This is the true story… of eight 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.

You know what it is. With one measly sentence, the world was introduced to what would become known as Reality TV. What better place for the format to debut than MTV (Music Television), a station that until shortly before The Real World‘s 1992 debut, primarily played new wave music videos? Well, that’s what the show’s co-creators Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray thought, anyway. We have them to thank (or blame) for 20 years of sex, booze and bitch slaps (not to mention my favorite reality TV image, Survivor champ Richard Hatch’s pixelated penis.) But the truth is, the network that today drags TV down to new depths with trashploitation shows like My Super Sweet 16 and, of course, Jersey Shore, was once a magnet for young (and weird!) artists with fresh voices. (more…)