The Real World

A compelling, immensely interesting and thoroughly addicting 30 minutes of television. [21 May 1992]

As a social experiment, this project fizzles because of the imposing scrutiny (even the phone is tapped) and because of the artificial relationship foisted on these instant loftmates. But as television, it's rather intriguing.

We aren't just viewing this "Real World" from an objective point of view - watching people behave - but participating in a fresh way. Sorting through all those first-hand viewpoints, we're coming to understand where these diverse people are coming from and why they act the way they do. [19 May 1992]

[The Real World] has been steadily evolving into the year's most riveting television, a compelling portrait of twentysomethings grappling with the 90's. ... Should "The Real World" be kept going much beyond these 13 episodes? I doubt it. There really isn't much happening.

An intriguing though uneven mixture of "Miami Vice," "Less than Zero" and, most of all, an extended 501 Jeans ad. [21 May 1992]

Entertaining. [20 May 1992]

If not terribly revelatory about the youthful human condition, the series is better, and certainly more addictive, than it sounds. [21 May 1992]

So far the characters are intriguing, even while some appear to be dunderheads; everybody is being almost unbelievably upbeat and nice. But, despite the trademark MTV cutting and pop music accompaniment, the action will have to pick up soon, or the show will become mired in the torpor that made "An American Family" tough to sit through. [21 May 1992]

It's all a lot of fun, if not terribly consequential, but if you've ever moved into a college dorm with a bunch of strangers, you've been there. [21 May 1992]

The material is all pretty familiar, but the rhythms are new, often surprising. ... But the show isn't completely successful. What makes "The Simpsons" and the other shows work -- a commitment to absolute immersion in the world of TV, and indifference to the distinction between what happens on screen and off -- is ultimately "The Real World"'s higgest stumbling block. [25 May 1992]

Not only does all this style interfere with and distract from the show's content, but the strain to be unconventional leads viewers to expect the unexpected, robbing it of dramatic impact. And that's too bad, because there does seem to be something interesting going on here. [10 Jun 1992]

Real World is entertaining because voyeurism usually is. It's fun to eavesdrop on other people's lives, even if they are living in a fantasy world. Frankly, the conversation in the loft is a bit disappointing, considering the number of aspiring deep thinkers. [31 May 1992]

Great idea, middling execution.

Fails as documentary (too phony) and as entertainment (too dull). ... With its tilted cameras recording stilted reality, this empty vehicle for sound-bite narcissism is 20nothing.