housewives"Russell Armstrong Commits Suicide




Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong, was found dead of an apparent suicide ...sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say Armstrong hanged himself. He was found hanging in his bedroom on Mulholland Drive.

We're told L.A. City Fire Department arrived at his home and pronounced him dead at 8:16 PM Monday. Sources say a roommate found Russell and called 911.

We're told authorities have not found a suicide note.

Taylor filed for divorce last month, after she claimed Russell physically abused her. We're told authorities informed her of Russell's death last night.

He was 47 years old.


26 minutes ago BY TMZ STAFF.


Russell ArmstrongDistraught Over Divorce and'Tremendous Financial Problems'



"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Russell Armstrong was at his wits end over his impending divorce from Taylor in the days leading to his death -- and he was inundated with debt.

Russell's lawyer Ronald Richards tells TMZ, Russell had been staying at a friend's house on Mulholland Drive in L.A. -- the same house where authorities found his body hanging last night.

Richards tells us, "I feel bad because his credit cards weren't working ... He had tremendous financial problems."

Richards adds, "He was also extremely bummed out about the divorce with Taylor. As far as a will, even if he does have a will, they don't have any assets, so I'm not sure what there would be left to leave. I am extremely saddened ... I had no idea he was depressed."

As we previously reported, Russell -- an investor who made his money in the 90s during the dot com boom -- filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2005, claiming he had less than $50,000 in assets ... and debt somewhere between $1 and $10 million.

http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/16/real-h...lor-armstrong/

i knew he & taylor have both been accused of shady business dealings & now w/ these latest abuse allegation from not only taylor, but 2 other women, i just never thought it would come to this

that's so fk'd up! and they have a daughter! smh!!!! poor lil girl!

i know, poor little kennedy:distress:~ she is the first one i thought of~ i am just floored by this~ there has been a 'housewives' death of an ex husband before (tammy knickerbocker of the OC) he died of a heart attack~ this death is so WOW~ i don't mean to sound morbid, but w/ all the past abuse allegations against women & his son, i really thought russell more the type to try an off a spouse/girlfriend in a fit of rage & not take his own life~ everything must have caught up w/ him all at once~

seeing taylor wasn't a favorite after andy cohen outed her many names & lying & portraying herself as an heir to the FORD fortune, i was shocked she outed russell, not for the abuse, she should have for that, but alot of his shady business dealings were done w/ taylor's hand in it all as well~

i didn't know about all of this. smh @ being a broke beverly hills housewife

Wow...i'm totally in shock. You unplug from the internet for a few hours and you miss this and a whole lot more.

So sad for his little girl. And just as we are about to embark on Taylor and him splitting up in the 2nd season starting in a few weeks. I wonder if Bravo is going to push back the launch.

They'll have to massively edit. The season would have heavily featured an unflattering portrait of Russell and his imploding marriage. Given the circumstances, that would be too tacky even for Bravo (I hope).

I feel terrible for Kennedy in all of this, as well as his older children. I can't imagine...

Are you kidding? Andy Cohen must be doing a happy dance right now. This guarantees huge ratings for the show, and the timing could not be more perfect.

Okay... I feel terrible for his family and everyone close to him. But sadly he pretty much dug the hole that collapsed on top of him. Perhaps he should have used his first bankruptcy as a lesson about living within ones own means and living a modest life. Was it necessary to take on a materialistic duck-billed trophy wife who spends $20,000 on a 3-year-old's birthday party? And lo and behold, once the gravy train went into collections, Taylor jumped. Figures. BH and OC must be chock full of these fakes who hide their bulging debts and foreclosures behind facades of perfectly manicured lawns and fake tans (Alexis and Jim Bellino, I'm looking in your direction!). I realize these Housewives shows are supposed to show sneering examples of the most vile humans walking amongst us, but one would hope that there is at least some shred of humanity or some shred of decency that ultimately saves them from their own self-destruction. In his case, apparently not. I hear there's trouble in shangri-la.