Monday, July 18, 2011

Big Rich Texas: Red Carpet Party and Episode One Recap


There was not one, but two, premier parties tonight to celebrate the debut of Big Rich Texas on the Style Network.  I made The Office my first stop to catch up with Dr. Bonnie Blossman and her daughter, Whitney Whatley, along with Melissa and Maddie Poe.


 
(left) Dr. Bonnie Blossman with daughter Whitney Whatley (right) Melisa and Maddie Poe

About halfway through the show, I made a mad dash across town to end the night with Connie Dieb at Komali, who opted to skip out on the large public party in lieu of a smaller, more intimate gathering with family and close friends.

Camille Umland, Abraham Salum with Connie Dieb

First off, let me just clue you in to a little something that you might not know. "Reality TV" is not always so real.  These shows are not exactly scripted, but not exactly spontaneous and unrehearsed. Big Rich Texas is no exception.  Most of the comments I get on posts about reality TV shows are talking about the cast being fake.  Well, duh! It's not that they are being fake, so much as they aren't being entirely real...

So, when you watch this show - enjoy it for what it is and what the producers want to portray: a good cat-fighting, back-stabbing, one-upping day at the country club between strangers pretending to be best friends. You'll like the show a whole lot more.

The very first scene is Leslie and Kalyn driving to the country club. Leslie says, "Anyone who is any body belongs to this club." Connie follows that up by saying, "It is the social place of Dallas."  The club they are referring to is Woodhaven  and I would be willing to bet my house that none of them are really members. Why? Because it's in Fort Worth! No person who lives in Dallas is hanging out at a Country Club in Ft. Worth which is a 45-minute drive on a good day.  No way. (Please refer to point made in previous paragraph about reality TV being fake.)

If you haven't figured it out yet, they were setting the stage for the premise of this whole show/season, which is about a group of Mothers and their daughters that will revolve around their life at this "elite" country club. 

Favorite lines from Episode One:
  • "Keep your balls in your pants, Enrique!" yells Pam to a tennis Pro on the next court after Bonnie & Whitney lob several balls on her court and interrupt her game with Melissa.

  • "I pulled out the dead husband card... that works every time." Leslie tells the camera about her attempt to sweeten up the Country Club's owner when they discuss her Membership request.

  • "I like making people feel uncomfortable," pouts Whitney to the camera about having to mingle with the "snooty people" at the Club. "I do too!" interjects her Mom, Dr. Bonnie. Well, now we know why Whitney has 15 tattoos.  One of which (her favorite) is the word "See-U-Next-Tuesday" as Maddie so sweetly referred to it on the top of her foot. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

  • "Bless her little heart".  The ladies teach Leslie how to insult someone the Southern way.  This phrase is now stuck in my head and you will be hearing me use it a lot on this blog - probably with regards to this show.

  • "When I envisioned having the sex talk with Maddie," says Melissa to the camera, "I envisioned birds and bees. Not purple penises" talking about Maddie's visit to the OB-GYN and being taught how to put on a condom by her doctor.

  • "If I can get that vile tattoo off her foot - I can deal with some luscious lips on my baby girl," says Bonnie about her offer of giving Whitney lip injections in exchange for having her vulgar tattoo removed.  

  • "I don't know whether to greet you or dance under you," shrieks Pam to Bonnie about her hatred of her Nicole Miller dress. Personally, I liked it.

 So, let's dish.  Who did you love and who do you already hate? Are you Team Bonnie or Team Pam? Let the games begin!!  You can watch Big Rich Texas every Sunday on the Style Network.