Real Housewives” Ep. 2 is a white girl in a black girl’s body”

Plus a look at Logo’s “The A-List”

Image

  • NBC Universal
  • Kim: Look, I’m not tardy to your party!
    Kandi: Wow, Kim. Your hair looks great

It’s funny how quickly seemingly normal human beings can get acclimated to the “reality” of reality TV. This is most apparent in the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” second episode, where they introduce new character Cynthia Bailey. Cynthia is gorgeous, a former supermodel who moved from New York to Atlanta to be with her fiance, the much much older Peter Thomas of the now-closed Uptown Supper Club. The producers first put Cynthia with Nene, taking a stroll through Piedmont Park, where she asked Neens about her life. Nene automatically opened up about her marriage trouble and issues with Dwight. Seems kind of weird for someone you just met, but Cynthia awkwardly tries to run with it, faking enthusiasm. Then Cynthia hosts a party for Kandi to perform some new ballads off her upcoming CD. The two girls sit on the couch, and Kandi instinctively opens up about her story line this season. Now remember, Kandi was the new girl last season and in the beginning, she was not this adept to “reality” behavior. She thought Kim was a real friend for God sakes! But oh how times change. Kandi is now used to this Bravo stuff, ready to spill about Kim or her deceased fiance as soon as the cameras are rolling. Soon, we can hope, Cynthia will be a pro at this reality TV stuff too.

This whole alternate-reality “you” is like being a white girl in a black girl’s body. It sounds unnatural, but if you think it’ll score you more air time on a show, you do it and you make it look normal. For Sheree, though, it is natural. With the help of her gay BFF Lawrence, whose outfits get more and more hideous each episode, Sheree prepares for her first date in ages. The man in question wants to take her dancing, but Sheree hates dancing. “I don’t dance,” she spits out in a rush. “I am a white girl in a black girl’s body.” But this is new Sheree, Sheree who takes time out for herself, since she obviously didn’t do that enough beforehand. In fact, she says she’s been so busy with She by Sheree and being a social climber that she never have time to meet menz. Tiy-E Muhammad, her date, sends for a car to pick her up and take her to his favorite dancing joint. Sheree gets dropped off in the middle of the ghetto, or maybe just somewhere outside of her Duluth subdivision, and she’s mortified. “I could have worn my tennis shoes,” she at first says. But she ends up giving in to the balding Tiy-E, and they dance the night away ... which is almost worse than watching your parent dance.