Jersey Shore Back Again

Against all sensibilities, I watched the new season of Jersey Shore last night. I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited. I mean, the show was starting to get a little stale as of late. The first season was great - no doubt about it. I not only was intrigued by the whole Jersey Shore Guido culture, but I loved all the aerial shots of the Jersey Shore. Those who know me know that I grew up at the Jersey Shore. Every summer my parents and I would go down to our shore house and spend all our time on the beach. The only difference is that I went to Cape May whereas Jersey Shore (which I just noticed has the same initials as this blog) is taped in Seaside. They are entirely different places - whereas Seaside attracts all the partiers from the tri-state area, Cape May attracted families from as far north as Quebec and Maine. Bottom line - I love the actual Jersey Shore...you know, the beach, the boardwalk and the water. I was sucked in by the idea of seeing the beach on tv (no beaches here in Seattle) and then stayed because of the characters on the show.

When they went to Miami in season 2 the atmosphere was different. Not only is Miami entirely different than every city in New Jersey, but you could tell that the cast members were officially celebrities. By the time season 3 came around, it was boring. Ronnie and Sammi were still smushing and fighting. The Situation was still putting himself in position to score but not finishing the deal. J-Woww and Snooki were still just annoying. It had all be done before.

When I heard that they were going to Italy for season 4 my reaction was initially favorable. The thought of them trying to live in another country was certainly intriguing. However, the thought of them embarrassing our country was too much to overlook. As the season was looking to get under way you started to here rumblings that it might not actually happen. Apparently the mayor of Florence was being a hardass - he didn't want anyone thinking that these kids represented Italians so he did not give the show permits to shoot in the city's most historic areas, in clubs areas where alcohol was being served and just everywhere in general. You really got a sense of what the rest of the world thinks about us..and yet we were sending these kids over to Italy?

So yeah, I wasn't overly excited, but I was willing to give it a final shot....and I must say that I actually enjoyed it and look forward to more episodes. The first thing that has to be noted is that it was refreshing to these the cast mates put outside of their comfort zones. Sure Snooki and The Situation had 9 bags of luggage and sure at times they walked around the city with an heir of superiority, but for me there was nothing better than watching them struggle to communicate with the locals, find their house, use their hair dryers, understand traffic signals and of course make their way up the huge ass staircase. In a nutshell, nothing is being given to them besides a house and a car.

A few random comments:

1. J-Woww either had a nose job or has lost a lot of weight. Either way she looks like Skeletor, which is a not a good look for her.
2. Four of the cast members now live in Jersey...but in my mind, Sammi is still the lone ditry representative. She grew up in Jersey, played soccer at Willy P and of course is the only one to wear a Jersey t-shirt in Italy.
   
3. What were the parents thinking agreeing to be on camera? Oh man, that does not do much for your street cred.
4. I love Vinnie and Paulie D. Still the best cast members.
5. The thought of Snooki driving is scary. Even if I had not heard the news aboiut her getting into an accident with a cop car, I knew it was going to end poorly.
6. They really need to split the show into two - the girls are totally bringing down the show. Some might like watching them, but for me, it's all about the guys.
7. The preview actually looks good - apparently The Situation and Snooki have a lot of drama which prompts Ronnie to fight The Situation. Someone goes out on a stretcher and the cast talks about a tragedy. I'll be watching