WHEN MTV FEATURED MUSIC
- Cassandra Bremer
- Jan 9, 2014
- 2 min read
“This is the true story of seven strangers picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. The Real World.”
Some might call it trashy reality television; others might call it one of the greatest sociological experiments known to date, but one thing that is hard to argue is that MTV’s The Real World is one of the network’s most successful and recognizable shows. However, this season, the execs over at MTV decided to mix it up a bit. Last night, MTV premiered The Real World: Ex-Plosion; while the show starts with seven (newly single) strangers picked to live in a house, producers spice it up when they invite the housemate’s recent exes to move into the Real World house as well.
Nothing like this has ever been done on the Real World, so the show is uncharacteristically chartering unknown waters. Now, as a proud product of the ‘90s, I’m not ashamed to admit how much pop culture I consumed during my youth. Back in the ‘90s and the 2000s, MTV was the pop cultural hub. But things change, and so has MTV. This Throwback Thursday, I’m taking you back to old-school MTV—when they actually played music—and presenting the four most missed programming on MTV.
4. The Real World: Seven Strangers (sometimes eight)
Admittedly, this is jumping the gun, but how can MTV mess with the extremely delicate Real World balance. The show is about new experiences, growing in a new environment and learning about yourselves by interacting with and befriending strangers from completely different walks of life. Exes have no business on the show.
3. Road Rules
The show that brought the world Mark Long has been off the air for seven years. MTV’s second reality show/ social experiment, Road Rules, put six young strangers in an RV; producers confiscated all their money, and cast mates had to follow clues and pass challenges in order to work towards winning a “handsome reward.”
2. PSAs
In hilarious juxtaposition with over-sexed music videos and television programming, the practicing safe sex PSAs were actually quite insightful. The current generation doesn’t have those, but they do have teen moms… perhaps it’s time to bring those back.
1. TRL with Carson Daly
TRL was at the core of MTV. Music artists from basically every genre would visit the studio to premiere their videos or announce news. Before Twitter and Facebook, TRL was the best place for music artists to really communicate with their fan-base. The Backstreet Boy’s announced A.J.’s addiction and rehabilitation on TRL; P. Diddy trained for the New York Marathon on TRL; and every weekday, Carson Daly announced the top ten music videos of the day. Yes, people have YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, but for the adults who grew up watching TRL every afternoon, MTV will always have a gaping hole in its daily lineup.
Cover Photo Source: ValeStock / Shutterstock.com
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