Customer Reviews

The Real World - The Complete First Season - New York

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The original and best (in my opinion) season of MTV's "The Real World" finally sees a DVD release! But beware... although everything you've seen involving Norm, Heather, Julie, Eric, Becky, Andre', and Kevin is here- the music has been rescored. I'm sure that getting the home video rights to all of the songs that were used when the show was originally aired would have been a logistical nightmare. If you want to relive Norm, Heather, and Julie roller skating to Cece Peniston's "Finally", you aren't going to see it here. You'll see them skating, and you'll see their lips moving to a song, but what you'll hear is some generic, instrumental song instead. If you want to relive Eric's ex-girlfriend Missy coming to visit him to the tune of Prince's "Diamonds And Pearls"... again, you're not going to see it on this DVD collection! The scene is there but the music is not.

Rescoring music for home video release has long been commonplace in the video industry. "Sixteen Candles" (the 1980's Molly Ringwald flick) had about half of its theatrical music deleted and replaced when it made it to video. The difference between that and this is that the "Sixteen Candles" video packaging offered a disclaimer: "Some of the music has been changed from the original theatrical version." There is no disclaimer on the "Real World" packaging. This is quite misleading.

If you can get past that (and I must admit... it does make a difference. The tone of the show has been changed somewhat, but it's still entertaining nontheless), you'll love this collection. The original pilot (featuring a different group of 7 strangers) is included, as well as a copy of Julie's acceptance letter. That is quite an interesting read for any "Real World" fan. The only thing that would have made this collection even better would have been commentary from the cast. Even if they couldn't have got the entire cast (Andre' has only been back for one reunion show), it would have been really interesting. Some outtakes and bloopers would have made nice extra goodies as well.

All in all... a decent collection for fans. Maybe MTV will get it right with the next season's DVD release.

The first Real World was fascinating because it took 7 people who each had their own ambitions and wanted to take on New York City and become artists: a dancer, a model, a rapper, a poet, a folk singer, a grunge singer, and a painter. They had issues with each other, there was a little in-house romance, and the whole series was more compelling and interesting. The show really is about 7 people confronting real world issues and problems, and being young adults.

Watching it made me really sick about what the show has become-- an extended spring break for college kids with three priorities-- taking their clothes off, having sex with each other, and getting drunk. Don't get me wrong, I like all of those things, and enjoyed doing them in college very much. But as a TV show, it is SO MUCH BETTER when the cast members have real reasons for being there, and lives to pursue outside of hangovers and hooking up.

I miss the music, but all in all, this is a wonderful glimpse into reality TV before it got too TV to be real, overrun by attention whores living on islands, running amazing races, working for Donald Trump, swapping wives, and singing for Simon Cowell.

Ok. I love the Real World. Love it. Watched it from season one on . . . religiously until season nine or so. I bought this DVD the day it was released.

I could not have been more disappointed.

The original soundtrack is gone, replaced by a horrible, grating score (no "Finally" at Roxy?!). The crawl is gone (and some of the best moments--like Eric's scar story--took place during the closing credit sequence). The features (asinine episode intros and a schlocky "pilot") just suck.

My advice to fans: Get a DVD recorder and wait for a marathon on MTV.

Never realized how much the The Real Wolrd benefits from having the hit songs of that time showcased in it. All those cheesy songs from the early 90's have been taken out of this edition, and replaced with really [bad] public serive announcement sounding music. This cast by far was the best, but even that doesn't carry the show with no real music behind them. Catch it in in reruns!!!!!!!

In 1992, MTV's The Real World: New York premiered. We didn't know what was going on, and neither did the young people it documented. It was raw, unrehearsed, and really the only season that didn't include casts that acted strictly for the camera. This series pretty much started the reality TV craze (if you don't count American Family on PBS), broke down taboos and made people think and question their own beliefs. Although its the shortest season (it was experimental), its packed with enough drama for the normal 22 episode season. You can see Julie adjusting to big city life, Becky getting it on with a producer, Eric primping, pouting, and eating pasta, Heather rapping, Kevin accusing everyone of being racist, Norm freaking out over the fact that Star Trek was not recorded, and Andre becoming the first of many cast members that made you wonder why they were even there. This collection is a must have if you want to see the show when it was actually good. However, the fact that they replaced the background music is totally ridiculous.

Whe this first aired on MTV, it showed us all something we had never seen. A reality show that as it went on, the people portrayed went from every day people to epic characters worthly of the greatest fiction. This was the first year of MTV's The Real World, therefore what you see is not fake, staged or as in other seasons, knowing that the more drama and fighting we saw, the better. This goes completely the opposite. Sure, there are heated arguments but the people here are struggling with the camera not embracing it like other shows or seasons. I have had this on tape for almost ten years now and I rushed out and got the dvd. My only problem is because MTV could not get the rights to any of the original music, it used hack instrumental music over the proceedings. Part of the power of the piece was watching these people struggle with the day to dayness of their lives while the music of the time dictated that mood, chaos and love expressed here. Music like Guns and Roses, Metallica and many others are sorely missed and as wonderful as this collection is, something is missing. I wish this could be released complete.
People or shall I say epic characters like Julie, Becky, Eric, Kevin, Andre, Heather and Norm deserve so much better.

I love the Real World series. I started watching at the Chicago series, then watched the other seasons and loved them all... the earlier ones are the better ones. Since I loved the New york season (it was the most real and they didn't act), I bought the dvd. Before even the first 10 minutes, I turned it off. I noticed something strange... there was different music! All of the original musci from the show was changed to newer, but worse music. I loved the original 1990's music! ...

Boring and flat. It's amazing how much the soundtrack really pulled the entire show together. I was mainly waiting for season two to come out on DVD, but if this is what we're left with once the music is subtracted, I can't imagine it would be any better.

I am so upset that NONE of the original music is in these episodes. I'm sure theres legal reasons behind it but I'm still pissed. The music for me, is one of the most crucial parts of the real world seasons. Its what truly transports you to that time period. Without the approptiate music, its just seriously lacking and not as impressive as I remember. The whole nostolgic vibe is gone so I'm REALLY disappointed about that. I know it seems silly, but its one of the major reasons why I bought this season. Dont get me wrong, I'm glad to relive this season but its totally not the same without the right music. Whats worse is they edited over the original music with these terrible faux early 90s beats. Gross. My final complaint about these dvds is that there are no extras or deleted scenes or anything like that. It wouldnt have killed them to throw in an extra disc considering I'm sure they have hours of uncut footage. I'm still glad to have it but overall, I'm pretty disappointed. MTV could have done a much better job. And a word to MTV...start introducing the other real world seasons please!!

This is the first, and I think the best season of the show. The cast was interesting and had actual lives--they didn't go to the bars and get wasted every night, unlike current seasons.

I just really, really wish that this DVD had the *original* music included!!! Taking out the music really makes the show lose some of its resonance. I'd be willing to pay an extra $10 or $15 to get this DVD with the original soundtrack.