TV review: Real World Austin - 9/6/2005

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

This week's episode of the Real World: Austin took a more serious tone once again. Last week's episode may have focused on the hook-up, but this week we saw the house-mates getting down to work and dealing with conflicts.

A good portion of this episode showed the cast getting ready for the documentary they were assigned to film when the season began. They were still working on their earlier assignment - a video portrayal of one of their fellow Real World cast members. This will help them learn how to film a documentary and how to edit footage. Both important tasks they need to learn for when it comes time for the real shooting to take place during the music festival they are covering.

Nehemiah shows his short piece covering Wes, and he was given some constructive criticism by their boss. Criticism he takes well, even with his own knowledge in film making. He knows "there is always room for improvement." He sees this experience as an opportunity to learn more about filmmaking.

Danny was then assigned the same project the others had been previously. He had been away from the house when the original assignment was given. He chose Nehemiah as his subject. He shot footage of Nehemiah various places, and we were able to get more of a look at Nehemiah the person.

Without a word to him, Nehemiah helps Danny with the editing. One has to wonder what their boss would think of Nehemiah assisting Danny in this manner. Neither Danny or Nehemiah make mention of it, so it'll be interesting to see what is said - if this ever does come to light during the span of the season.

The main task the house-mates were given this week is choosing the bands they want to cover as part of their documentary. Some conflict does arise because of differing musical tastes. Each member of the household has their personal favorites. One band coming up several times was the band Hello Goodbye.

Lacey had no desire at all to cover this band. Even when the people in charge of the documentary mention them as a band to consider, she is still against it. However, in the end five bands are chosen, and the house-mates are sent on their way to start contacting them to begin the documentary process.

Once the work was done, it was time for the house-mates to play. Each and every episode, we see the cast members attending their favorite bar. This episode was no exception. However, this episode was unlike previous episodes since the beginning of the season.

Tensions ran high in the high alcohol environment, and Nehemiah's own volatile temper came into play. The incident that ensued brought back memories for Wes of the incident that occurred back when Danny had the injury to his eye take place. Wes dragged Nehemiah away, but Nehemiah in his state of mind was ready to fight, even pushing Wes. Wes does finally succeed in getting his friend home.

The next day Nehemiah steps up and takes responsibility for his actions of the night before. He apologizes to Wes and even calls their two female companions that had been with them the night before. After a conversation with Wes, Nehemiah also calls his mother, and they end up having quite a serious conversation. Nehemiah even discusses one of his other roommates, Lacey.

Nehemiah tells his mother how he feels Lacey is a manipulator, explaining to her a situation with the bands he had experienced earlier. According to Nehemiah, he had gone to Lacey with two bands, and as soon as he mentioned those two bands - those same bands were the two Lacey wanted to be covered. He thought this seemed off, but I saw no sign of this until he mentioned it. This may be something to watch for in future episodes.

This episode of the Real World: Austin felt a bit slow to me, but I think the episode did give us some more insight into a few of the characters, especially Nehemiah. With each week that passes, we are able to learn more and more about this complex member of the cast. There is definitely more than meets the eye when it comes to Nehemiah. As for Lacey, Nehemiah's thoughts on her do give us another view of her. This cast-mate has flown quite a bit under the radar this season. Now she will be more watched with these recent revelations.

The focus moving away from Danny and Melinda has also been welcomed by this reviewer. They are two people in a house of seven. Earlier episodes focused totally on them, and now this isn't the case. However, the previews for next week's episode do show that there is a focus on Danny and Melinda next week.

What did you think of this week's episode of the Real World: Austin? Let me know what you think.

This review also appears on Blogcritics.